Again, thanks for your review. I am looking into it and actually had one offer. I’ll show it to you later.
Please login to continue.
Journalism / What Gets Me Through My Day (Analysis)
Many people don’t know that the human eye has a blind spot in its field of vision. There’s a part of the world that we are literally blind to. The problem is, sometimes our blind spots shield us from things that really shouldn’t be ignored. Sometimes, our blind spots keep our lives bright and shiny.
When it comes to our blind spots, maybe our brains aren’t compensating. Maybe they’re protecting us…
A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong? What if you're making a mistake you can't undo?
The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the ancient poets urging us to "seize the day".
Still, sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beats the heck out of never trying.
Sometimes reality has a way of sneaking up and biting us in the butt. And when the dam bursts, all you can do is swim. The world of pretend is a cage, not a cocoon. We can only lie to ourselves for so long. We are tired, we are scared, denying it doesn't change the truth. Sooner or later we have to put aside our denial and face the world. Head on, guns blazing. De Nile. It's not just a river in Egypt, it's a freakin' ocean. So how do you keep from drowning in it?
Maybe we're not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human. Maybe we're thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe we're thankful for the things we'll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.
As firefighter and EMS professionals, we live in a world of worst-case scenarios. We cut ourselves off from hoping for the best, because too many times, the best doesn’t happen. But, every now and then, something extraordinary occurs. And suddenly… best-case scenarios seem possible.
And every now and then, something amazing happens. And against our better judgment… we start to have hope.
As FF/EMT's, we’re trained to give our patients just the facts. But what our patients really want to know is, will the pain ever go away? Will I feel better? Can I be cured? What our patients really want to know… is, is there hope?
But, inevitably, there are times when you find yourself in the worst case scenario. When the patient’s body has betrayed them, and all the science we have to offer has failed them. When the worst-case scenario comes true, clinging to hope, is all we’ve got left
You need to log in to urbis or create an urbis account to review this writing.
Reviews
Sort Reviews by Newest | Oldest | Highest Quality | Lowest Quality | Newest Comments |
JHarvey reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100% of the Item
This 215 word review has not been unlocked.
Matthewtuckey reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100% of the Item
‘literally blind to’- you use the word ‘blind’ a lot in the opening. I think this part could be rearranged; it jars a little.
I think this is more of a blog than a piece of journalism. There’s a lot of speculation and opinion here, as apposed to facts. It all gets heavily poetic and a little unclear.
‘As FF/EMT’s,’ Can you write the abbreviation out in full next to it? I have no idea what it means.
This has some structure to it, but also clarity problems.
- add/view comments (2)
Rhonda9080 reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100% of the Item
I was highly entertained and my heart was warmed! I really loved this piece! There is a huge market for “inspirational” essay-type shorts. Try Guideposts, religious mags, etc. A marketing search will reveal hundreds of possibilities. Also, Firefighter/EMT publications.
The piece is worthy!
As the above reviewer said, they are just a few (very minor) punctuation issues. It needs one more edit or polish (once again, minor tweaking).
For example, this sentence needs just a little overhaul: At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate
Maybe remove “the fact”?
Also, don’t abbreviate ff?emt. Need to spell it out.
This sentence: But what our patients really want to know is, will the pain ever go away? For clarity’s sake and smooth reading, maybe dash it off instead of a comma there in the middle?
There are some amazing, non-cliche nuggets of wisdom in this piece. You are putting a young voice on an old genre, yet, I believe--regardless of age--anyone can relate.
I read this aloud to my husband and it actually prompted some “this is life” type discussion. This is good! This is what you want! You want people to feel like sharing, pondering and discussing!
I give you a “10” and urge you to market these wonderful pieces you’ve been sharing with the Urbis audience!
Bibelotredux reviewed Version 1 -
Read 100% of the Item
The following suggestions are based on the question of publication:
May I suggest placing the last four paragraphs first? I also think that for publication this entry would need to be proofread for punctuation, repetition, etc. For example: Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. -Needs quotation marks.
Having said that, I would also like to add that I really enjoyed this as a journal entry. The musing is interesting, and kept my attention.
I hope my suggestions are helpful.
You have something of worth to say, keep writing!
Bibelot
Showing 1 - 4 of 4
Review item
Add to favesCreator
Relevant Links
Item Stats
GENERAL
4 Reviews 4 Comments
Version 1
Latest Activity: 23 days ago
REVIEW QUEUE
Appeared in Queue: 54 Times
Skipped: 2 Times
Ratings & Rankings
