This is my descriptive/narrative essay. In this case it counts as two in one because the two types are so similar. A descriptive essay focuses on...you guessed it...description! A narrative essay is generally written on a personal experience. For the descriptive/narrative essay, I decided to write about my experience going to Dachau as part of a choral/band group. I also used what was (for me) a lot of description.
Also worth mentioning:
Some of these are pretty cheesy. For me, this was one of them.
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Dachau
Dachau is full of paradoxes. Hope and death are evident everywhere you look. The reminder of death, of suffering, still lingers in the air among the colorless buildings. However, look closer and you see signs of life. Colorful flowers still bloom against the lush grass, spreading over most of the area around the concentration camp. Above, songbirds dart through the air, chirping exuberantly as the sun shines. As bleak as it may first seem, it serves as a reminder that in the midst of sorrow, hardship, and death, life still goes on.
Of course, I only realized this much later. My first impression was actually of being herded into a corral, like cattle. The path seemed quite roomy at first, but shrank as it went on. However, the closeness wasn't uncomfortable. The group I went with had been touring Europe while giving musical performances for about a month. Throughout our journey, we had become very close, and in every action lurked the awareness that our time together was coming to an end. Walking along the path, we observed trees, grass, and various flowers growing in abundance, at odds with the solemnity of the situation. As if on cue, the path began to grow narrower, causing us to squeeze together.
All along the path I had seen metal glinting in the distance. Now, I came face to face with the fence. It was high, seemingly insurmountable, and topped with barbed wire. On either side was a type of no man's land. There, the land was free from any brush or trees, and the grass was cut pitifully short. So the guards could clearly see any prisoners if they tried to escape, I thought. What I could see inside the fence seemed to support my view. All the buildings were crowded in the middle, with at least a couple yards separating them from the fence. It made sense. It's easier to shoot someone who's making a run for it if there's nothing getting in your way.
Occupied with my thoughts, it took me a while to notice that we had approached the gate. There, we slowed down, trickling through the entrance a few at a time. Part of this was due to the gate itself. A behemoth of hard steel, it rose before us with a rather ominous air. During our journey there, the path had shrunk. Now, we pressed tightly against each other, fighting for room. The crowd smelled of body odor and bad breath, causing many people to get antsy and shift continuously from one foot to another. At the gate, it grew narrower still. I shuffled closer to Emily, one of my friends. A short, shy blonde, she had roomed with me for the majority of the trip. Mostly shy but at times rather abrasive, she stood closely to me due to the crowd at the gate. Before entering, I looked up. Something in German was inscribed on top of the gate. Being unable to read it, I looked around. By the side of the gate was a metal plaque. Hard to make out unless you were right by it, the plaque had the German words from the gate on it. Underneath was the translation: "Work makes you free".
Inside, the ground was mostly packed dirt. People of various nationalities and languages milled around, some looking rather distraught. Despite the number of people, it was mostly quiet out of respect. The one exception was a group of Japanese tourists. They talked really fast and loud, practically shouting at each other despite the fact that the other person was right next to them. In their defense, I don't believe they completely understood the significance of Dachau. Many had slightly confused looks on their faces, like they didn't quite know what was going on. However, it was still a little jarring in the relatively silent area.
