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Young Writers Society


The Carnation



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80 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 1040
Reviews: 80
Tue Jan 24, 2006 9:28 pm
ladydark says...



this is actually something I read in a book once, I don't know if its true or not, but in any case, I think its absolutely beautiful and that all should reflect on this and what it has done, and what could be done to others in similar senarios....


A Valentine for Laura

Ann, a friend of mine, disliked Valentine's Day as a girl. She was plain-not ugly, but not beautiful. Valentine's Day is not kind to plain girls. It wasn't so bad in elementary school, when the obligatory thirty valentines arrived: one from each classmate. She overlooked the fact that her cards were not oversized like those of the popular girls, and did not contain the love notes like those of the pretty girls. But later, in middle school, the valentine exchange was no longer mandatory. Just when the earning for romance budded, when the desire for admiration and flirtation became imperative, and a valentine was needed most, no card arrived. Not for Ann. Not for plain girls anywhere. Only for the pretty and the popular. At such a time, stories of ugly ducklings that will one day turn into beautiful swans do not assuage the hurt and rejection.

As fate would have it (and often does), in subsequent years Ann did become pretty and turned many a boy's head. As she received more attention and flirtations, she came to feel--and therefore to be--very beautiful. But even years later, grown and with a family of her own, she did not forget those long ago days of rejection and dejection.

Today, Ann's family includes two boys in middle school. For a dollar, their Studen Council will deliver a Valentine's Day carnation. Ann gives a dollar to each of her boys to buy flowers for their girlfriends. Then she adds another dollar apiece with this instruction: "Pick another girl, one who is nice, but plain--someone who probably won't get a flower. Send her a flower anonymously. That way she will know that someone cares, and she will feel special."

Ann has done this for several years, spreading Valentine's Day a littly beyond her own world.

One year, Laura, who is plain to behold but beautiful to know, received one of these gifts. Ann's son reported that Laura was so happy and surprised, she cried. All day long, she carried the flower on her books and chatted with other girls about who her admirer could be. As Ann heard the account, she too had to dry her eyes--for she remembered.
“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”

"Foul devil, for God's sake, hence, and trouble us not;
For thou hast made the happy earth thy hell,
Fill'd it with cursing cries and deep exclaims." (Richard III 1.2) Shakespeare
  





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Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:50 am
Christianne_015 says...



Isn't this an excerpt from one of the Chicken Soup books?
  





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80 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 1040
Reviews: 80
Thu Jan 26, 2006 2:20 am
ladydark says...



aye... and those boooks are so wonderful... Chicken Noodle Soup for Teenaged Souls I think its from the 3rd one... love there stories, makes you laugh, makes you cry, makes you think...
“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”

"Foul devil, for God's sake, hence, and trouble us not;
For thou hast made the happy earth thy hell,
Fill'd it with cursing cries and deep exclaims." (Richard III 1.2) Shakespeare
  





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42 Reviews



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Points: 890
Reviews: 42
Thu Jan 26, 2006 3:10 am
Hope says...



Oh yes, the good old Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Yeah I've read this story before and your right it is absolutely beautiful and it shows that people do care.
Hope

Embrace the total dork in yourself, and enjoy it, because well... Life is to short to be cool.
  





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Thu Jan 26, 2006 3:13 am
Dargquon Ql'deleodna says...



this is a sweet and touching exerpt, i heard those books were good, i have never read any of them though.
Life's a B*tch, slap it upside the head.

Dargquon Ql'deleodna: (n) "Dar-qu-on Kel-del-ode-na" something i made up that sounded cool, partially based off of the Drow Drizzt Do'Urden's name style
  





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Thu Jan 26, 2006 2:13 pm
Angel17 says...



awwwwwwwww that was so nice to read!! :D
Real poetry are those with the best words in the best order

~~~~~~~~Mandy~~~~~~~~~
  








"Beneath this mask, there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask, there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof."
— V for Vendetta