Positivity

Sometimes I get so built up with so many things good and bad going on around me. It can be hard to see the good things coming for you. It is always important to look forward to the future and stay positive, as hard as it may be. Where it Began by Ann Redish Stampler, is about Gabby, a teenage girl who is in a relationship with a boy named Billy Nash. Gabby gets drunk at a party, steals Billy’s car, and gets into a terrible accident. The book goes through Gabby’s journey of healing and dealing with her friends, family, and the police. I realized that it was very helpful and important for Gabby to stay positive through this tough time!

                During the time that Gabby spent in the hospital immediately after the accident, this theme became very important for her. Gabby hadn’t seen Billy since the night of the accident and she had to wait for a very long time before he was able to call her. She didn’t fill her mind with thoughts like, he hates me, he is hurt, or he wants nothing to do with me. She remembered all of the good memories that she had shared with him. It gets to a point where Gabby misses Billy so much that every night she dreams about him, and these small moments give her small things to hold onto and that give her hope. When Billy finally calls, it allows Gabby to continue thinking positively throughout the rest of them time in the hospital.

                Thinking positively also helped Gabby when she was released from the hospital.  Under doctors orders, Gabby must stay in bed and she isn’t allowed to leave her house unless it is to see a doctor. Billy isn’t allowed to see anyone either because he is under probation, so Gabby and Billy decide that it would be okay if the instant messaged each other every once in a while on their computers. These few moments of communication allow Gabby to keep thinking good thoughts until she was allowed to finally see Billy in person. When they finally meet each other again, the author describes Gabby’s heart as “trying to jump out of her body”. These descriptions make it clear that not only was Gabby thinking about all of their good moments together, but so was Billy Nash.

                On the other hand, there were some times in the book where Gabby was built up with so much emotion that she wasn’t able to keep bad thoughts from popping into her mind. Between the times that she was allowed to see Billy, even if it was only a few days, Gabby would say that it felt like centuries. She would think that maybe he gave up on her and their relationship and how he might not want to help her get out of this situation that they are in together. In the end, Gabby realizes that Billy is really there for her and it was just the little devil on her shoulder telling her to forget about Billy and take care of this herself.

                What I am really trying to say, is that it is really important to stay positive during a tough situation. There will be times where it is harder than others but it will allow you to keep your hopes up and it will make the situation just a bit easier. This is important because if you stay positive, you will be sending positive energy to not only yourself, but those around you. By doing this, you might make someone’s day just a bit better. One time that this applied to me was when I was preparing for my Bat Mitzvah. I had to learn so much information and memorize so many speeches that I thought that I was going to let everyone down and I wasn’t going to be able to finish everything. I had to take a step back and think about the actual meaning of everything that I was doing and I realized that it wasn’t to stress me out and make me worry about all of the bad things that could happen. This was really about learning and becoming more mature. This realization allowed me to enjoy my experience and it turned out that everything went how it was supposed to. “Once you start replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”