Ajda Mozetic
Science 8A
Mr. Goredetsky
1/21/2012
I am Pandacorn
“When we are born, the deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA) in our bodies contains the blueprints for who we are and instructions for
who we will become.” I wish Dr. Blue was here now. His words of wisdom, his
words about me made me feel calmer but now that I’ve proved him correct what
happens? Being one of a kind is challenging enough but learning about myself?
Who thought I was up to that. Being a Pandacorn has played me my entire
existence. Yes I have super speed of unicorns and super poop from panda’s but
is that enough to make me shine? To make me special? Ever since that night I’ve
never known if I should be happy about my transformation or if I should be
miserable. Whenever I go back to that day it makes me wish I’d never ran away
from my mum. I wish that I’d been like my brother, who always obeyed the ruled and
played it safe. But we can’t change who we are can we? So this is my story of
how I came to be.
(FLASHBACK)
“Just around the
corner! I’ll just take a quick peek!”
I ran towards the
edge. I leaned my head down and gazed upon the beautiful scenery in front of
me. Ice cold water spread all around me. It sparkled in the morning soon. The
trees at the bottom where full of bright green leaves. The grass gently swayed
in the soft wind. Birds softly murmured their melodies as they danced above us
and welcomed us into a brand new day. The air was filled with the smell of
lovely nature. It was breathtaking. My gaze stopped at the very left side of
the beautiful land. There stood the biggest and greenest pile of bamboo I’ve
ever seen. My mouth watered as I gazed upon the tasty stalks of heaven. I
smiled to myself as I laid eyes on a short steep path that led down to the
platform filled with mouth watering bamboo.
I turned around abruptly and jogged towards the trial. Mother had
stopped calling me by then so I decided I could use my luck a little longer. My
sparkly silver horn sparkled in the sun as I made my way down the path. I
galloped slowly watching not to trip over anything. I reached the bottom in no
time and adjusted my eyes. The bamboo stood tall and hard and made my eyes go
all the way around. I stepped closer and inhaled that beautiful smell.
“Mhhmmm…”
I murmured to
myself as I let my head down, opened my mouth and took the first bite. It
melted in my mouth. The taste flooded my tongue and slid down my throat without
hesitation. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the rich taste. I opened my mouth
again and grazed on the bamboo again. Slowly I let my bottom touch the floor
and rest. My eyes were closed, body exposed to the warm sun and my mouth full
of the magnificent bamboo. Nothing could ruin this magical moment. Slowly I
dozed off into the world of dreams…Bamboo captured my mind and my eye lids
shattered before closing completely.
(END OF FLASHBACK)
Why in the world
did I need to fall asleep? I knew that we unicorns shared very similar DNA. I
learned in school that 99.9% of my DNA sequence is the same as any other
unicorns. The other 0.1% of our DNA difference has to do with the number of nucleotides in our DNA. All this Mr.
Blue said was why all unicorns have trouble staying awake once hypnotized by
something they love. I was clearly hypnotized by the bamboo. Dr. Blue also
stated that 50% of our genes are shared between us, our siblings and our
parents. Which meant that my brother should have the same affect when eating
bamboo right? But he was always in such control and never broke rules. How come
we were so different?
(FLASHBACK)
My dreams were suddenly interrupted
when something stung my neck. I could feel it getting deeper and deeper into my
flesh. I was paralyzed. I felt droll roll down my furry neck. Pain spread
through me and I was unable to move. It paralyzed me. I knew something had bit
me but I didn’t know what. Warmth spread through me. I felt like I was burning.
As if the sun had become more hot. That moment Andrew’s words replayed in my
head; “An important property of DNA is that it can replicate, or make
copies of itself. Each strand of DNA in the double helix can serve as a pattern
for duplicating the sequence of bases. This is critical when cells divide
because each new cell needs to have an exact copy of the DNA present in the old
cell.” Did that mean that know that the poison in the creature that was biting
me would duplicate inside of me?! Will that completely change my orgasms? My
eyes were beginning to close again and the pain duplicated. I felt as if I was
changing. Growing. Suddenly the grip loosened and my body collapsed on the
ground. My eye lids shattered again and right before they closed I coughed a
glimpse of a baby panda running towards the woods. My eyes collapsed.
(END OF FLASHBACK)
I still remember
waking up and feeling different. I felt fatter and for some reason warmer. I
glanced down at my body and froze. I was covered in black and white hair.
Quickly I got onto my four feet and galloped towards the water. When I saw my
reflection I froze. I was half panda and half unicorn. Many unicorns in our
village have mistakenly believed that the DNA with which we are born is the
sole determinant for who we are and will become. So did that mean that they
always knew I would change into a Pandacorn? Did that mean I was meant to be
like this? No. Blueprints can predict things like how tall we will be or the
color of our eyes but it cannot tell whether we will transform into something
that hasn’t been shown to the world yet. Well now, it’s my time. Pandacorns are
about to get exposed.
