Week 13 Storytelling: Facing Your Fears to Accomplish Your Dreams

Natalie knew that she didn't want to live in Dallas her whole life and she was willing to do whatever it took to move out of the state to Chicago. She began to think about what she would have to do in order to establish herself in another state. Graduate from college, earn some money for the move, and sell some of her things.

She was the most worried about one of the courses that she would have to take before she could graduate from college. One of the courses that she still had to take was Statistics, and she had been putting it off until the last minute. She didn't understand math. It was like trying to understand a foreign language to her. However, Natalie knew that she couldn't continue to put off this class any more if she wanted to graduate.

On the first day of Statistics after class, Natalie approached her professor.

"Professor, I don't mean to keep you from doing what you need to do, but is there anyone you can recommend for me to seek tutoring from for your class?" Natalie asked.

Natalie's professor smiled and jotted down the name and contact information of the TA for the class before giving the piece of paper to her.

"Taylor would be more than happy to help you," he said.

The next day, Natalie called Taylor and scheduled a day each week that she could meet him for tutoring. By taking multiple practice tests and going over sample problems, Natalie understood Statistics more and more. Natalie took the extra step and spent many late nights in the school library studying for her Statistics exams. Natalie's hard work ended up paying off as she received a B as her overall grade for the semester. Natalie approached her professor on the last day of class.

Natalie's professor smiled as she approached him.

"For a student who struggled with math so much, I'm very impressed with your hard work this semester," her professor said.

"Thank you, Professor. If it hadn't been for your suggestion to meet with your TA I don't know if I would've done nearly as well this semester."

"Natalie, congratulations on graduating. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors," Natalie's professor said.

Natalie left her Statistics class for the last time grinning from ear to ear, and suddenly graduating in May and moving to Chicago seemed closer to her now than ever.

("Chicago skyline at dusk". Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Author's Note: I based this story off of "The Little Mermaid - Part 3" by Hans Chrisitan Andersen (1872). My story relates to "The Little Mermaid - Part 3" because Ariel, the youngest mermaid, was willing to do whatever it took to have the possibility of marrying the prince—even if that meant visiting the sea witch so she could help her out. Ariel greatly feared the sea witch because she thought she was scary and evil.
Like Ariel, Natalie was willing to do whatever it took to graduate and move out of state—even if that meant having to face her fears of taking that Statistics class that she had put off since she entered college. Like Ariel, Natalie was willing to put in some hard work even if that meant she could accomplish her dream. Just like Natalie had to suffer through weeks of tutoring sessions and many nights that consisted of long hours of studying, Ariel was willing to have her tongue cut out and endure the feeling of stepping on knives if that meant that she could have legs. Although the two girls went through completely different situations, they both learned that they could do whatever they wanted to do if they worked hard.