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Regina Zuniga
Professor Batty
English 114 A
14 December 2014
The Day I Took a Life
As humans we do not think of every action we do or how it may or may not affect us in
the future. We naturally tend to make idiotic choices that at the moment seem logical and
necessary. Many humans usually do things out of impulse and then later think of what it is that
we have done, but eventually in the end we just tend to shake it off and not worry of what it is
that we did. We do not see beyond what we fear and nor do we see if what it is that we are doing
is right or wrong. Our personal needs outweigh the needs of the many. Even if we do have a
sense of pity, some how we manage to continuously do actions that have effects on various
animals who do not have the fault of anything. We fear them, and that is why we take the life of
an innocent animal. In the novel Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why its so Hard
to Think Straight about Animals by Hal Herzog, he identifies the different relationships that
humans have towards specific animals. He provides us with examples that show how certain
animals are treated better than others. Humans want to be the superior race; we do not want an
animal or a bug to bring fear to us. So we take advantage of the power and size that we have
towards them because we are able to access more of our brain than they are, making animals and
insect less intelligent than us.
Unfortunately, I was one of those idiotic persons who decided to take the action of killing
and becoming the superior one. Yes, I would kill bugs because I believed them to be disgusting,
and I saw insects to be the most intolerable things. They were unbearable to be around. Then one

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day, I attempted to kill a cockroach. I failed miserably because I was unable to kill the insect
completely. When I heard the cracking noise it made as I stepped on it, it brought a sense of pity
and regret. I could feel the pain it felt while my foot crushed the poor bug. This feeling of regret
crossed my body creating a response that did not allow me to end the life of the cockroach even
if it was suffering. I could not be the one to fully kill it. Then, I thought of all the pain that the
bug must have been feeling, and I felt like someone had done it to me; it was torture. As I felt the
cracking that my foot caused on the poor bug occurring to me, I could feel my bones collapsing
one after another, breaking, and I pictured myself slowly dying with pain. Unfortunately, it was
too late for me to do anything about the cockroaches condition, so in order for me to end the
pain I had to ask my sister to end the life of the poor bug that I had tried to kill.
Although I did take the life of an innocent animal, I learned from this. I took this very
seriously because I no longer wanted to kill another living creature. Even if I am the superior one
in terms of intelligence, it doesnt mean that I have the power to end an innocent life that is
only trying to survive. This was a horrible experience, but it was also very meaningful and eye
opening for me. This taught me that we should not have the right to end the life of any living
thing. These poor insects are entitled to being here on Earth. After all, we are the invaders. Many
of these creatures have been here much longer than we have.
In the novel Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why its so Hard to Think
Straight about Animals by Hal Herzog, he begins by stating, the way we think about other
species defies logic (Herzog 1). The author does not intend to really form an argument nor does
he attempt to change the readers viewpoints towards the way you think of animals. He writes
this book not to change your mind about how we should treat animals but to encourage you to
think more deeply about the psychology and moral implications of some of our most important

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relationships. (Herzog 12-13). Herzogs novel connects to my story because the cockroach
falls in the category of those we hate, but it shouldnt be like that. All living creatures should be
treated equally. These animals that we kill are so much more than we know. For example,
cockroaches are vastly superior to the human race because they are so durable and strong. These
details about specific animals that we dislike we tend to lack information about them and why
they are so important to this world. Cockroaches should not be feared, but instead taken care of.
So if one is ever seen inside your house you should not kill it, but instead take it outside and let it
live freely. You save an innocent life by not becoming frightened of these beautiful, strong
creatures. Yes we are physically bigger and we are more intelligent due to the access that we
have of our brain. This makes us superior to an extent, but these creatures can out live a nuclear
attack.
This experience allowed me to see that even though we are superior to animals due to our
size and brain access we shouldnt feel nor think that it is okay to end their life. This was my
idiotic action, which now I know was not okay for me to do. The feeling of overpowering an
innocent creature brought no satisfaction, but regret. Through the information that Herzog
provides in his book, it discusses and shows statistics on why we dislike and like specific
animals. I now have a better understanding of why we treat animals the way we do and why it is
that we want to be the superior race. Life is not always about whos better, but about who can
make a change.

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Work Cited Page
Herzog, Hal. Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's so Hard to Think Straight
about Animals. New York, NY: Harper, 2010. Print.