Sara and Kate were the best of friends. They did absolutely everything together. As they ventured in to their high school careers, Sara was extremely nervous, however Kate was very excited.
Kate had always been the one with the looks while Sara had always been the one with the brains. Separately, they both had insecurities, but together they were invincible.
On the first day of school, it was clear to Sara that Kate was getting all of the attention. Sara wanted that attention too, so that night Sara decided to make some major changes.
When Sara returned to school the next day, she clearly received attention, but not in the way that she wanted, and not in the same way that Kate did. Sara had cut her hair, and applied much more make up than usual. She looked like anything but herself. When Kate saw her, she was shocked. She had no idea what Sara was thinking, so she pulled her aside to question her.
“Sara, what in the world did you do? What were you thinking?” said Kate.
With a shake in her voice and tears filling in her eyes Sara replied “I just wanted to be like you. I wanted to be pretty like you. Everyone looks at you and notices you, and I wanted that too.”
Kate was silent, because she had never noticed these things that Sara was pointing out.
“Sara, listen, you don’t need all these changes in order to be noticed. You already are noticed! People look to you for help on all of their homework. People would never trust me with information like that. Everyone has their own noticeable aspects, and no two people are noticed for the same reasons,” said Kate.
This really sank in to Sara. She immediately walked into the bathroom and washed her face of all the make up. She pulled her hair up into her usual ponytail, and walked back out to Kate.
“There is my best friend again!” exclaimed Kate.
From that day forward, Sara learned to be comfortable and confident in herself as she is. She learned a valuable lesson in life that it does not matter what others have to offer, because everyone has something special and different to offer.
Author's Note:
One of my passions is working with teenage girls. High school and junior high can be very damaging for teenage girls if they do not have the confidence or self-acceptance that they need. It is very easy to become something we are not in today’s world. Especially for teenage girls, it is easy to become obsessed with what you look like and what you think others see when they look at you. I wanted to keep the lesson the same as in the stories that vanity will get you nowhere. Everyone has something to offer, and sometimes that something is not an outward appearance.
Bibliography:
The Eagle and the Jackdaw, The Aesop for Children, with illustrations by Milo Winter (1919). http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/aesop-winter-page-2.html
(Photo from The Eagle and the Jackdaw in the Un-Textbook)
Molly, this was such a good read. It was such a relatable story as many teenage girls go through many of these insecurities. In this era, comparisons are almost inevitable and it gets harder for younger generations to feel comfortable in their own skin. I think that you did a very good job of narrating that issue. Your story was very easy to follow along and I really did enjoy it. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis was beautiful and so very heart warming. I can remember the constant worry and self-critism from high school. It seemed no matter what I tried to do I was never who I was supposed to be. It wasn't until college that I finally began to find out who I really was. Your story is so real and wonderful. I think it would be great to share it with others, so that maybe young girls could stumble on to it and realize that it's okay to find and be their unique and beautiful selves.
ReplyDeleteA good retelling of the classic 'don't change yourself to please other people/be true to yourself' story. I think the setting is really poignant since highschool is when most of the pressure happens on young girls, from media and peers. Luckily, your characters have each other for support and learned the lesson early!
ReplyDeleteHi Molly!!
ReplyDeleteIt’s so awesome that you found a way to write about your passions. Maybe next time you could include how you related this to one of your readings because I was left confused on what myth this came from. However, I’m guessing you took the values of the myth and applied them to a modern setting and teenage girls seem likes a perfect fit. So many girls struggle with self-esteem issue and personally I can definitely relate some of my experiences to the experience in your story.
I love that you broke your story down into some easy to read paragraphs and you picked a clear font too. I wish you had included a picture because I feel like there are so many good best friend photos!! Personally, I feel a Serena and Blair picture from “Gossip Girl” could have fit really well with your story.
But great job and have a great semester!!
This was a great retelling of the fable. I read all four units of the fables, so I know about this fable and the lesson it provided. You did an excellent job in keeping the lesson intact even though you changed everything from the original story. Spacing, font, and paragraph transitions together were very nice and it made the story flow really well.
ReplyDeleteOne minor problem I found was I couldn't see the image. I knew what image you were talking about, but others might not so its a good idea to double check that. But since you provided the link, it made it easier to find and understand what story you were retelling. Another suggestion I have is to talk about the original story in your author's note and tell the readers how you connected it to this story.
Otherwise, everything was perfect. Again, great job on keeping the lesson intact!
Hi Molly nice to be reading your stories again. I really like what you have done with this story. You completely changed it from the original but you kept the moral of the story the same. I think my favorite part is when she comes out of the bathroom and Katie says "There is my best friend again!" I felt like this really showed how much she cared for her. Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading more of your stories.
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