Everything Happens
for a Reason
It was one week before high school graduation and Susan
still hadn’t received her acceptance letter from the University of
Oklahoma. Susan didn’t think that she
would even be accepted, because she struggled with school, but this was her
dream school so she had to try and get in.
Even though Susan had hardships with schoolwork, she was very privileged
at home. It was just Susan and her mother who lived at home, and she was a hard-working mother who provided Susan with anything she needed, except for the one thing she really wanted, which was intelligence.
(This photo represents Susan struggling with school. Source: Pinterest)
Being on the cheer squad and playing soccer and volleyball
made Susan pretty popular during high school.
She had tons of friends, but never really had any classes with them
because they were in advanced classes, and she was in regular classes. Susan was placed in the regular classes
because her test scores were not high enough for her to be placed in advanced
classes with her friends. Let's get this
straight; Susan was not dumb. She just had to try much harder than most
students. Early in life she became very
frustrated with the fact that school did not come easy to her, and she found
many ways to keep passing each grade.
One of those ways consisted of hours on hours of tutoring, and asking
for help.
Graduation night had finally come and she still hadn’t
received an acceptance letter. This
upset Susan because all of her friends had received all of their letters long
ago. Susan had a back up-plan, and it
was to stay home and attend the junior college in her hometown. Even though this was not her original plan
and was upsetting to her, she soon realizes why things happen for a
reason.
During Susan's freshman year of college she found out that her mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her mom had treatment every day for three
months, and because Susan was still home she was able to be there for her mom each
appointment. Appointments took about an hour each maybe even a little
longer. During that time she would study and work on her re-application for the
University of Oklahoma. After three
months of treatment her mother was declared cancer free, and Susan was able to
put a lot more time into her schoolwork and her goal of getting into OU.
Susan eventually resubmitted her application and patiently
waited for a response. After about two
and a half weeks Susan received a letter from the University of Oklahoma. She ripped the letter open to find that she
had been accepted, and she cried tears of joy.
She soon worried about how hard the schoolwork would be for her, but she
quickly reassured herself. Susan knew
that she would succeed because all through her academic career she had learned
how to work harder and ask for help when needed and knew that she would be
able to carry these traits with her through her time at OU.
Ever since her mother's cancer Susan never felt sad or upset
about not getting into OU when she wanted.
She learned to accept that she had to work harder than other students,
and that because intelligence didn't come to her naturally didn’t mean she
couldn’t succeed. Susan also knew that
if she would have gotten into OU the first time she wouldn’t have been able to
be there for her mom like she was, and to Susan being there for her mom meant
more to her than going to her dream school.
Of course Susan gets tired of working harder than other, and feels
unfairness often, but overall she has learned to appreciate the brain she was
given, because her situations have taught her life lessons that will stick with
her wherever she goes.
Author Notes:
This week I read the stories of women from the Bible. This story
is mainly based off the story of Sarah from Genesis. Sarah waited for a
child for a long time and finally became pregnant when she was much older. Sarah
found herself frustrated but trusted that God had a plan for her. In this story Susan learns the lesson of
acceptance. All Susan wanted was wanted intelligence, but life had other plans
for her that happen to work out better then the ones she had for herself.
I think it’s important to remember even if things don’t go your way to not get
overly upset about it, because soon enough you will see that everything happens
for a reason. Overall the main goal of
this story is to remember that life is going to move on, even if life isn’t
going the way we want. We must learn
from Susan who struggled for so long with her schoolwork that frustration is
not the answer. We must always look at the bigger picture, and accept that fate
chooses us. That we should enjoy the fate that we have. I think that Susan learned that once you
learn to accept certain situations in life, the ride will move on
much smoother.
Bibliography:
'Everything Happens for a Reason' is based off the story of the story of "Sarah" in the Bible.
Wow Sarah! I really enjoyed your story! I like how your story was so creative, that I didn't even recognize it as a Bible story until the author's note. However, I can totally see the influence, so great job! I like how Susan had a total epiphany moment about her situation that completely changed her perspective. It was a good story of being happy with what you have and trusting that it is that way for a reason. I'll definitely be back to read some of your future work!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah!!!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your story, it was great! I also think it is great how you chose for the main character to want to go to the University of Oklahoma while your background and words are crimson and cream! It was probably a coincidence but I don't care! It helped tell the story! I also really like how you spaced out your paragraphs categorically. It made the story very easy to read. In the story, I felt like I was reading a story about myself. Not in the fact that I had a family member who was sick, but in the fact that I really have to study to get good grades. I am not naturally smart like other are and really have to work to do well. Sometimes though I feel like I learn more about myself by making the effort to try harder and to do more. I really enjoyed your story and hope to read more from you!
