A story I was going to enter into the #WonderTheMovie Contest, but since I didn't like the Terms and Conditions, I decided not to. Enjoy!
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Imagine at the beginning of your life, you're given a sketchbook. The book is a completely blank and the only thing with something written on it is a small note slipped inside.
'This is the sketchbook that records your life. Everything you do will be made into a drawing. So make the best damn drawings ever. After all, you only live once.'
You're surfing the internet and stumble across a vlog on YouTube. The video quality is bad. The vlogger's voice makes you want to cover your ears. Instead of disliking the video or leaving a mean comment, you close the tab and move on.
On the way to English, a loud groan rings in your ears. You glance around the hallway and see that someone dropped their folder and all their papers are scattered about on the floor. If you keep moving, you'll be late to class. After a few moments of debating, you walk over to where the person is standing and help them pick up.
While grabbing a coffee at Starbucks, you bump into a blind person who asks you to count their money for them. You know that they can't tell which dollar bill is which and that you could probably cheat a good twenty bucks out of them. You could probably even buy yourself some food as well as a drink. An icky feeling in your stomach reminds of how low you would have to stoop to steal. You count out nine dollars just like they ask.
One day, though, you mess up. You're in a particularly bad mood and a couple of freshmen are standing in the middle of the hallway, chattering away. Your jaw clenches. Don't they know that people have places to go? You tell them to move out of your damn way and roughly push them aside.
When you look at your sketchbook that evening, the incident with the freshmen is on the newest page. Unlike the other drawings, this one has terrible quality. The coloring is scribbled. The lines aren't smooth and some people are drawn as solid figures while some are stick figures. You cringe merely glancing at it.
You vow to never let another drawing like that appear in your notebook again. From then onwards, you make a conscious effort to be kind and giving. You thank your mother for driving you to school when you get out of the car in the morning and grin when you see the surprised but happy look on her face. You leave a paragraph long comment on your favorite fanfiction and nearly die of laughter when you get their excited, incoherent reply about how they're so happy that they got feedback.
After all, you only have one sketchbook. You only live once.
