A Not-So-Short Story
Modern American Humanities junior year of high school was a painful class to say the least. Reading short story after short story followed by endless annotations left me bored out of my mind. There was one assignment though that sparked my interest a little, writing a short futuristic story. I was excited to use my imagination to create a short story that was much more interesting than the ones we read in class. The day before it was due was when I frantically began writing, it was just a little short story right? To begin my writing I determined that I had way better things to do than a writing assignment, great start.
This mindset made it next to impossible to focus and reach my goal of just getting it over with. My solution was simple, create a comfortable, distraction free enclosure to trap myself in until I was done. I found a corner in my room where I could be inclosed by two walls and my bed which acted as a third wall. I gathered all of my blankets and pillows and built a fluffy nest, and finally I was protected from the outside world of distraction and procrastination. My mom checked in one me twice, the first time, to her surprise, was a game of hide and go seek. Once I emerged from the nest with an explanation, she kindly scolded me for waiting until the night of. The second time she visited was a few hours and barely to the climax later. This time she told me it was late and I should go to sleep. While Mom was right, I didn’t sleep until much later. Her complaint of my procrastination and the late hour reinforced my idea that this “okay” assignment was awful, boring, a waste of my time, and never going to be finished. However, with much relief I handed in my assignment the next day.
Unsurprisingly, my short story did not earn me an A+. I realized my story reflected my “this is dumb” mindset. The short stories in class had much more to them than what seemed to be endless words. The classic American short stories from class had real meaning and depth. To create such a work takes a writer who thinks powerful thoughts before putting them on paper. Writing isn’t as simple as it seems, and it takes meaning.
