• I had just added today to the large list of things that I regret. I was tired and half awake. The noise on the radio was louder than the voice in my head. I stared at a computer screen showing me a blank word document. In the opposite corner of the room an alarm clock displayed in big red LED letters: ‘2:47’. That was completely unnecessary; I had already seen the time stamp on my computer, a much more accurate ‘2:52’. I looked at my completely empty brainstorm paper. I decided that this personal essay was going to kill me.

    I had gotten into this mess by just not starting on it. ‘It’ was a college application style personal essay about a time when you turned a bad situation into a positive situation. Mr. Fick had also given us some alternative paper topics. I wished I had paid attention to what they were, but I never could take his class seriously. It was too late in the day, and plus the man had a love affair with ‘circular plots’.

    It had actually hit me hard when he enlightened us about these ‘circular plots’. I couldn’t remember an essay I’ve done without using action in the beginning that was later brought back at the end. He wanted this specifically used for this essay; perhaps I’ve been doing essays wrong the whole time.

    Mr. Fick wanted a 500 word essay with all the fixings. Double spaced, right format, readable font, all that good stuff. I was worried about the 500 words though; Mr. Fick was smart enough to tell when a very lazy writer was trying to stuff his 60 point essay with nothing but filler and fluff. I wonder if he actually goes in and counts the words typed onto the essay before he gives out its less than fabulous grade.

    Of course I procrastinated. It was around seven PM of the day before the essay was due when I decided to start on my essay. In fact, hours before in AP Lang Mr. Fick gave us a silent work day to work on the essay, which was very kind and generous of him. It’s just too bad that I spent this potentially valuable time doing everything but work silently on my essay. Back at my house, I confirmed that it was seven PM by the sound of my mom’s foreign soap opera coming from the living room. I focused once again, and went back to staring at my blank sheet of brainstorm paper, waiting for a miracle to pour out onto it. I grew impatient and frustrated. I meditated on what the topic for my essay should be.

    I woke up abruptly and noticed it was insanely late. A sense of not getting a semi-important essay done must have awakened me. I threw wood onto the computer and fired it up. I turned on the radio for good measure. I glanced once again at my blank brainstorm paper, and fully realized the grim situation I was currently in. I waited anxiously for some sort of revelation to occur right on that college lined paper. Nothing summons inspiration like a good time crunch.

    I guess some sort of revelation did happen. I felt that this was the sort of bad situation that would be perfect for turning into a positive situation. I decided that I would write about the essay that I was writing. The idea was quite simple; little David waits until the last very last minute to do this Goliath of an essay, and in the end David squeezes through triumphant despite his god awful work ethic. Even though David then realizes that 500 words isn’t much of a Goliath anyway, he fixes himself in order to keep himself from ever getting that close to screwed, and probably get more sleep while he’s at it.

    Nah, that’s just stupid, I told myself. But staring at a blank word document shut me up right away. I started typing.