my summer storybook
DESCRIPTION
I've been getting to know a lovely girl lately, and as she is currently in Alaska, and I live on the East Coast, we decided to trade autobiographies as a way of getting to know each other until we can meet for conversations in the fall. So, one afternoon I set out to photograph a few of my favorite things (mainly a camera and a doll from my childhood). The photographs morphed into the story of my recent months (not a very good autobiography...); I hope you enjoy!TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Once upon a time, there was a girl.
![Page 2: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
She was a nice girl—quiet but kind. She had an adventurous spirit, but an insecure hear t, and sometimes she felt rather lonely out there in the big world.
![Page 3: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
But she always kept smiling, hoping that one day she would find people who recognized all the dreams she kept inside. She waited, and waited, and waited, until one day...
![Page 4: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
...a magical fairy appeared on her doorstep. She couldn’t believe it, and she fell backward in surprise!
![Page 5: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
When she woke up, the fairy was leaning over her.
![Page 6: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
And she leaned closer….
![Page 7: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
And closer...
![Page 8: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
And closer! Until the magical fairy was staring through every tendril of the girl’s curly hair and into her hear t.
![Page 9: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
The magical fairy told the girl that the fall she’d just taken had knocked all her insecurities right out of her. Soon she’d fall into a deep sleep, and when she woke up, the girl would make many new friends!
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The magical fairy left, and as promised, the girl became very tired and fell into a deep, deep sleep. She must have slept for two months at least!
![Page 11: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
When she woke up, the girl already had a friend! Her new friend was larger than life; she couldn’t believe it.
![Page 12: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Suddenly, everything seemed so much easier, and from that day on she approached everyone with a friendly smile, knowing that they could be her next new friend.
![Page 13: My Summer Storybook](https://reader031.vdocuments.us/reader031/viewer/2022020209/568bf0fd1a28ab8933919cdb/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
What a happy ending.
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This story is about a lifelong issue that I’ve been struggling with and tackling this summer.
I’ve always been a rather quiet person—shy, insecure, nervous around new people. This made my years at boarding high school and my first year at college hard, because I had
trouble finding a group of people I clicked with and then becoming close with them. By the end of my freshman year of college, I had sunk into a lingering depression. I accomplished a lot during my first year, but I finished exams and started summer in a state of distraction. I was
unmotivated, often crying, and entirely confused as to why I was even upset.
My depression lasted two months (just like the two months the girl slept in the story), and after a lot of support from my family and friends, I was able to pull myself out of it and regain my
passions and motivations. As my depression ended, I began to realize that only I could change my life to make myself happy. I was upset that I didn’t have friends, but I was too scared to
approach people that interested me, because I always belittled myself. After I lost two months this realization meant everything, and I suddenly snapped out of my insecurity—much like magic
had cured me.
It all seems a little silly when I present it in this manner. But this lesson has already been incredibly important in my life. I am finally making friends and pursuing people that interest me. In just a few weeks I have reached out to half a dozen people and begun forming friendships
with all of them. I am finally taking charge, and it’s such an amazing feeling.