I Quit Nothing Personification
I Quit Nothing The story of how I became the personification of a patchwork quilt.
By Nora Gladstone
10/10/24
It was a Tuesday evening two weeks ago and I had come home after a gruesome practice for a home-cooked meal. Even with hours of work ahead of me, I found comfort in the 30 minutes I could set aside to talk to my family. We found our spots at the table and I explained the new English prompt that would become the focus of the next few weeks of class. There was something about this assignment that felt so daunting to me, I felt that I needed an essay that explored the profound difficulties of quitting, but still felt lighthearted. Amidst conversing with my parents about the graveyard of things I had quit, I began to cry. This isn’t …show more content…
Most people argue that when you “quit” on a person, a clean break is necessary. I disagree with that. My former best friend taught me how to love deeply and powerfully. The version of me who was her best friend is forever engrained into all of my relationships. She is part of me every time I do something kind for a friend, or every time I am reminded of the people in my life who understand me. Sparkles, dance classes, and a former best friend all taught me the same lesson. I am a patchwork quilt of anything and anyone I have ever loved and lost. The things I have quit are tangled in my sense of self and my moral compass. Despite the hundreds of things that originally came to my mind when I brainstormed a list of things at my kitchen table, I realized that I have never quit anything because of how deeply my experiences are ingrained into me. That night, I watched the street light reflect through my window and onto my ceiling. And I reflected on that. I reflected on the little girl who dances circles around my heart and adorns my soul with sparkles. I reflected on the awkward middle schooler who learned the importance of trust. I am proud of the person I am and the reason for that is because I am made up of every failure that
By Nora Gladstone
10/10/24
It was a Tuesday evening two weeks ago and I had come home after a gruesome practice for a home-cooked meal. Even with hours of work ahead of me, I found comfort in the 30 minutes I could set aside to talk to my family. We found our spots at the table and I explained the new English prompt that would become the focus of the next few weeks of class. There was something about this assignment that felt so daunting to me, I felt that I needed an essay that explored the profound difficulties of quitting, but still felt lighthearted. Amidst conversing with my parents about the graveyard of things I had quit, I began to cry. This isn’t …show more content…
Most people argue that when you “quit” on a person, a clean break is necessary. I disagree with that. My former best friend taught me how to love deeply and powerfully. The version of me who was her best friend is forever engrained into all of my relationships. She is part of me every time I do something kind for a friend, or every time I am reminded of the people in my life who understand me. Sparkles, dance classes, and a former best friend all taught me the same lesson. I am a patchwork quilt of anything and anyone I have ever loved and lost. The things I have quit are tangled in my sense of self and my moral compass. Despite the hundreds of things that originally came to my mind when I brainstormed a list of things at my kitchen table, I realized that I have never quit anything because of how deeply my experiences are ingrained into me. That night, I watched the street light reflect through my window and onto my ceiling. And I reflected on that. I reflected on the little girl who dances circles around my heart and adorns my soul with sparkles. I reflected on the awkward middle schooler who learned the importance of trust. I am proud of the person I am and the reason for that is because I am made up of every failure that