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Some of the carbon atoms in your skin may once have been part of an leaf, dinosaur skin, or a layer of limestone in the ocean. Alexander Hamilton or a hunter-gatherer from 50,000 years ago may have breathed some of the nitrogen molecules you just inhaled. The water you drank may have been in the Nile River 10,000 years ago or in a cloud just 2 months ago.

Write a 200-250 word essay describing your travels as a carbon, nitrogen, or water (H2O) drop over these millions of years.

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Answer:

As a lone drop of water, I have had the privilege to travel throughout history as a part of infinite stories. Over millions of years, I have been a part of the Nile River, an important source of life to many civilizations in my travels.

I remember the first rush of adrenaline when it left the clouds, cascading down to the lower atmosphere in a ballet of sorts. Upon meeting the ground, the ride continued - a rollercoaster of a journey. I jumped on the back of wild animals, drifted between the lush vegetation of the savanna, and followed the herds of mammoths and dinosaurs.

Over time, I found myself part of a larger body of water. I swam through the passionate rain of desert storms and the floodwaters of monsoons. Everywhere I went, I felt safe and secure, a part of something larger, more powerful than my individual self. Eventually, I found my way into the Nile River and stayed there for many years, a “drop in the bucket”, if you will.

As the ages passed, I started to feel the pull of a changing world. A big wave rushed me into a different landscape - molten rocks, vast seas, and shifting plates. This time, I was part of the geological timescale and I could feel the changes the world was undergoing in its transformation. And then, in the blink of an eye, the dust particles around me recombined, I felt a new relationship with the carbon and nitrogen molecules that now made up my form.

The next chapter of my journey was a lot quieter, spending thousands of years inside shells, coral, dead creatures and plants, even in the form of limestone in the ocean depths. A few centuries ago, I encountered the atmosphere, connecting me with a new wave of creatures, like Alexander Hamilton, unaware of the role I played in their lives.

Today, I am a drop of water, breathing and living inside someone’s lungs - the same lungs that took in oxygen millions of years ago. The same lungs that inhaled this nitrogen previous generations of creatures have breathed. The same lungs that keeps the cycle of life spinning, and me reminiscing in my travels - my journey of millions of years.

Step-by-step explanation:

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