Essay by Luke Foster
“Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.”
Dalai Lama
I hope everyone buys my book Mothers Love as most of it was ok but some was a bit fruity and I praised people now that I realise weren’t excellent role models.
I was so sad when I didn’t make any money after the first 9 months as I spent over $4000 Aus and didn’t make one cent apart from the 25 complimentary copies I sold and gave away three to close friends. It also took me a few years to write.
Here is one of the essays:
Fred Hollows and his Foundation
“Leave the world a better place.” Fred Hollows
Sadly, Fred has passed away but under the guidance of his partner Gabi the Fred Hollows Foundation does important work in restoring sight and other eye treatment in developing countries and in outback Australia. Sight can be restored for as little as $25. The foundation does work in over 19 countries.
One example of the amazing work the foundation does is the elderly lady Palzin. Living in the poorest part of India, Palzin was blind from cataracts in both eyes. Palzin travelled over 200km over rugged Himalayan roads to an eye clinic that the foundation helped support. Palzin was one of 183 patients whose life was transformed with a 10-minute operation by the world’s best ophthalmologist, Dr Sanduk Ruit, friend and colleague of Fred. She was ecstatic when her sight was restored and was restored her hope and independence. This is one story of 449,768 operations the foundation did in 2013.Forty-eight medical facilities were built or upgraded.
Fred once said that “The basic attribute of mankind is to look after each other.”
I think many of us take our vision for granted and it’s hard to imagine what it’s like to live without sight when 4 out of 5 blind people can have their sight restored. So, if you give generously then Fred’s amazing legacy can continue and as little as $25 can restored sight to one patient.
And another essay:
How To Save Your Pennies!
It’s no fun being poor. It’s not good to be a tight arse but it’s wise to work hard and save your pennies. Which means being careful with your money and save as much as you can. My mother has taught me how to save money and I have been able to work and escape the poverty cycle.
The best way to save is to bank as much as possible on your pay day and live off the rest. If you grow your own vegetables in a community garden then the food will be healthy and inexpensive. Getting your hands dirty in the earth is grounding and enjoyable.
For clothes a mixture of second-hand clothes from the op shop and new clothes for jackets, socks, underwear and hats is good.
Don’t overspend and get yourself in debt.
Credit cards are useful for credit on overseas holidays but are best to be cancelled when you return from your travel.
Don’t borrow money from friends or lend money as this is a sure way to lose integrity and sure way to break a friendship.
Try to give up smoking and drinking if these are your bad habits. They are expensive and very unhealthy.
Once you have banked some money reward yourself with a music album or piece of clothing.
It is possible to break the poverty cycle if you work hard and save money and are thrifty and frugal with your spending habits.
Another essay is:
Brainstorming with writing, diagrams and drawings to navigate complex conceptual problems
“Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.” Edward De Bono
The way I usually write an essay that is difficult is to use a big A3 pad and draw a figure central to the problem with an Artline 200 pen in the middle of the page. For example, with my “Predicting Sorry Day in America” essay I started with a drawing of Johnny Depp dressed up as Charlie Chaplin. If you are writing in a think tank team then using a smart board or white board and white board marker would be more effective with one person as scribe.
If you are no artist then don’t be shy its hard at first but gets easier with practise. Then literally brainstorm. Put arrows from the drawing to different parts of the page. Write a few sentences at a time in point form. Then once you can’t come up with any more ideas then start translating the simplistic ideas into more complex tailored sentences.
This way of brainstorming worked a treat for me with the “Predicting Sorry Day I America” essay and with other essays. Make sure you start with an opening quote preferably funny that warms up the audience and puts them in an open mind set to negotiate new ideas. Then start with an opening paragraph where you outline the main issues and where the issues are heading.
The middle paragraphs should also have the occasional joke to open up people’s hearts as well as their mind and fill out the problems at stake and answers to those problems.
The final paragraph should wrap up the argument and leave the ideas open to interpretation and further rigorous academic inquiry.
It’s also good to use visual aids in the form of diagrams, photos or employ an illustrator to make a funny illustration that accentuates the point of the essay.
This is my tried and tested way of writing essays that are simple for even a child to read and complex enough to challenge even the most rigorous intellectual.
Remember humour is always the best way for people to open the audience’s hearts and minds and to leave an impression that they will never forget.
I work alone but listen to everyone’s input once I have done a draft if it’s a grandmother, my mum or friends or even a kid riding a scooter or skateboard. Then I take on board their advice and through long walks near the beach process all the information then tweak and rewrite my little essays if needed.
Also, as a final tip for essays to navigate complex conceptual problems: be a bit psychic. In this I mean try to guess what your audience is thinking. In this case my main audience is the think tanks of the left and right in the USA. I figure they say that the peace game costs a lot every day. However, they say I shouldn’t be just given lots of money and a new house or apartment as I am a role model for the poor of the world. I have to work hard to escape the poverty cycle so it is realistic and achievable for all the poor in the world that if they work hard and save carefully then they can escape the poverty cycle too. Well, that’s my guess what the, think tanks are thinking. I may be wrong.
