Prompt: Talk about a time when you thought it was the end of the world and what its impact on you has been
I am welcome to criticism and any grammatical errors. Thanks for reading!
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It was during the time of high school applications, not much different from what it's like now. I was applying to the TOPS magnet program and after gathering all of the required documents, after hours of studying and essay writing, I was finally ready for the big entrance exam. Still, to double check, I sat on the floor of my room going through my list of what to bring the next day:
Report card-check; extracurricular list - check; essay-check; calculator - check; pencils-check; teacher recommendations...
My heart started racing, each beat pushing against my chest. Where were they? I asked myself. Then I remembered: they were in my desk at school. The sheer size of my mistake knocked the breath out of me. I had always been careful, meticulous in everything I did. I wanted to seclude myself in my room. I wanted to be alone so no one would see how worthless and inadequate I was.
"Hurry up and rest for the exam," my parents shouted.
Just leave me alone. Maybe if I went to sleep it would all sort out in the morning.
I closed my eyes and drifted into something like sleep. I had a dream: I was 25 years old, unemployed, homeless and without a high school diploma. I sat alone on the sidewalk watching the people of the city stride back and forth, all of them with recommendation letters. I reached out to grab the ... then suddenly I felt like I was floating, drifting away from my spot on the sidewalk. My eyes darted open and I found myself balanced on the hind legs of my chair, about to fall over. My left arm shot out and grabbed onto the desk.
In that moment my mind achieved clarity. I forgot about the exam, the pressures of my life and even my own embarrassment. In that moment balanced on two thin wooden legs a breath away from collapse, I had a moment of epiphany. I saw the absurdity in my actions; I saw just how pointless it was to avoid a small ding in my pride, how insignificant it would be compared to a fulfilling future, to a good education.
I had to get those letters.
I immediately picked up the phonebook and flipped to my principle's last name. Vader...Valli... Vallance. I was glad to see only one name listed.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Vallance I left my recommendation letters in my desk at school and the exam is tomorrow!"
"No. Wait. Now? Jason, I am about to go to bed."
"Please sir, I just need to get into the school for my letters. Please!"
"I'm sorry but -"
I hung up the phone, about to throw my fist at the wall. The darkness of embarrassment began to wrap itself around me once again, but I knew better to just give this time. I grabbed my coat and went for the front door. I would break into the school. Then the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Jason. I had to figure out who could open the door, but I'll meet you in 10 minutes."
I smiled and told him I would be there. At that moment I felt complete and in control. If he hadn't called me back who knows what I would have done. But that didn't matter. That night, I learned a little about the value of self reliance, about problem solving, about the authenticity of others, and, while I didn't realize it at the time, about life.
I am welcome to criticism and any grammatical errors. Thanks for reading!
-----
It was during the time of high school applications, not much different from what it's like now. I was applying to the TOPS magnet program and after gathering all of the required documents, after hours of studying and essay writing, I was finally ready for the big entrance exam. Still, to double check, I sat on the floor of my room going through my list of what to bring the next day:
Report card-check; extracurricular list - check; essay-check; calculator - check; pencils-check; teacher recommendations...
My heart started racing, each beat pushing against my chest. Where were they? I asked myself. Then I remembered: they were in my desk at school. The sheer size of my mistake knocked the breath out of me. I had always been careful, meticulous in everything I did. I wanted to seclude myself in my room. I wanted to be alone so no one would see how worthless and inadequate I was.
"Hurry up and rest for the exam," my parents shouted.
Just leave me alone. Maybe if I went to sleep it would all sort out in the morning.
I closed my eyes and drifted into something like sleep. I had a dream: I was 25 years old, unemployed, homeless and without a high school diploma. I sat alone on the sidewalk watching the people of the city stride back and forth, all of them with recommendation letters. I reached out to grab the ... then suddenly I felt like I was floating, drifting away from my spot on the sidewalk. My eyes darted open and I found myself balanced on the hind legs of my chair, about to fall over. My left arm shot out and grabbed onto the desk.
In that moment my mind achieved clarity. I forgot about the exam, the pressures of my life and even my own embarrassment. In that moment balanced on two thin wooden legs a breath away from collapse, I had a moment of epiphany. I saw the absurdity in my actions; I saw just how pointless it was to avoid a small ding in my pride, how insignificant it would be compared to a fulfilling future, to a good education.
I had to get those letters.
I immediately picked up the phonebook and flipped to my principle's last name. Vader...Valli... Vallance. I was glad to see only one name listed.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Vallance I left my recommendation letters in my desk at school and the exam is tomorrow!"
"No. Wait. Now? Jason, I am about to go to bed."
"Please sir, I just need to get into the school for my letters. Please!"
"I'm sorry but -"
I hung up the phone, about to throw my fist at the wall. The darkness of embarrassment began to wrap itself around me once again, but I knew better to just give this time. I grabbed my coat and went for the front door. I would break into the school. Then the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Jason. I had to figure out who could open the door, but I'll meet you in 10 minutes."
I smiled and told him I would be there. At that moment I felt complete and in control. If he hadn't called me back who knows what I would have done. But that didn't matter. That night, I learned a little about the value of self reliance, about problem solving, about the authenticity of others, and, while I didn't realize it at the time, about life.