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Observing snails: Topic of your choice


todtngkswks 1 / -  
Jan 1, 2011   #1
Feel free to criticize my essay harshly :)

The creature stirs ever so slowly in the soil. Feeling the presence of a foreign entity, it shoots out its antennae eyes and scans the landscape. The sudden appearance of green, with a wafting smell of fresh vegetable indicates the arrival of a delicious meal. Like a predator who knows its prey has nowhere to go, the creature leisurely advances its way toward the waiting meal. Its smooth moist body slithers along, pulsating in a steady rhythm. Under the dimming skylight I lie still, breathing softly, so as not to intrude upon my snails' daily eating ritual.

It is the most cherished moment of the day, when I am able to relax and observe my shelled friends. Time, what once seemed like a tidal wave ready to flush me out, slows down to a mere trickle. No homework. No stacks of review papers impatiently waiting. Sediments of everyday worries settle. I gaze into the plastic tank in front of me. The streetlight outside the window shines through, illuminating the tank. There are only the snails and me.

This part of the time also becomes an arena where imagination takes full rein. Thoughts roam freely, zigzagging across bubbles of ideas.

World starvation and malnutrition become history as people transform into snails. There are plenty of leaves everywhere for people to eat. There are no worries about nutrients, for people can get them all from fruits, vegetables, and even from the soil. Instead of clearing away trees for farms and ranches, I see a sudden booming industry of planting trees. Now, if only we had the enzymes and bacteria like those snails...

As I look into the unblinking orb eyes, I ponder over the meaning of the book that I have finished today, 'The Robot Series: The Caves of Steel'. Would I ever recognize a robot in the guise of a snail? It doesn't talk, nor does it do anything in particular that a machine cannot do. All it does is eat, sleep, grow, and reprodu... wait, a machine can't grow nor reproduce, can it? Well, it can. It can grow by adding more parts to its body. It can also reproduce; the machines do it in factories all the time. Then what is unique to animals? I gaze again into three pairs of unblinking eyes, and realize that the answer lies in those eyes. They are unlike any of the machine-made cold, hard lenses. There is warmth and emotion in them. The way their eyes droop in satisfaction as they munch through the leaves, the way they look up inquisitively as they explore the surrounding; they all lead me to believe that they are truly living, that they have intelligence. Would a machine ever be able to replicate that?

****is the transition bit abrupt here?****

A dull chime of the cuckoo clock reminds me that an hour has passed. Uh-oh, perhaps I've been away too long.
My mother knocks on my door, "Boy, are you still staring at your little snails? I'd rather do something more productive."
Something more productive? Watching my snails is one of the most productive things I do. It is a small pocket of time away from my everyday life. It is a place where I can truly think and relate ideas on my own and let my imagination run.

***my conclusion seems a bit brief and weak...***how should I improve it?


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