Angela’s Plan

I walked up to the podium and looked out at the sea of black and crying faces.

I started, “My best friend Angela was the most amazing person I ever met. She wouldn't stand in a covey and not include other people or abase other people. She was always a benign person. Angela was someone who lived every day to its fullest.She did things capriciously. She was a person that was taken from this world too early. I truly believe that she made this world and everyone in it just a little bit better. And for that her death should not be mourned but her life celebrated.”

I started to feel myself choke up and sat back down in my seat. I wanted to crawl into a crevice and hide. I couldn't believe that just a few months ago Angie was trying to get me to go skydiving. She was always the adventurous one out of the two of us. I was always weighing to pros and cons of everything. It was like I worried so much I let my life pass by and did’t even notice it. Angie did’t live her life that way. It was always what will be today’s adventure. Sadly her life’s adventure ended at only 17.

Angie had always been a really active person but one day accidentally cut her self and began to hemorrhage. She went to the doctor and found out she had leukemia and only had about a few months to live which was spent in the hospital. She had accepted it and spent her last days with me and her family.

It had been about two months after her death when Angie would surprise me with one more adventure. One night at dinner my mom said, “You got a package today”. “That’s strange”, I replied. It thwarted me. I never order things online and my birthday was not for another five months. Then I got excited because I was expecting collage expectant letters to come back pretty soon. I ran up into my room and saw a small package on my bead.

I picked it up and looked at. There was no return address on it. I shook it and had no idea what it was. I walked over to my desk and grabbed some scissors. I don’t know why but i got deja vu. I could just picture Angie sitting at my desk like we always did and laughing at a funny video we were watching. A tear ran down my face and I quickly wiped it away. I cut open the package and ten DVDs fell out. They all had numbers on them. Then at the bottom of the box there was a letter.

It read:

Dear Andy,

If you are reading this you know I have passed on. The cancer may have gotten me but I will still live in everyone’s hearts. But enough about me, this is about you!

I have enclosed ten DVD’s every one has a task on it for you to complete. I lived my life thinking every day was my last. And good thing I did because as we know my days were limited. Now I want you to live your life the same way. Each DVD has a task you must complete on it. You cannot watch the next DVD until you have completed the task it has assigned.

I have enclosed $5,000 dollars to pay for your expenses. And before you get all huffy and say i it is too superfluous just remember I was saving up to help pay for collage but as we know I won’t be needing it.

You are probably thinking I am crazy but I have a feeling you will understand when you are done. You really were my best friend and I loved you very much!

Thinking of you from heaven …
Angela Smith


I didn’t now how this was possible. I sat there crying just staring at the DVDs for a while. Finally I built up enough courage and put the DVD labeled #1 into the DVD player. Angela’s face popped up onto the screen, she was sitting in her hospital bed. One of the nurses must have taped it for her.

“Hi Andy, don’t be sad that I’m gone just remember I am in a better place. Your first task is to go on a little adventure. Tell your parents that you will be gone for a few weeks. They will understand I have already talked to them. Drive to the Airport and take the 7:45 plane at gate G. Once you find out your destination you can watch disk #2 on your potable DVD player. You are not allowed any maps or electronics besides the portable DVD player. Only take one backpack full of clothes noting else. See ya soon!”

I didn’t know what to think a whole bunch of thoughts flooded my mind. What would happen? Where was I going? What did I need to pack? How could i do this with such a small anecdote of what to do ? Then I stopped dead in my tracks and thought I am doing it again. I am letting my life pass by while I a weighing the pros and cons again. I ran over to my closet filled up my backpack with clothes and stuffed the Portable DVD player and the DVDs into my bag.

The next morning I was boarding a plane. The pilot came over the loud speaker and announced that we would be landing in Cape Town, Africa in about 24 hours. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing I little Andrea Collins from South Chester, Colorado was going to Africa.

I reached into my bag and popped in DVD #2. Again Angela appeared onto the screen.

She said,” By now I assume you found out you will be going to Cape Town, Africa. It was always my dream to go there. Once you land you must travel to a small village called Java Unna. You may not use any maps or electronics to get there, once you are there find a woman named Robeen Mandel tell her Angela sent you. She will let you stay with her. You may then watch DVD #3.”

I started to panic when I heard I had to find the village all by myself. I was horrible with directions. But I made a decision to no longer think about anything and to just go were life takes me.

The plane landed what seemed like an eternity later. I was hurried off the plane by a flight attendant. When I stepped out into the airport I was hit by a wave of heat. I was glad that I had packed some shorts. Now I had to find my way to the village. I got my backpack from baggage claim and headed out into this beautiful new city. I found out that Cape Town is a really big city. It is Africa’s second largest city. It was beautiful and all the people were so inviting and warm.

It took me over an hour but after asking around and taking a short taxi ride I finally arrived at Java Unna. It was not at all like I expected it. It wasn’t like the westernized city I just came from. It was still a very rural almost untouched village. People still lived in grass and clay huts and wore traditional African clothing. I felt uncomfortable to invade on there lives but they didn’t seem to mind. A little girl came up to me and asked “Are you lost?” in the cutest voice ever. I replied “no I am looking for Robeen Mandel. “ Oh I’ll bring you to her”, she said and grabbed my hand.

