Strong RAHS Short-Write Examples

Living With Nature

In the passage, "Moving to the Back of Beyond," the author's message about living with nature is that it makes an impression. To illustrate, after taking her first walk around her new property and seeing a wide variety of unique animals, the author writes, "I felt my feet taking root in the earth, claiming this place as home." This shows that even after living in her new home for a very short time, the author already feels a special connection to nature and her new home. Using a metaphor expressing her "feet taking root in the earth" further elaborates on the idea that the earth is making an impression on her as she is becoming one with her surroundings. Furthermore, even before taking her first walk around the new property, the author is outside under an oak tree enjoying the sun of an autumn day when she thinks, "Our oak tree [...]; I was settling in." This proves that even sitting outside and living in nature for a short amount of time left an imprint on the author. She is beginning to call things in nature hers, showing that her surroundings have made an impression on what she calls her own. Overall, after only a few days in her new house, the author felt a deep connection to the world she was living in. All of this implies that the author's message about living with nature is that it makes an impression.

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In Moving to the Back of Beyond, the author's message about living with nature implies that it is a grounding experience. The author uses two central ideas to drive this point home: the cabin and the wildlife. The story begins with the misconception of what the author would be moving into, or all "glitz and glamour". When the author arrives to her real destination, she describes it as "an adventure", but that "this was no camping trip where you could go home to civilization." This once-was camping experience settles in to become her reality for the next chapter of her life. The sense of adventure does not leave her, though. As the author was moving in, she mentions that she was exploring the property and saw wildlife, elaborating that she "couldn't wait to see them." She then says, "I felt my foot taking root in the earth, claiming this place as home." The wildlife around the author grounded her back to nature just as she felt excited for the adventure to see it all. She even begins to tell time by full moons over months, yet again grounding her to the unrestricting ties of nature. Moving to the Back of Beyond highlights the exciting and adventurous yet also grounding experience in living with nature through the author's lens.