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A social klutz and certified bookworm, Autumn Lyne is content with having just books as companions--that is, until her extrovert of a sister drags her out to meet her band. But nobody has expected that this would mark the plot twis...
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The stark cold of winter had passed, and yet the green liveliness of spring hadn't arrived. It was a time when one had to hold their breath and wait for the first signs of life to appear. As I thought about the passing time, I reflected on how my friends and I had changed. We were growing up. It was scary, but it couldn't be helped.
On top of SATs, college and scholarship applications, and school projects, my senior friends had to make plans on what to do after they left their nests. I wasn't in their grade yet, but I could feel the pressure descending upon them.
None of them knew what college would be like or what the future held for them. All they knew was that each of them was on a mission—to do something, to be somewhere, and to become what they wanted to be. Clover had a vivid dream of becoming a chef. Clint had no clear idea about what his major would be, so he would just go with the flow. Rose wanted to write songs for the church, and Nate declared that he would flip burgers at McDonald's if ever his plan of getting into an engineering college were to flop. Michael didn't say what he intended to do in the future; he only smiled. I felt that his ambition was something that his talent could show.
My chest ached at the thought that our time together was unconsciously ticking away. Even so, as they shared their dreams and aspirations, I was encouraged by their responses. It was in their actions that I saw their zeal to put themselves out there. It made me assess what I needed to work on myself, and I found myself yearning to learn how to break out of my shell.
So, I began writing again after weeks of being busy with the outside world. I missed the vigor that flowed through my veins as I typed the words down on the computer. Since the Westside Chronicle required the applicants to submit a writing sample about any community or school event, I wrote about the band competition that had happened that November.
It was nerve-wracking. I wrote about six drafts of it or more, and I proofread my final piece multiple times in three days to ensure that there were no embarrassing typos and grammar mistakes. When I finally submitted it to the club's email address, I felt like all the oxygen left my lungs, and I was shaking.
I hadn't had a proper rest for a week. All I could think about was the senior club members laughing at my terrible writing and deleting my submission, and these assumptions led me to ruminate on my other life decisions that I should have and shouldn't have done. Intrusive thoughts, my number one enemy.
After all those overthinking and sleepless nights, however, I received the news that changed my perspective on myself. I got in. They liked my submission and invited me to attend the club meetings every Thursday at lunchtime. I was the last writer to complete the staff. I'm not ashamed to say that I cried when I broke the news to Clover and Mom. It was a big thing for me. I had spent so many years thinking so low about myself, but I managed to overcome that thinking trap through my own resolve. I had believed in my friends; now was the time to believe in myself, too.
