English 140

Assignment 8

Reproduced by permission of George Hawthorne

Choices

Both my lifestyle and my choices have resulted in my being incarcerated in penal institutions for the vast majority of my life. I have been terrorizing and victimizing* people ever since I was a teenager. Consequently, I have spent nearly thirty years confined to a home in which the perimeter is safely protected by gun towers, yet the grim reaper still roams freely within. Because of my actions, both my name and my existence have been reduced to nothing more than an identification number. And my societal address has become a vacation destination, whereas my institutional address has become home*. I have neither enjoyed stealing nor hurting other people in spite of my actions; however, I have continued to repeat the same behaviours throughout my life. I didn't gravitate to this lifestyle so that I could become financially enriched. I made so little money that committing crimes was hardly worth the risk; however, monetary gain was not the attraction. I found something much more valuable—a sense of belonging. Although filling a void in my heart while robbing my soul*, proceeds of my crimes didn't enrich my pocket. They did, however, provide me with a sense of belonging and camaraderie through the association with my delinquent friends—a priceless commodity that I found myself longing for as a child, whereas I am despising it as an adult*. Even though I felt terrible for the people whom I had victimized, I continued this same behaviour throughout my adult life. Unless I change my lifestyle, I can anticipate spending another thirty years on the inside while looking out through rusting bars and aging eyes.

* Examples of parallel structure

Note: In some cases this student has used more than one example of the target grammar required for this assignment. It is important to recognize that the target grammar has been integrated very well into the paragraph, and that the transitional devices used here help provide flow and coherence to the paragraph.