Well then... That was an extremely great and well written story. I would have never guessed that the original source of your story would have been a story straight from the good Word, but that is what makes this story beyond creative. But now that I know that and went back and read it, it totally makes perfect sense! It was a great story about realizing what we have is what we should be happy with. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis was such a creative way to retell this story! I always think it's comforting to remember that everything happens for a reason, and everything usually works itself out for the best. This story was definitely motivating to just keep working towards your goals! I feel like this story also goes along with the growth mindset and the concept of "not yet."
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story. It was truly inspiring. I loved how you made it relate to yourself and your readers by including the University of Oklahoma. Your story had a great message by saying not to dwell on the hardships or bad thing in your life because they are put there for a reason. Just like in your story Susan wasn’t supposed to get into OU at first because her mother needed her.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, I really liked how you changed your story to fit modern times! I thought that was really cool and I liked how you put a spin on the original story. Your story was great, but the only thing I would revise would be sentence structure and adding some quotes. Some of your sentences were a bit wordy, but other than that the others looked great! As far as adding quotes, I think it would add more depth to your story. Adding quotes allows your readers to be able to connect to the characters. I really like your Portfolio layout, but the only thing I can think revising would be to add more background color so it is a little more appealing to the eye. Other than that, I love how your Portfolio is very clean and doesn't have any crazy fonts or font colors. I look forward to reading more of your work for this class. Great job!
ReplyDeleteWow what a great story! It is weird but the whole time I was reading it in my head I could feel the biblical essence involved. It made more sense to me after reading the author's note. I really like how you told this story; it seems so personal and real. It really pulled on my heartstrings and made me so happy to see Susan finally get into her dream school. If there is one thing that I have learned through life it is that God's timing is perfect and in this story you can clearly see that. I think being patient with that can be difficult for me at times but it was cool to see Susan grateful to be going to community college because it meant she got to be with her mom. I am also someone who feels like I have to work especially hard in order to achieve the grades I want so I can relate to how Susan was feeling about going to college. I don't think it is something to be ashamed of at all though and it has made me a stronger person. I am better able to persevere through things in life and that has turned out to be valuable. Great story overall!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very inspiring story! I love how you brought it back to the greatest university ever!!! Sarah's story from the Bible is one of my favorites. It teaches a very important lesson and I am glad to see that you are continuing that great lesson in your story. One suggestion I have is when you are talking about going to the junior college it gets a bit unclear where she ends up. I was confusing for a little bit about what was going on. Maybe adding more detail there saying she did not get accepted and was sad about her friends leaving would be helpful. Overall it was great and I am excited to read more of your stories!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your story. I like modern takes on old stories and you did a really good job at this. It is an interesting take because different people take to school differently. I even envy Susan because Susan learned how to study and learn before she started at the University of Oklahoma. College was a shock for me because it was not as easy as high school. There is a lot of value in learning to learn. Susan is not alone in that respect. I feel as though most people get the shock of not being up to par in school by their own respect. I enjoyed the same lesson, of having to learn acceptance, from the bible applied to a modern situation. I also liked the new perspective on the value of hard work. One thing I will say though is that you might want to make sure to be consistent with your verb tenses.
ReplyDeleteHey Sarah!
ReplyDeleteYour story, Everything Happens for a Reason reminded me of my pastor’s sermon last week! He talked about the moments when God disappoints us. He used the story of Lazarus’s death as an example—Mary and Martha asked him to come heal their brother, but Jesus didn’t come. He stayed where he was, and Lazarus died. But then, Jesus showed up—four days after Lazarus’s death (they believed the spirit left the body after three days)—and brought him back to life. Jesus first disappointed Mary so that the end result would be an even greater miracle. He knows best! Our pastor also reminded us that our lives are not about ourselves—sometimes we have to go through suffering so that someone else can see Jesus at work, or so someone else’s faith can grow—just like Jenny in your story started out in community college so she could be around her mom when she needed her most! And then she did get to go to OU!
