This I Believe...

Over the summer I had to write a "This I Believe" (you know, like the ones on NPR. Here's the website if you want to check it out, it's pretty cool: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4538138 ) for my AP English class. They have to be about something I believe in as a person (obviously) and has to be 350 to 500 words long. I've been going over a few different options in my head and wrote a couple out. This one is my favorite, but I feel like it still needs a lot of work...If you are good with grammar, or enjoy reading senior papers, or just want to know what I believe in, PLEASE read it and if you find any mistakes at all, TELL ME! Even if it's just to say that you think this is crap and I should rewrite or it's not focused enough, I don't care how mean you get, because I want to get an A on this paper. Thanks! Oh! and I need a title for it too, so if you think of anything catchy that would fit this, please let me know...

TITLE IN PROGRESS

You could say me and Change have had a pretty rocky relationship, one headed down a very steep, very threatening hill.

Since I was small, the mere thought of Change terrified me. At night I would cry for my dad to come quickly– not to check for the Boogeyman in my closet, or a monster hiding under my bed, but to assure me that he wouldn’t spontaneously decide to quit his job and move my family of four to a foreign town in a far away country where I would have to learn a completely new routine and way of life. My irrational fear affected every part of my daily routine, from eating the same lunch I pack everyday – a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich with some juice and an apple, to the route I took from class to class.

I avoided Change at all costs; this just seemed to encourage him to chase after me. When my parents told me we were moving three miles away at the end of my fourth grade year, I almost had a panic attack. Three miles away from all that I knew?! How would I survive?! No matter how much I protested, my house was packed and ready to go when the movers arrived.

I hated my new house with its big rooms and new neighborhood for two whole years after the move. Life went on, I adjusted and finally “the new house” became just “the house”. I met my best friend, Cassi, who lived in the house across the street. We were inseparable and I depended on her friendship heavily, but three years later, Change found me again. Cassi was moving 1,500 miles away the summer before our freshman year of high school. I screamed, I cried, I cursed and shook my fist at Change, but he didn’t seem to care. This was the lowest point in our relationship.

So, faster that I would have liked, Cassi was five states away and I had two weeks until I started high school, virtually by myself. I refused to let Change make me suffer, so I charged into high school, back straight and looking confident, even though I wasn’t remotely ready. Now, four years later, I don’t have to fake my confidence, or my independence. And that’s not the only thing that’s different: I believe in Change, one hundred percent. You may ask: how is that even possible?! And I will answer simply: without Change, I wouldn’t have grown as a person, I wouldn’t have met my best friend, experienced new situations that I have grown to love, or have gained so much confidence in myself to over come the obstacles Change throws at me. Now, as I prepare for college, another big Change, I smile and say “Bring it on!” because even after everything that has happened to me, I believe in Change.

There you go. I'm not overly fond of the ending; I wanted to say something about how everyone needs change and your life will suck if you don't trust him, but I just didn't know where to put it. What do you think of me capitalizing Change and calling it 'him' because I don't know how I feel about that either? Thank you all who read and comment this, if any!

Love you all,

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