Something for the kids.
“The Meditation” is a subgenre of the modern personal essay. It is typically 500–1000 words. Below you will see explanations and examples of three different types.
- Question & Answer: A question is posed and then answered in the form of an essay. Topics can include but are not limited to: What is my reason for being alive? Is there a God? If so, what does God do? What’s the deal with guns in America? How is racism developed and perpetuated? Etc.
- Idea/Emotion & Its Symbols: An examination of an idea or an emotion that uses objects to refer to that idea or emotion. Topics can include but are not limited to: happiness and its symbols, sadness and its symbols, death and its symbols, war and its symbols, jealousy and its symbols, etc.
- Objects, Animals, Nature, Art, Events, & Their Meanings: An examination of an idea or an emotion that uses objects to refer to that idea or emotion. Topics can include but are not limited to: a work of art, a play, a piece of music, a book, story, poem, a friend, a pet, the forest, a major life event such as the death of a friend, a bout with disease, a marriage, graduation, etc, a photograph, etc.
