A Test of Courage

This story was for an assignment for English 101 many years ago. I feel that this story has strong message that rings true for all of us.

Many people, at one time or another, have experienced a moment in their 

childhoods where they have felt disappointment, anxiety, or even unbridled 

terror. For me, this moment in my life occurred when I was in the fourth grade. 

Football practice had just ended and I was waiting for my "reliable" uncle to 

pick me up from practice. I waited and waited, but there was no sign of my uncle. I 

pondered every notion and reason why he was taking so long to get me. 

After waiting for an hour, I decided to visit my grandmother, who lived on Main Street.

to call my parents to take me home because I was always told that the 

city was dangerous at night. My instinct was telling me to find the quickest and safest 

path to my grandmother's house. The night sky and the luminous street 

lamps harmonized with each other as I soldiered on to my destination. Halfway 

through the North Court Street, I began to sense a feeling most dreadful. This 

combination of dread and uncertainty, coursed through my body and rendered me 

alert and nervous. I clenched my helmet tightly, fearing that somebody would ambush

me from an alleyway or from behind a parked vehicle.

The corner of North Court and Main became closer and closer as I approached it.

 Safety and refuge were close at hand; I was relieved that my 

grandmother's house was near. When I approached the house, I noticed the lights 

were turned off and the car was missing. I panicked once more and advanced 

to the nearest convenience store, hoping that the attendant would let me call my 

mom. When I called my mom from the phone, she was hysterically worried 

about me, she raced to the store and picked me up. Relieved and angry, she rushed 

to my uncle's house and shouted with righteous fury, about his mistake and 

 irresponsibility. When I look back on this experience, I value the lesson of 

facing adversity and learning to help yourself when you face a situation that you can 

only face by yourself.

Reviews

[barleygirl]

This story is well-written with a convincing build-up of tension . . . in fact, the build-up slightly overpowered the actual event. I felt myself in a child's shoes as I read. Instead of questioning your uncle's lapse in your mind, as a child I would've been searching for something I'd done wrong. Was I waiting in the wrong place? The first sentence of the 2nd paragraph is entirely repetitious & even meaningless at a point where your story had been building up to a nice crescendo. As far as fleshing out the actual event, I would've liked to know how you felt as your mother was reaming your uncle. Did you want to skewer him or defend him? All in all, your story delivers the frightful impact intended. Nice share!

[Jacob Clifford]

Nice story of growth, albeit a fairly minor one. Thanks for submitting this.