turner.html

Second Place Winner Level II - Trevor Turner
Winterset
"Slump" by Dave Jarzyna

Dear Dave Jarzyna,

             Talk about an alarm clock!  Your book, Slump, woke me up.  I couldn't see the problem in myself, but I could see it in Mitchie.  I first saw the trap when Mitchie had the fight with his friend over the soccer ball.  He acted like everyone was against him.  I felt just like Mitchie because my little brother and I had just had a big fight.  It was about a Lego axe.  I asked for it, he would not give it back to me, so I hit him.  Then, my mom called me and I argued with her.  Like Mitchie, I was making little things into huge problems.  I felt upset all the time it was out of control.  I was out of control.

              "Why change?" I asked myself, but I knew I needed to do something.  I wasn't happy with school, my parents, my friends, my toys or with myself.  I wanted to be happy and I wanted to be a better person.  I needed to change; I just couldn't figure how to do it.

              The more I read the more I saw how Mitchie and I were alike.  Some days I didn't read the book at all because I didn't want to think about how Mitchie and I were alike.  I didn't want to wake up, but every time I saw that book it was like an alarm clock that would not stop ringing.  Finally, I just read until my eyes almost popped out of my head, partly to make it stop, but mostly because I was so eager to find the magic solution to make me happy.  When I read the solution, I was stunned at how simple it seemed.  All I had to do was change little things.  I didn't think it would work, but I tried it anyway.  I started having good days a lot more often.  Others around me noticed how I was changing.  It was hard, but I kept going because like Mitchie, I, "...may be a lot of things, but I am not a whimp."

             At last, I finished the book and boy, had I changed.  I was a different person.  I started to think about others before myself.  I started to see I was in control of my life and how I thought and felt.  I still have bad days, but they come and go.  When I have bad days I remember Mitchie and how he changed.

            That 'alarm clock' with Mitchie's face on it still sits next to my bed; it sure helps me stay awake.  Thanks for the wakeup call.

Sincerely,

Trevor Turner, 5th grade

P. S. How did you come up with Mitchie?  Was he like you when you were a kid?