• If I were to write a novel about a fictional character based on real events, I would write the novel about Charlie, the six-year-old boy who finds adventure in a rusting metal sandbox. I would write about Charlie because not many people know what goes on in a child’s mind when he or she is playing alone and I believe the most imaginative moments happen in sandboxes. Throughout the novel I would guide the reader through the thoughts and actions of Charlie and I would connect these thoughts and actions to how they shaped his character and how he is as an adult; showing how he has learned from his mistakes and triumphs. Some examples of his mistakes and triumphs would include the night Charlie left the sandbox uncovered, the week Charlie spent sifting the sand, and how Charlie coped without the sandbox during the winter.

    One night Charlie forgets to cover his sandbox and it rains. The next morning he wakes up to find his sandbox is flooded and not suitable to play in. In the center of his sandbox there is a deep puddle, which cannot be scooped out no matter how hard Charlie tries. Charlie has no choice but to withdraw himself from the sandbox and find another activity for the day. From this unfortunate event Charlie has learned how to think ahead and how to be responsible.

    Charlie takes responsibility to a new level when his older brother gets a pine needle stuck in his foot while in the sandbox. Charlie decides he will sift through all of the sand in his sandbox, to make sure the sand is pure and safe. The first day is spent moving all the sand from one side of the sandbox to the other. This is especially difficult because Charlie doesn’t realize the sand is sliding under the wooden seat in the middle of the sandbox, returning to its original side. A rock barricade is soon built to keep the sand on one side of the sandbox. On the second day Charlie begins his purification process, which starts with removing all the twigs and leaves. By the third day, Charlie has successfully removed the larger objects from the sand and he begins to sift the sand into the empty side of the sandbox. It takes him three more days to sift all the sand into the other side, and another day to remove the rock barricade and redistribute the sand equally. Satisfied with his work, Charlie heads inside for the day. The next afternoon he returns to his sandbox, only to find it filled with twigs and leaves. Charlie’s eyes fill with tears almost immediately, which is followed by his brothers making fun of him and throwing more twigs and leaves into his sandbox. From this experience Charlie learned that the result of hard work can often be disappointing, but dwelling in that disappointment will only make things worse.

    The first days of winter were always difficult for Charlie because he knew he would be without his refuge for months. Charlie once trudged through the foot of snow to his sandbox, only to discover that the snow made the cover too heavy to lift. Charlie spent the rest of that day sitting in the snow pile on top of his sandbox. As the interminable weeks passed, Charlie grew more and more impatient. He spent nearly every day looking out the window on his backdoor at the mound of white that used to be his sandbox. After an eternity of waiting, Charlie’s sandbox was uncovered. As soon as he saw the metal cover stick out of the snow, Charlie raced to it. As his ungloved hands reached to lift the cover off, he was scooped up by a tall man. His father brought him inside and told him that he was not to play in the sandbox until the sand was replaced. Charlie had no choice but to listen to his father and continue waiting. Four weeks later, the snow was all gone and the sand was replaced. Through these months of waiting, Charlie learned how to be patient with things he couldn’t control and with the people around him.

    Patience, hard work, responsibility, and thinking ahead. I would like to believe that those are all the things needed to be successful in life. Charlie’s story is not a made-up one. Charlie’s story is my story. This essay enforces my belief that everything that happens to us as children shape our character and the way we act today is a direct result of experiences in our past. I learned life’s biggest lessons from sitting in a rusting metal sandbox in a corner of my yard when I was six years old.