We walked past a few more homes until we reached a bigger hut. She walked inside and I followed. It was a lot bigger inside than I had anticipated. It had two beds and a closet. It was very rococo. It had tribal masks and traditional colors.There were open houses that everyone shared like bathrooms and the cooking areas.

“Hi I am Andrea, Andy for short”, introducing herself.
“I have been waiting for you”, Robeen responded, “You can get settled in I am sure your tired, in the morning you will start your adventure.

Over the next two weeks I completed and watched 7 more DVDs. I had done many new things and tried things I would never dream of doing before now.

Task #3: Work with the locals to raise the cattle and do agrian work
Task #4: Go cave diving
Task #5: Go swimming with the Sharks
Task #6: Ask an local boy out
Task #7: Go skydiving
Task #8: Snorkel in the reefs
Task #9: Take place in a local tribe celebration

I would never have dreamed of ever doing these crazy things. But to my surprise I did. And not once was I scared. I had developed such prowess. I was impromptu. For the first time in my life I did things without thinking.

On the last day of my trip I had one more DVD to watch. I removed it carefully from its case and put it into the portable DVD player. For the last time I saw Angeles face.

“So by now if you’re watching this you have completed your tasks. You have not thought about things before doing them. You did things spur of the moment and actually lived you’re life. You have completed nine tasks and I have one more task for to complete. You most remember the past weeks of your life and remember the way you lived it. Because we both know very well that life is short. You have completed your tasks. Now you must live as every day is your last!

And that is just what I did. I lived everyday as it was my last. Until the day it was my last.

Hoof-Beats and Holidays

Everyone has a different opinion to the question what is really valuable in these modern ages? I believe the answer will always be changing from person to person and from time to time. To me personally there are two types of values. There are values that you can put a price tag on and thing that there could be no price high enough to compare it to. I understand that something that may be priceless to me may not be to the next person. To me a priceless object could not be sold for anything or any amount in the world. Something that has financial worth and is valuable to me is something I could put a price on.

I wake up early so I can be the first one to move the cat on the Santa countdown calendar. The Santa has been long gone for many years and now it’s the stuffed cat that gets silently moved to the next pocket with that special number moving us one day closer to that great day! As there begins to be a cool chill in the air the excitement builds within me. The days will soon be getting shorter and the nights falling upon us earlier. When will the first ghostly white blanket fall is a mystery. But when it does come you will know it from the second you get up because the faint smell of cleanness still lingers in the air. As the countdown gets closer my family and I all pick a certain date.

On that date we all bundle up in the warmest things we can find and head out to the Christmas tree farm In search of that perfect tree. It can’t be too tall but not too short but now it can’t be too round. But after what might feel like an eternity of inspecting each one searching for any imperfections we finally spot it. The perfect tree!! When the tree has been decorated, the shopping has been done.

The desserts baked and the gifts wrapped. It is finally the day we have been waiting for. It’s the time we set aside the arguing and the disagreements. It is a day of being together and enjoying each others company. And what a great day it is. And after the gifts have been opened and the food is all gone it is just me and my family sitting around listening to the soft crackle of the wood stove and the carols playing in the background, Then a as if it has always been there a soft blanket of snow falls silently outside our window. This moment is truly priceless.

I walk towards the open field in front of me. I let out a soft whistle and a whinny came back in reply then the soft thud of hoofs in the grass. He rounds the corner and canters towards the gate. I greet him with a hello then we proceed out the gate. As we walk together he towers over me he is a big chestnut Quarter Horse and Morgan mix and he is truly beautiful. He is known as All Fired Up in the show ring but to me he is simply known as Champion or Champ for short.

We saddle up and head swiftly towards the indoor ring. We get started with a soft and steady trot. Once we get into a rhythm he picks up his speed and the walls become a blur rushing beside us. His hooves pound into the ground and his nostrils flair as we approach the jump. There is a split second of nervousness but then his legs move swiftly up and over the jump we are soaring and the feeling changes to excitement. I don’t have to be riding to enjoy being with him. It could be just him and I sitting there silently together with Champ eating grass and me just watching him do it oh so gracefully. They say there is two different relationships people have with horse either verbal where people bond by talking to their horses, or silent, when you bond by just understanding each other without actually talking. Champ and I have a silent bond. Even though I sadly could put a price on my horse and he is very valuable I would never actually accepting the offer.
Even though a horse and Christmas are two very different things to me they do have some similarities! The main one is of course the fact that they are both very valuable to me for different reasons. They both mean different things to me but they are also very different. For starters a horse is an animal and Christmas is obviously not. Both of my objects are very valuable to me even though they may be different!
The answer to the question what is valuable today is a very diverse one. To me my horse has great financial worth to me and is very valuable. Even though I love my horse to death nothing could ever replace the memories of holidays with my family which makes them truly priceless. So your answer may be different to the question but mine is very simple hoof-beats and holidays.