Sample Essay

Write a composition of about 350 words on one of the following topics.

1.      Describe ways to make school a fun place for students.

2.      Completing your first degree is no longer enough to secure a good job. Discuss.

 3.      Write about the advantages and disadvantages of taking selfies.

4.      Write an account of an incident that you witnessed while jogging.

Begin your story with: ‘I couldn’t believe my eyes …’

5.      ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’

Describe how this proverb has affected your life. 

Section B  (Question 4)

 I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was standing there, with a bunch of balloons in his hands, spreading him arms as if he was about to hug the child in front of him. My pace slowed down till I halted. That man standing in front of me, was he really the person I thought he was? He still had that charming smile on his face, his hair was still dark and brown, his suit still looked expensive, his height made people look like dwarves and that small dimple still appeared at his left cheek. It was him. It was really him. I dazed and my heartbeat was still beating fast from the jog. The heartbeat didn’t matter. What mattered was the painful ache I felt in my heart as I watched him happily playing with the child. The child could not be any older than three years old. Was that his daughter? I wondered to myself even though I knew the answer was crystal clear. Who else could it be? 

I didn’t notice when the teardrop fell to my cheeks. I didn’t realise my breathing was uneven. All I knew was it suddenly felt painful to breathe oxygen into my lungs. The normal act of breathing which happened so naturally every day, suddenly became complicated. I fell to my knees, my hands clasping the shirt I was wearing. I tried to calm down but it was so hard. All I felt was pain. Every single air that I breathed in felt like knife poking my lungs. What was going on with me? I could not even open my eyes. My vision darkened. 

“She’s having a panic attack!” I heard someone scream.

            I have only heard of hyperventilation before. I never imagined I would experience it. I could not take the pressure anymore. I felt like every breath I took did not supply any oxygen to my body. I stopped trying to fight. Maybe dying was not such a bad thing. The pain would stop right? Or so I thought. Apparently God decided it was not time for me to leave yet. I opened my eyes slowly and the first thing that I felt was how hoarse my throat was. I felt a hand passing a bottle of water to me. I drank it without waiting for a second to pass. And then I looked up to thank the person. I wish I didn’t; because now I could not run. He looked at me with a worried look on his face.

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

            I wanted to die that instant. How was I supposed to answer that question? Should I stay quiet? Should I open up the things I kept in my heart for the past nine years? Should I scream to his face and tell him he was the reason I was in pain? Should I just break down and let all the tears that I held inside flow out? Should I smack him hard? Should I just give him a smirk? Should I lie? All these questions floated in my mind and I uttered a single reply,

“I’m okay, thanks”.

            I tried to stand so that I could walk away. I could not see his face any longer but how I despised myself at that moment. As much as I felt a strong hatred towards this man in front of me, I also wanted to run into his arms, hug him, cry and say that I miss him. I miss him every second of my life. I miss him during breakfast, lunch and dinner. I miss him every time I see a father spending time with his daughter. I miss having him in my life. But I could not bring him back. I could not make my father be a father to me. He stopped becoming that the day he walked out of my life with his new wife.  

            I ran so that he could not catch me. I did not want him to notice it was me. It has been nine years; I wouldn’t be surprised if he did not know it was me. I was only six when he walked out of the house. I did not understand what was going on. I waved goodbye to him, not knowing that was the last day he set foot on that ground. After that I waited for him every day. I asked my mom again and again and she just said he was not coming back. He has a new life and I am no longer part of it. How could I digest all that when I was six? I grew to hate my mom. I hated her for not stopping my dad from leaving. I hated her for not trying hard enough. I had no idea the pain that she felt at that time.

            And then I grew up. I started to hate going to any social events. Birthdays, parties, sports day – it all reminded me that I was fatherless. I could never blame all these people around me. I could never get angry when Alice’s father immediately ran to her when she fell during the school marathon. I could not complain when Stacy’s father took a day leave from work to be with her on her birthday. I could not be jealous with Tania while she wrote letters with her father because he was in army. I could only be happy for them and long for it again and again. I long to be given just one chance to feel a father’s love again. Just one chance, but I was real enough to know it was just a dream that would never come true.

            Mom had a conference there. That’s why I was staying miles away from home. We were supposed to be there for a week. I accompanied her since it was school holiday. I never expect to see my father in the park. One day I saw the melancholy in my mom’s eyes and I knew I should stop blaming her for everything that happened nine years ago. It was hard enough to lose a husband, I should not be the daughter who hated her mom. That day I learned to be on my mother’s side. I have to be strong for her, who stayed in my life and never walked away. I grew to be protective of her. That’s why it hurts so much when I wanted to run into his embrace. I could not betray my mom. 

            I looked at my father from afar, hoping that he would not notice me. He played with his daughter with the balloons that he bought. I have always loved balloons. God finally answered my prayer. He was finally there, right in front of me. And he was euphoric. You could never escape from noticing that. He loved his new family so much. I let the tears stream down to my cheeks. There was no use holding it in anymore. I was erupting with emotions and crying was the only way to express the pain. This had to be God’s answer to my questions. I should really stop hoping that he would come back into my life. 

            I wiped my tears and turned around. The forlorn in my heart would never disappear, I understood that finally. I did not register myself to be a sad sack, but I would reign myself to overcome it. I guess this meeting was a closure. A closure that God had given me. I walked away from him, leaving all the memories and hopes that I built behind me. I did not want to push him from cloud nine. I would rather move on and accept the fact that he would no longer be part of my life. Through every foot step I took, I said goodbye. When I finally reached home to my mom, I hugged her and told her I love her. She looked at me with a weird expression on her face. I wish I could tell her what happened, but I did not want her to feel the pain that I felt. So I just said, “I was hoping you could cook my favourite food today” and she laughed. She had no idea...  

VOCABULARIES & IDIOMS
1. hyperventilation - the state of breathing faster than necessary
2. sad sack - an inept, blundering person (idiom)
3. cloud nine - a feeling of extreme happiness (idiom)
4. Closure - an occurrence that signifies an ending

Butterfly