Penn Essay- You have finished your 300 page autobiography. Please submit page 217.

in 2078. That year, Chinese New Year was truly memorable for me. It was the last family reunion I would have that I didn’t feel a little hollow, like somebody dear to me was missing. I was luckier than most, and I had only encountered Death very briefly with the deaths of my grandparents over two decades ago and one daughter to a car accident. I shake my head with pity when I think about the huge number of lives that was once lost to automobile accidents. The last similar incident was when some crazed Taiwanese guy had attempted to fly his relic Mercedes Benz Model 2004 on the expressway two years ago. The man couldn’t even make it into Level 1 of the Troposphere! His story definitely won a Darwin Award, and is one my parents have told countless times (being still somewhat grudging against the Taiwanese). But on that day, I was way too happy to have death on my mind.
238 family members showed up from every corner of the world at my large 492nd floor suite in Time Square, Manhattan. My parents took the scenic 5-hour Pacific/Atlantic Ocean Amtrak from their senior citizens sorority home in Hong Kong. Many of my children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, and one great-great-great grandson had come too. By the time everyone arrived, the night sky was already beginning to light up with introductory fireworks that would last for another hour before the 15-minute intermission would precede the real fireworks show of the night. As we all stood out in the gigantic balcony viewing the fireworks, I smiled to see that every apartment exterior and building in my sight bore proudly a Chinese flag and was decorated for the occasion in a festive red and yellow. I laughed in mirth to see that all around neighbors were stepping out onto their balcony to view the fireworks, eat, and exchange red envelopes. A few were even setting off traditional firecrackers like the Chinese had in the 19th century. I was overjoyed; everybody celebrated this day like it was his or hers. Even Joe Schmoe who last year had been rallying to end the Treaty of Global Holiday Awareness bore a Chinese flag proudly on his door, although I couldn’t detect any sign of celebration in his apartment. But it was not until one of my great grandsons mentioned that air traffic had been raised 2 miles globally that year to clear the sky for fireworks that I really knew it had happened. Nothing like that had ever been done for any holiday but Christmas.
The Treaty of Global Holiday Awareness had been signed by the 200 nations of the United Nations more than twenty years ago in an effort to promote world peace, cultural awareness and exchange, and a global work/school calendar system. The treaty caused more than ¾ of the Gregorian calendar days to become a globally recognized holiday. Initially the treaty cause more problems than peace. People from all nations and cultures were demanding to have their holidays to count as a day off work and school. So many violent movements broke out against the treaty that it was almost repealed! But that day as I looked in the sky, my heart warmed to see people finally settling down and uniting but keeping their diverse cultures.
The night sky danced with animated fireworks. Red, white, golden, and black dragons whizzed through the sky chasing each other amidst the peal of laughter from the children and adults. I laughed remembering the same delight I had shown for heart fireworks or smiley face fireworks that my younger descendants would scorn at.
Seconds after the last firework display was done and the smoky night sky began to quiet, my great-great-great grandson from Britain delivered these famous words that I shall never forget. “Buggggeerr! That was bloooodddy hell!! I want more!” I was amazed. Those words were the first I had heard uttered from this quiet boy of 15 months.
“Oh, He has been talking for months now. Some say he is a child prodigy,” explained my great- great granddaughter, Josephine apologetically.
“Well Samuel,” I cackled and coughed with my shriveled, old throat, “Tomorrow we celebrate the Brazilian Amazon Conservation day!” And I gathered my many descendants around me as I began my long, enthusiastic tirade on how in my younger days I had gone with my husband to Brazil and led the movement to save the rainforest and bring about this global holiday. My audience slowly

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A Few Foot Notes:

· Level 1 of the Troposphere- Earth’s atmosphere consists of the troposphere, tropopause, stratosphere, stratopause, mesosphere, mesopause, and thermosphere. I am imagining that in the year 2078 the primary mode of transportation would be through air (possibly with flying cars). I think there will be different levels people enter in order to keep order- the higher the level the farther the length of travel or destination. Because I believe computers will drive automobiles automatically, accidents will be almost nonexistent in this year.
· When I mention my parents being still somewhat grudging against the Taiwanese, I am just referring to the common Chinese political grudge against Taiwanese (and Japanese)
· Darwin Awards exist and are awarded to people who die because they did something not very intelligent.
· Pacific/Atlantic Ocean Amtrak is like an underwater subway system with see-through sides so it would be scenic.
· Red envelopes are given out with money traditionally on Chinese New Years.
· “Air traffic had been raised 2 miles globally” may become common terminology in the future, referring to the Levels of automobile travel. For an instance, if Level 3 of Stratosphere is typically 25 miles higher than ground level, it will become 27 miles higher than ground level after being raised 2 miles.

Obviously everything in this story is purely fictional, and a lot of it isn’t even scientifically backed up. I do not claim to be an expert on the possibility of a vehicle flying so high into the air and the level of ultraviolet exposure that would cause. But a lot of what I do write is something I believe is where our world is generally heading.