Vignettes

I had an assignment in class to write 3 vignettes. It was my first time writing that way, so it was challenging for me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them!

Vignette 1- “Ver-nowhere”

May 17, 2013

Vernonia, Oregon is one of those really small towns that almost no one knows about. In fact, Vernonians joke about it and call it “Vernowhere”. It’s near Portland, but it’s closer to Forest Grove, making it on the way to the coast. It’s not like the town was bypassed because the freeway got put in, but more like it was never on the route in the first place (though-the way to Vernonia is on a long and old logging road, so maybe it was bypassed).

Confusion, lost, lonely, hurt, damaged. That was me. Anyway, that’s where I spent my 7th grade year from mid-November till school got out in June. So much happened in that small, almost forgotten town. So much pain and confusion.

I was living with my mom and sisters in my grandma’s house in Utah, but I made a mistake and was kicked out. So then I was ‘shipped’ (by airplane) to “Vernowhere” to live with my aunt and her family.  

After about a month and a half, maybe two, my aunt couldn’t take me and my cousins' fighting anymore. I was relocated to live with another aunt and uncle who lived in Vernonia sometime in January, and was told my father would join me soon, which after a few weeks, he did.

It was strange, after I moved out of my first aunt's house, my cousin started being nicer to me (although sometimes, because of peer pressure, she was downright nasty), and we started hanging out more. But it wasn’t always smiles. Confusion, lost, lonely, hurt, damaged. That was me. But slowly, I was healing.

Vignette 2- Tualatin-June Freshman Yr

May 17, 2013

You never know what you will do until it happens. A few years ago, one of my friends, who wears glasses, (remember that, it’ll be important later) got pegged in the face with a dodgeball, and sent to the nurses office. I didn’t find out about it until after school, because I didn’t have any classes with him. Call me over-protective, or that I was over-reacting, or whatever, but I wondered if he was okay. From what one of my other friends said, it sounded really painful. Then I was faced with a decision: make sure I catch my bus, or risk it and check to see if he was okay. Bouncing it around in my head, I finally made my decision when I asked myself, “if I were hurt, would I want my friends to come see me?” “Besides,” I thought as I ran to the office, “my mom could pick me up.” I’ll admit, I did rush in there, and I was feeling a little panicked, so I was over-reacting a little, but that’s okay. It was worth it.

So I went in there, and sat down on the other bed next to him. After a couple minutes he sat up, although it looked like it hurt a lot, and probably gave him a really bad headache. When the dodgeball hit his face, it had pushed one of his nose pads into his cornea. We talked quietly for several minutes. Then he said I should probably catch my bus. I took my time leaving; I had already made the decision that I could miss my bus and stay as long as he needed me to. Stepping outside, I watched my bus pull up, and I was so happy and thanked Heavenly Father for the opportunity to serve.

Vignette 3- Tualatin

May 17, 2013

Tualatin.

My friends are there. So is my second home. I miss it not because of the city itself, nor my classmates. I miss it because of the people I love, and left. At first, I really didn’t want to be there because I was so angry at moving again, and being dragged away from my my best friend. I was so angry, without hope, and so hurt, I wanted to shut down. Yet, as time went on, I met some people that changed my life forever.

One of those people was Emily. She was in my 8th grade science and art classes. At first, I didn’t want to be friends with anyone, because I couldn’t see the point. “We would move anyway.” Although we weren’t great friends, she brightened up my day, and gave me someone to talk to. As the year plodded on, I looked forward to science, and especially art, because Emily would be there.  (It wasn’t untill freshman year that we became close enough for me to say she was my best friend, right after Heather.)

Another was Jeremy. I used to sit with my sisters and their friends, but when one of their friends made a comment I didn’t like, I kicked myself out. For a good part of the year, I sat alone. A long while later (about a few months), I was invited to sit with the people at the table next to me. I stayed there for a little while, but didn’t really feel comfortable because it was the popular kids’ table- and my crush sat there. When I moved back to  my original table, there were three other people who had occupied it while I was gone, but I didn’t care because it was my table. After a few weeks, we started talking to each other a little bit. That’s how I met Jeremy (and Alec and Cyan). I credit Jeremy for not letting me shut down, even though he didn’t know it. Once I met him, I opened up and wanted to be his friend because he was cool.

And then there’s Christie, Allison, and Shaelyn. They were in my ward at church. They were really good friends to me. They were always nice and friendly; they accepted me for me, even though many at church didn’t. I look up to them, Shaelyn was such an example to me, Allie was always so nice, and Christie, well she was so smiley and had an aura about her that you just had to love.