Writing Your Story
If life is like a book, then summer is like that blank page authors use to separate chapters. It gives you a break from reading and lets you know something different is about to happen. It’s what you look forward to when the chapter has been long and it’s your reward for finishing the hard work. The humorous part about this transition is as soon as you get used to that blank page, another chapter begins.
The start of a new chapter usually means going back to school. It means a new beginning with lots of unknowns. There’s a lot of temptation to change who you are and to become who your friends want you to be. There’s persuasion to forfeit the person you want to be in order to gain the respect of the people you admire. But rather than conforming, take a step back – pull your book off its shelf and realize how important it is to be yourself.
Imagine your life as a book separated by chapters and imagine your friends as characters. Picture each place you’ve been as a different setting where stories take place. Think of all the different climaxes and the conflicts you’ve been through. Contemplate the resolutions you’ve experienced and how many sad times you’ve had to say goodbye. Life is full of changes and full of uncertainties. But what’s the one thing you see in every chapter? Yourself. No matter the circumstance, you have been and will always be, the main character in your story.
My Life in a Book
What’s your main character like? If you were reading your life-book and had to do a book report, what would you write? Can you identify the main character throughout the chapters? Or does she act like a different person? Think about her: Is she loving and joyful… patient and kind? Or does she have a negative attitude and an impatient spirit? Does she live in jealousy of other people, never being content with her possessions? Or is she appreciative of her gifts and aware that there is no point in comparing? Through all the chapters, do her actions say that she is faithful and that she truly cares about other people? Or are her actions contradictory?
The point is, if the main character of a story isn’t consistent, then the story won’t make sense. If you change every time a chapter does, your life won’t make any sense. You’ve got to figure out who you are and remain true to you, even when the chapters change, even when a new school year starts. Don’t let other people tell you who to be; how can anyone else possibly determine your identity? After all, they’re not the main character – they may be gone in the next chapter. It’s your story…so make sure you’re the one who writes it!
My Story
To write a good book, you have to develop a plan and outline the highlights. What are your big accomplishments and goals? What will the next few chapters be like? How have the previous chapters been a foreshadowing to future chapters? What is your character doing today that will place her in the right position to reach her goals? Even though you’ve been writing your book for years, it’s far from over. Every day offers a new blank page with great stories to share. Will you captivate people with adventures and selfless acts of compassion? Or will readers endure a story of laziness and highlights of social gossip? Will readers follow a mundane story, or will they be captivated by an account of great talent used to overcome obstacles great and small? It’s your story…so make sure you’re the one who writes it and write a story worth reading.
