Homework, I love you. I think that you’re great.
It’s wonderful fun when you keep me up late.
I think you’re the best when I’m totally stressed,
preparing and cramming all night for a test.

Homework, I love you. What more can I say?
I love to do hundreds of problems each day.
You boggle my mind and you make me go blind,
but still I’m ecstatic that you were assigned.

Homework, I love you. I tell you, it’s true.
There’s nothing more fun or exciting to do.
You’re never a chore, for it’s you I adore.
I wish that our teacher would hand you out more.

Homework, I love you. You thrill me inside.
I’m filled with emotions. I’m fit to be tied.
I cannot complain when you frazzle my brain.
Of course, that’s because I’m completely insane.

This poem, since I first encountered it in the third or fourth grade, has remained one of my favorites. It perfectly illustrates the point of view of a person who sometimes enjoys doing homework and at the same time, absolutely despises it but is powerless to not do it. It’s also quite humorous at times, and the last two lines, ” I cannot complain when you frazzle my brain. Of course, that’s because I’m completely insane,” sometimes applies to me, specifically when I do certain species of math homework.

 

When I was little, I just couldn’t do without my toy airplanes. They were what my primitive child mind considered a necessity, before I learned about carbohydrates, water, protein, and– you get the idea. It was my favorite toy, and every single day, I got some out of my massive box of them and frolicked around with them.

  Now, the jets didn’t have anything real special, like voices, flashy lights, sound effects, and that sort of stuff. That, though, is how they appeared superficially. In my mind, while I was playing with them, a group of tiny F-14 Tomcats was a crucial component of a carrier air wing, poised to defend the country and the task force from any potential hazards, not some small piece of metal or plastic with a paint job slapped on it. A toy P-51 Mustang was the aircraft of a decorated American ace, and I spent some time with it downing make-believe Nazi fighters.

  Those planes remain as one of my favorite toys of my childhood, and I played with them for several years. Unfortunately for the planes, some broke from simple wear and tear, while others were destroyed when I accidentally dropped them, turning to pieces like a real jet falling from the sky and crashing in a fiery explosion. I still think of those planes that simply vanished from my collection, which are probably gathering dust, getting soaked, and possibly rusting in some random location, almost like a decommissioned military plane sitting in a scrapyard.

  They wouldn’t be forgotten, though.

  At some other point in my life, I discovered these awesome paper models of famous fighter jets, and the best part? They could actually soar in the skies, which the toy planes could only dream of truly doing. I got a few models and assembled them, in memory of the old toy airplanes I played with when I was a kid.

Citation: CLASSIC DIECAST AIRPLANE LOT 52 PLANES ERTL MATCHBOX TOOTSIE TOY ZEE MILITARY COMMERCIAL WINGS. 2010. VintageToys.com, n.p.

Three of my paper jets :).