Story: When she went to college, Sarah’s first year was very
difficult. She really wanted to make good grades because that is the point of
going to college, right? Sarah knew it was more important now than ever before
to really buckle down and get the grades that would count. She spent so much
time on school that she never had time to cook so most of her meals were eaten
out at a restaurant. Even though she made all A’s in her classes, Sarah’s
mother and father began to complain to her that she needed a job because she
needed to be spending her own money and learning more about responsibility.
Sophomore year rolled around and Sarah had found herself a
job. Not a huge time commitment at first, but soon she got promoted and Sarah
noticed she had less and less time to work on school. She did her best to study
in between classes and at night when she got home from work, but after a long
day, Sarah was exhausted. She noticed as her bank account balance increased, her
A’s soon became B+’s and those soon became B-‘s and so on. Soon, her friends
began to complain that they never got to hang out with her because she was
always at work and that they wanted Sarah to make more time for them.
College was supposed to be the best four years of your life,
or so Sarah had heard. All of Sarah’s friends were turning 21 as her junior
year began around and she decided to take some time off work in order to
celebrate with them. Soon Sarah realized how much she missed her friends and
started to make them more of a priority. She spent almost all Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday nights hanging with her friends and decided to just go
part time at her job. Towards the end of the year she realized she was only
really working one day a week and her grades were too far gone to try to save.
She began to really stress about her future and how she was going to get back
on track.
Balance, Sarah learned, is a difficult thing. By senior year
she discovered that making everyone else happy is impossible. Trying to satisfy
everyone’s wishes, as Sarah learned, is going to lead to no one being satisfied.
Authors note: This is one of Aesops Fables, called The Man,
the Boy, and the Donkey. It is about a
father and son going to market with their donkey. Along the way they are
criticized for many things. Some of these things include the father not letting
the boy ride the donkey, the donkey being used as a pack mule, and the boy not
letting his father ride the donkey. In the end the donkey accidentally falls
off a bridge and drowns in the waters below. I used a more modern day approach
to this story and tried to use examples that every college student struggles
with.
Photo of the man, boy, and donkey going to marker and adjusting their journey to try to please those they encounter. Wikipedia
Bibliography: The Fables of Aesop, Joseph Jacobs, “The Man,
the Boy, and the Donkey,” a short story by Joseph Jacobs in the Fables of
Aesop.
I liked how you made the fable relatable to us college students. It's really hard to balance everything out while we are in school. I know how Sarah felt about getting a job because of her parents complaining about wanting her to be able to take care of her own money. My parents have never told outright told me to get a job but I was told that I needed to learn to budget. I think most college students could relate to her situation. Great story!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you modernized the fable and engaged the struggle college students go through throughout the semester. Starting off college made me realize how many responsibilities I had to keep up with. Luckily, I was ahead of the game since I already had a job so budgeting and saving money was something that I was used to. I like how you told the story in your words and enjoyed reading it. Good job!
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