I read your story about Tommy too—your stories seem to have a life-lesson theme! :)
Wow, this was such a heartwarming story! At first, I wasn’t sure if Susan was going to get into OU or not (that would have been so sad!) I loved how you made this story so real and touching. I thought it was so cool how she got to stay home and be with her mom. I truly believe there is such thing as “perfect timing!” I think your title is perfect for this story because it really goes into the theme that “everything does happen for a reason.” The only thing I would suggest for this story is spacing out your paragraphs more and adding some dialogue. These two things will keep the readers more engaged! I think adding some dialogue will also show us the characters personality on an even deeper level. Overall, I absolutely loved this story and thought it was very well written! Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah! I found your story “Everything Happens For a Reason” very touching. It was sad at first when Susan didn’t manage to get into OU the first time around, especially when all of her friends were going off to college. I just imagine that as being a terrible feeling, but then I saw that it might have actually been a blessing for her to be able to be there for her mother. It was probably especially crucial since it was just her and her mother. I liked that Susan didn’t let these things stop her, but instead let them empower her to work harder and do more. I think that’s a great quality, and a great lesson! It can be easy for us to let hardships get us down, but you showed with your character that you can let these things be a lesson instead. I really liked that you chose to write such an uplifting story! Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, I really liked your story. I choose this story to comment because your title attracted my attention. Yes. I think everything happens for a reason, that your story reflect this life lesson very well. You did a great job at rewriting a story about Sarah from the bible. I really like the story because you did a great job at observing the original story from the Bible and did a wonderful job at re-creating the story of your own with the more formal setting and familiar environment to us. I really like when someone writes story in the present based on the story that happened in the past. You did a great job. It was a really touching story as well. I think Susan reflected a lot from Sarah. I could see why you created the story based on the Bible because it was the great approach for the important lesson in life, everything happens for a reason.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, I really enjoyed reading your story.it is so great and it also has a very good title to grab the reader attention and that is why I chose this story to read. Your writing style is amazing. I loved how you made the story relate to yourself by including the OU. It was so sad at the beginning when Susan was not able to get into the University of Oklahoma. I can imagine how anguish feeling was that, but then I understood why that happened to her and it might be a blessing for her to be there for her mother. Overall, I liked your main goal from writing this story and I agree that life is going to move on and we have to accept it the way it is because it brings us hardships to give us a happy ending. And always accept that fate chooses us and god have a reason from doing that to us.
ReplyDeleteShe reminds me a lot of myself. I have to work hard to receive good grades. I am not one of those students that can just understand the information easily or able to "wing it" and get answers right on exams. I really have to work hard for my grades, but I do it. The fact that I am doing well in school means that I must be doing something right. Not everything goes right for me but I learn from it and move on. This is why I like this story. She had struggles in life and so do I. I relate to her a lot in that sense. I liked your story!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your story Sarah! I had a hard time in high school because I went to a competitive and small college prep school. Everyone at my high school were geniuses I swear ahah, and I felt like I wasn’t smart because I wasn’t a genius like them. This taught me to work extra hard and excel for greatness where as if I went to another school I might have not learned this same work ethic. So like in your story my hardships paid off in the end, it just took a while for me to see them pay off. Your story was really well written, and I love that it has a message. Don’t forget to add the author of the story and date in your bibliography! Besides that your story was awesome and I cant wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteWow! I really enjoyed reading your story--Susan has sure been through a lot, but I really admire the say she stuck with things! Especially since, in the end, her willingness to work hard gets her where she wants to go. It's very, very true that sometimes things don't work out like we want them to, and we just have to trust that it's because there's something else out there that's even more important coming up. The way that you wove these lessons into the story was really creative, and I liked the style that you chose for the narrative--it worked well, I think, for the subject matter, to have the narrator telling us about the lessons. Was there any reason why you chose to tell it this way instead of, say, more from Susan's perspective? Just wondering...but anyway, as I said, great job!
ReplyDeleteFirst off, this was a great story! I really enjoyed reading this. I was very surprised to find out that the original source of your story was from a story in the Bible. Taking that note, you did a great job of using your original story, but being able to create your own story from it, where it was not obvious where the roots of your story were from. Your story is also very personal because it is something that all of can relate being students. I believe this story could help anyone by them reading this and seeing that Susan did not give up, so it gives the story a glimpse of hope for someone. It is really tough to fight through when it seems as if you are the only one struggling with the class materials. Anyways, great job on this story and good luck with the rest of the semester!
ReplyDeleteGreat story! I love how your original source was from a story in the Bible. That is something that I have not seen from anybody's stories throughout the semester so it was definitely unique. I admire Susan for sticking with everything and not caving and giving up as it takes a special person to go through what she went through. This story was very real in my opinion, and one that us students can read and understand, which made it that much more interesting, Great job!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your author's note, I couldn't believe that your retelling came from that original story. The way your mind decided to change the characters, the setting and the problem but to keep the same general lesson was so creative. I felt for Susan when she was struggling because I too often feel like I have to work twice as hard as my peers to make the same good grades. I was glad in the end when everything ended up working out for her. It's wonderful how perfectly you showed us that life has a funny way of always working out in the way that it was supposed to. You also chose the perfect picture to include with the story, I liked that you showed us Susan in this way.. it felt very personal and I sympathized with her internal struggle. Great job, I really enjoyed your style of writing. I look forward to reading more stories in your portfolio; this was a great addition to it.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI am from the Indian Epics class but thought I should make my way over to this class to see some of ya’ll’s stories!! I love stories that have something related to OU and since I hadn’t read yours yet, I was intrigued! The picture you chose for the top of your story had me laughing because it describes all of us right now in dead and finals week. Susan sounds awesome being involved in so many activities in school (especially soccer!) I really liked how you included the line about her not being dumb, but simply having to try harder than other students. That is so commonly misunderstood by so many. What a turn of events with her mom getting diagnosed with cancer! I didn’t expect that at all! You did an absolutely amazing job in the last two paragraphs, closing out the story beautifully. I got closure for Susan haha! The morals of the story are things we should keep in mind as well. Great, great story!