Josh’s heart raced like that of a mouse scuttering from boulder to boulder, escaping the molting lava of Pompeii. Or, as a meerkat, fleeing the thudding hooves of a herd of Wildebeests. But Josh would have been content with either situation, for his predicament was far worse.
As a mere freshman, Josh faced a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: English 2301.
Testing out of freshman English, Josh entered college with chest held high. Destined to be the next Mark Twain, no English class could daunt him. So, he barged into his first class session of 2301. Bypassing the trembling students in the back, Josh strutted to the front row and stared the professor in the eye. Breaking a moment of awkward silence, the professor asked, “Can I help you?”
“No, but I can help you… teach this class!” Josh remarked, not releasing his glance.
But, when he saw the syllabus, everything changed.
“12 essays!” Josh exclaimed, “This is impossible!”
The professor chuckled and said, “Some professor you are, freshman.”
Josh sat on his couch agape. “What am I going to do?” He asked his roommate.
“You should visit the Writing Center. They’ll write your paper for you,” His roommate replied.
A sparkle graced Josh’s eye and his dreams shone anew. There was hope for his future. Navigated by destiny herself, no obstacle could impede him.
With the speed of Hermes, Josh rushed to the Writing Center.
“Here are my 12 essays. Write them for me.” Josh demanded as he flew through the Center’s door.
The receptionist calmly replied, “Sorry sir. We assist writers in developing their capabilities. We won’t write it for you, but we can certainly help you.”
Taken aback, Josh fell to his knees; once again, his dream slipped from his grasp.
“Do not be dismayed,” reassured the receptionist. Her hair burned golden in the light. Josh swore he saw an angel.
“Help is here.”
A hand grasped Josh’s. Leonard, a Writing Center consultant, pulled Josh up.
“Though times are rough,” Leonard stated, “You can’t give up!”
Leonard sat Josh down at the nearest table and said,
“If we work together, we can accomplish this task.”
“I now know that: though college is difficult, hard work pays off,” Josh responded, tears welling in his eyes.
Leonard grabbed an MLA instruction packet and sample essay. He and Josh discussed the rules for MLA, looked over the sample paper, and brainstormed some ideas for Josh’s first essay.
“See Josh,” Leonard explained, “the thesis is like a roadmap for an essay,” Josh nodded in agreement, “It is a brief, clear statement of the argument of your paper, helps you plan your paper, and helps your reader see how you divide your main ideas into subtopics.”
“Wow!” Josh exclaimed with fist held high. “Now I can write all my essays for English 2301 without having a panic attack.”
Restored, Josh galloped out of the Writing Center. As he skipped away, the sun set an orange aura on the horizon. Hope was alive, and so was Josh.
Co-Authored by John Brock and Ben Jones
Owl Things Considered 