Why I Don't _____

Feb 21, 2024

Monday morning, somewhere back in high school...I don't remember the class or the teacher...

"Write a 500-word essay beginning with the phrase, "Why I don't___."

"You can fill in the blank with anything you choose. Just have it on my desk by Friday"

We moaned and groaned, but class resumed.

Probably a lecture on the finer points of punctuation, grammar, or style, I'd guess.

"Why I Don't ___" 🤔

The week went on with its usual drone.

But Friday came with a big surprise.

"Keep your Friday assignments," the teacher said. "Don't hand them in...

"You're going to read them in front of the class instead"

OMG! Can school actually get any worse? 😧

But read them we did...

"Why I Don't Do Drugs" was popular.

"Why I Don't Have Premarital Sex" was up there.

"Why I Don't Drink and Drive" was well represented, too.

"Why I Don't Write 500-Word Essays" had us in stitches.

"Why I Don't Miss My Dad" had us in tears.

"Why I Don't Wrestle 138" had us questioning the rigors of that particular sport.

...but the last essay, the one I bet we all remember.

Wow 🤯

"Why I Don't Quit"

The essayist wasn't a popular student, not a jock, burnout, clown, or a freak.

Just a quiet, unassuming, invisible person, really....

...living with a death sentence none of us knew about.

"Why try so hard when you know it's going to end?" they asked.

"Why get up day after day when the mundane causes such great pain?" they wanted to know.

...by the time this young writer read their very last line...

You could've heard a feather fall to the floor 🪶

...

What?

You thought I was going to tell you why THEY Didn't Quit?

😉

I love you guys!

Be kind to yourselves…and Just…Keep…Going!

I’m rooting for you! 🥳 Each and Every One.

—Paul