Sarah Miner
September 4th, 2017
Bridge Project #1: Memory Map
It was three forty-five pm my carpool had just dropped me off at home. I went inside and immediately headed straight towards my room, flinging the door open and slamming it shut I tossed myself onto my bed, tears starting to fall. I can’t recall the exact event that had sparked this mood, probably some typically 7th grade drama. Middle school boyfriend problems, I wasn’t invited to Lilli’s 13th birthday party this weekend, along those lines. Within minutes my dad came in and sat at the end of my bed asking what had happened. He was used to me coming home hopping around with stories to share about my day but today I had said nothing. I laid there sniffling not responding, then my dad left the room only to return with a book “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst. He began to read. When he was done he set it aside and said to me “Sarah, how do you think you eat an elephant?” I sat there puzzled until he replied “one bite at a time”. Then I understood. You have to take everything day by day, you can never rush a process. Although sometimes it seems difficult or maybe the world is ending, but you just put one foot in front of the other and move forward. I’ve held onto this day and that quote my whole life. It seems silly and i now have a problem with the concept of actually eating an elephant but the meaning remains the same. Any hardship I face, any problem or bad day I think about this quote and conversation I had with my dad and I instantly feel comforted.
March 3rd, 2017 I could be found sitting in my car in my school parking lot. First period had just begun and I had zero plans to attend. It was math, I was notorious in high school for my many many absences from math classes. I always justified it with this idea of why should I be forced to do something I hate. I was also extremely hungry and a bagel from Einstein’s sounded pretty good right about now. Right before I pulled out of the parking lot I refreshed my email as I do every morning to see a letter from The New School. The subject was that a decision on my pending acceptance had been made. I stared at it, I had already made plans to attend LIM in New York fall 2017. I told myself no matter what it says I’m still going to college and it’ll be fine. I clicked the email and was instantly overwhelmed with the feeling of happiness. “We are pleased to offer you a place at Parsons fall 2017”. I had to double back and make sure the email was in fact meant for me. Right here in this moment I had a realization of my worth and potential. I had spent a majority of my high school career blowing off classes and turning in lazy work. Then came the ACT where I scored terribly low (especially in math). I really questioned my ability to even get into college. But here I was (ironically ditching class yet again) holding in my hand my future. My shiny new future. In this moment on this day I think I truly realized who I was and that this is an opportunity I will never be caught taking advantage of. I had proven myself to all my friends and peers who had teased me for being the ditsy friend. But most importantly I had proven to myself that if you want something enough you can achieve it.
“There’s a place I go when I’m alone
Do anything I want, be anyone I wanna be”
Yes the lyrics to my life brought to you by Newton Faulkner’s Dream Catch Me. When asked what my favorite song is I probably wouldn’t respond to you with this. But if asked what my most special song is, Dream Catch Me. There are a lot of ways songs can affect us and move us. I have a lot of memories tied into music and by far some of my happiest and my saddest are tied into this song. It encapsulates my childhood and my coming of age time period. Times of driving in the car with my family listening to this song on our way to the mountains, long drives alone in my 2001 camry singing out loud ether full to the brim with happiness or sitting there letting the words touch me causing me to feel any negative feelings I had. From plane rides to europe to plane rides to my new home and school. From walks in the school hallway to singing in the shower. This song has followed me for most of my life. To this day it still does. Although not bad I don’t think it’s the lyrics that have any sort of affect on me, I truly believe it’s all the memories and emotions tied into the song. A reminder of the good and bad days I’ve experienced and a bases for the rest of the memories I have ahead of me.
