Today, she is special.
Today, she is 83.
No one else is 83.
It is her role, her niche. It sets her apart from the other twenty-four hundred faces. It keeps her in the spotlight, and away from the grey. No, perhaps she is not the prettiest, the smartest, the strongest, the wisest. But she is 83. She is not just another face. They notice her. They talk about her. They talk about 83.
No one else is 83. No one else has legs so lanky, limbs so slender, thighs so thin. No one else has a tummy so tight, a chest so flat, or a frame so fragile. No one else has such a perfect outline of the skeleton inside them. No one else can count all their bones.
No one else is 83.
And yet, today it is not an accomplishment that gives her pride and meaning. Today different feelings flood over her. Exhaustion. Tiredness. Pressure. Hurt. They overwhelm her brittle frame and leave her drained and sick.
But no one else is like her.
No one.
Today she is unique. Today she is 83. And she is ready. Ready to be bigger than 83. Ready to be bigger than merely a number.
In a semester she will become focused on her grades, her faith, her family. In a year she will enter high school. In two years she will become involved in the year book, eagerly working with a top staff, striving toward a dream of leading them as editor. In three years…who knows?
But tomorrow she will eat. She will have to. She needs strength to do what she is about to do: fulfilling other dreams.
Today she is 83.
And tomorrow she will be beyond it.
But she always has, and always will be, special.
-Emily Wilkins
I love how misleading this is, but once you get it, it makes you feel like you accomplished something. [=
Comment by mipatothedge08 — August 5, 2008 @ 6:33 pm
to tell the truth, i really didn’t understand this the first time, but i did soon after. (I’m not the quickest person.) But it was a really good, touching story. This would be a great story for a package about eating disorders or something of that sort
Comment by mipatothedge08 — August 5, 2008 @ 6:51 pm
The use of repetition strengthens the theme of this piece. Although the repeated lines do not always have the same meaning throughout the article, I like how they change based on context. I want to cover this issue in my paper, but I don’t know who I could talk to who would be willing to participate in an interview.
Good Job!
Summer, Fenton High
Comment by mipatothedge08 — August 5, 2008 @ 7:00 pm