College Writing Assignments

Seasonal Changes

This is not a essay, but a short story that I wrote for my school's magazine. I hope you like it.

One Thursday evening, I was snuggled up in bed, wearing an oversize flannel pajama set and a green face mask with a soft blanket wrapped around me. My body tensed and my eyes widened as I gazed intently at my laptop screen while munching on some snacks. Netflix had finally uploaded the eighth season of American Horror Story, so I binge watched the entire thing that night. While streaming the dark show, my phone vibrated, alerting me that I had received a new email. After a long, stressful day at work, the last thing that I wanted to do that night was check my school email, but something told me to.

"Ayanna, this is the student publication I mentioned to you a while ago. I think you should submit something!" My nutrition professor emailed.

Attached to the message was a flyer from the Reflections Literary & Arts Magazine, informing students that they were now accepting writing submissions for the Fall magazine.

"Changes." I mumbled the theme as I studied the flyer.

Hmm.

It had been a while since I had last written something creative that wasn't for a grade, so I was hesitant at first to do so. However, my professor encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and try it out. The deadline for submission was rapidly approaching and I had done nothing but procrastinate for the last two weeks.

If I don't do this today, then I'll never do it so let me just try. I thought to myself while sitting at my desk. Changes. Changes. Changes. Bruh what can I write about? I stared at the blank page in front of me as I repeatedly tapped my pen on the wooden desk in an impatient manner.

"Fuck." I muttered as I rested my face in my palms.

My frustration grew the longer I sat there. Although my door was shut, I could still hear the obnoxious sounds that reverberated the small apartment—my grandma talking on the phone, my little cousins yelling and running around, my mother blasting Spanish music through the speakers in the living room as she cleans and cooks. I needed to go somewhere quiet so I could concentrate. I decided to go to the park by the lake near my house. The song Confidently Lost by Sabrina Claudio played in my headphones as I strolled down the trail that led to the park. 

Leaves covered the pathway, crunching under my feet at every step. Although I had escaped the noisy distractions at home, I found it extremely difficult to escape my racing mind. I kept thinking about work, school, bills, tasks I have yet to complete. I kept worrying about my sick grandfather who was in the hospital, my phone bill that needed to be paid, and the psychology test that was coming up soon. I was also wondering if I was pursuing the right career and if my manipulative boyfriend was cheating on me at the time. My thoughts were focusing on everything except for the theme of this magazine. I sat on a bench once I reached the park and took a deep breath. The wind blew, causing a leaf to hit me in the face.

"What the hell?" I leaped.

The bright red leaf rested on my thigh. I admired the pretty color and pattern. Wait a minute! I look up and examine my surroundings. It was a sunny afternoon with clear skies. Birds chirped in the nearby distance. Butterflies flew past me. Trees with orange, green, red, yellow, and brown leaves surrounded the calm lake and swayed in the wind. A nice breeze swift past my face. The aesthetically pleasing sight soothe me. A light bulb turned on in my head. I took my pen and journal out of my bag and began to write.

Fall is such an important season that represents death and change. The weather is changing, the leaves are changing colors and falling, the nights are getting longer while the days are shortening, holidays are approaching and people's moods are changing, students are starting a new grade or semester. There is so much change happening. Autumn is all about releasing old things that no longer serve a purpose in order to make way for the new. Without endings there would be no new beginnings. Without autumn, there would be no more winters, springs, and summers. Somehow, I was able to relate this meaning back to my life. Since I am 19 years old, I have more responsibilities now than I ever did before and that is what comes with adulting and being independent. Things that I wasn't thinking about before are now things that I worry about daily such as bills, groceries, credit, work, relationships, school, etc. Trying to find a balance between work and play at this age is very hard, because although you want to enjoy your youth and live in the now, you're constantly anticipating the future. Every decision you make now will affect your future. All the changes and decision making that comes with adulting is very stressful and overwhelming. I think a lot of teens and young adults can relate to this because so many changes are occurring, and it can be hard to keep up with them all. We go from living and viewing life one way as a kid to experiencing life in a completely different way when we're adults. This may seem overwhelming at the time, but when you look back on it later in life, you'll understand that these changes had to happen for you to become a wiser, stronger, greater, higher version of yourself. You must allow the change to happen instead of resisting it. How else will you grow if you don't do that? Think of the four seasons as a representation of life. Always remember that the trials and tribulations that you are currently facing, are only there for a season and a reason, it will eventually resolve.

Hopefully this made sense to someone, because it made sense in my head. I felt very accomplished after writing that. I set my pen down, closed my journal, and gazed up at the setting sun. I checked the time. It was 5:55pm. (Only those who know about angel numbers will understand why I put the time in there.)