Sam Manzie Info Page

Here's some samples of my writings...

This 1st one is an essay that I wrote in 8th grade. The topic was "True Friendships Are Forever" & I won 1st place with this essay for the Catholic Daughters Of America Contest...

A true friend is hard to find, but once you have found one, the friendship can last forever.
There are certain qualities that true friends have. A true friend helps you out when you are in trouble, sticks by you through hard times, and is someone you can count on to tell you the truth. A true friend wouldn't just say what they think you want to hear and wouldn't get mad at you if he/she disagrees with you. A true friend will stick by you, even when the popular crowd doesn't. Anything else is being a crowd pleaser, someone who values their own popularity more than the friendship. Also, a true friend is someone you can trust to talk to and share secrets without fearing that they will become a public knowledge.
Even if someone has all these qualities, it may not be a true friendship, because true friendships go both ways. All of the qualities that your friend gives to you should be given back, otherwise one is taking advantage of the other and it wouldn't be a true friendship. True friendships are a very great and valuable thing to have, and if both friends work together, the friendship can last a long time.

This next essay is about Beavis & Butthead. I didn't win any prizes for it or anything, I just wrote it because I was bored back in May of 1997. My purpose was to take a totally nonsense topic & make it sound very intelligently thought out...
Who would win in a fight - Beavis or Butthead?

At first, one might assume that Butthead would win in a fight against Beavis; however, after a deduction of both characters one will find that this is not true. Butthead seems to be the dominant one of the two characters. Butthead is also the stronger one and the one who inflicts more physical abuse on the other. Usually Beavis seems to take it and will submit to Butthead's demands to "Shut-up" only after being physically assaulted by him. There are a few instances, however, where Beavis will be struck by Butthead repeatedly, will get pushed over the edge, and will burst into a paroxysm of violence against Butthead. Thus, it can be concluded that although Beavis gets more injury inflicted upon him, he would win in a fight.

This last essay was written, like the Beavis & Butthead one, for my own leisure. But I actually took a serious topic for this one - I discuss the benefits of an all-boys schools in this essay. I wrote it in March of 1997...
Should CBA Become Co-ed? Sam Manzie's Opinion

First of all, it must be understood that our opinion doesn't matter and that CBA will be an all boys school for a long time to come no matter what we say. Even the state has no say in this since CBA is a private institution which does not recieve public funds.
For three hundred years it has been a tradition for the Lasallian educational institutions to teach males only. The few exceptions to this is when the Christian Brothers took over a school that was already co-ed or when a Christian Brothers school was suffering financially so bad that it had to let girls in to remain opened. One might say about the all boys tradition that it should stop since society accepts more and more the rights of women in modern times. This is a liberalist idea and since I am a conservative, naturally, I do not agree with it. The liberals might call me sexist, but they should take a look at one of the major reasons that people who share their opinion want girls in CBA: They want to have something to stare at during those long, boring 41 minute periods. I say that this reason for wanting girls to go to CBA is more sexist than not allowing them into CBA in the first place.
Some of the liberals have a less sexist argument for this matter: An all boys schools will hinder the social development of the boys attending it. I think that this argument is just an excuse for not having any friends or not being able to get a girlfriend. It is not impossible to have a normal social life while attending a same-sex school. School only takes up ¼ of the day, leaving ¾ to socialize and be with a girlfriend.
Attending an all boys school is helpful for academic studies. Since there are no girls there are some pressures that are taken away. For one, you don't have to worry about looking good to impress anyone. I'm not saying you should look like a slob and not worry about it, but that you only have to look good for yourself and no one else. Next, the absence of girls makes participating in class more comfortable; there is less worry about getting an answer wrong. Last, with the absence of girls there is less emphasis on popularity and cliques; this relives much social tension and allows you to concentrate more on academics.
With all these reasons supporting the concept of all boys schools there are still people who would prefer to be in an educational environment with females. These people shouldn't however complain, because CBA isn't the only school in New Jersey. There are many other private and parochial schools in the area that they could go to.