Student Writer: Victoria D'Agostino

This week’s featured writer: Victoria D’Agostino

School: Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Age: 14

Grade: 8

Teacher: Mrs. Nancy Maier

What have you learned in school that makes you a better writer? In school, I have learned many things that make me a better writer.  I have learned capitalization, punctuation, and other grammar skills.  I also have a stronger and a more advanced vocabulary that I can use in my writing.

What is your favorite book? My favorite book is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

What do you like to do outside of school? Outside of school, I like to play basketball, I love to go swimming, and I enjoy skiing in the winter.  Most importantly, I love to spend time with my family and friends.

Victoria’s writing:

“Living In the Dark”

          Have you ever been in a situation where you had to wear a winter coat and hat to bed?  Did you ever have to rely on a tiny flashlight just so you could see where you’re walking in your house?  Well, I realized how different life would be without electricity, but I didn’t realize how many conveniences I took for granted.  It didn’t occur to me how important electricity was until my family and I lost power for almost an entire week.

            It was the evening of Saturday, October 29th, 2011.  I was sitting at my kitchen table using my computer when all of a sudden the lights went out.  At first I thought it was just a quick power outage because of the snow storm we had, but when I found myself sitting in the dark for over an hour, my hopes were not too high.

            After my parents and I got the flashlights and candles out, there wasn’t much left for me to do.  It was completely dark; we had no working appliances, no heat, and worst of all, no TV to watch.  It was a long night, and I hoped the power would come back soon.

            I awoke the next morning hoping that the power was back on, but it wasn’t.  As I went downstairs, it felt like my house had dropped thirty degrees over the past night.  I was freezing, and having no hot water didn’t help the situation either.  The batteries in my electronic devices died, and I knew it was going to be another long day. 

            Well, the week went on, and I was getting used to reading more books, sleeping with hats, and having multiple days off from school.  I would spend my evenings sitting with my family on the couch having conversations and telling stories around our fireplace.  I was starting to enjoy those evenings, and I was getting really good at playing chess against my dad.  At one moment, I actually forgot that we couldn’t turn on the TV.

            Then on Thursday night, the lights unexpectedly turned back on.  I was so thrilled that the power outage was over, but now I can honestly say that I am glad it did happen.  It taught me that using technology can be a distraction from spending time with my family.  During this outage I wasn’t living in the dark because there was no lighting.  I was living in the dark because I was so oblivious to all of the wonderful things that I take for granted.