My parents got a letter today from my uncle, King Hygelac, informing them that word of my “superior strength” has spread all the way to his kingdom. He wants me to come live with him and his other warriors. I know I should be excited to be a thane because of all the skills I will get to learn, but honestly all I can think about is having to leave my parents and my friends. All I want to do is be a kid. People keep freaking out about how strong I am, but it’s not like I can help it.
Dear Journal,
So apparently my uncle is pretty anxious to get me started in training. I told my parents that I don’t want to go, but they think it will be a good opportunity for me. I know they are probably right (ugh they usually are), but it still doesn’t make it any easier. I am trying to be strong and I don’t want to admit to them how much I am going to miss home. I am leaving at the end of the month.
Dear Journal,
I arrived at my uncle’s this morning. His kingdom is pretty nice, I guess. I have a really cool room, but I bet that is just because I am family. I really hope he doesn’t give me special attention because I want the other guys to treat me normally, not like a kid who is just here because the King is my uncle. I am trying to act happy to be here, but I already have a bad feeling that this adjustment period is really going to suck.
Dear Journal,
Well I have made one friend after being here for 5 months! It may or may not be the family dog, but a friend is a friend. I miss everything about home so much. I am strong and getting stronger, just like they expected, but I am so awkward that it doesn’t even matter. I run so fast that I get tripped up over my own two feet. I just really don’t feel like I fit in with all these strong warriors and I think that is how the other guys like it. I am looking for someone else who is struggling as much as I am, but everyone else seems like they have it all figured out. I just feel really alone.
Dear Journal,
Someone has started spreading nasty rumors about me. As if being the loser who has no friends wasn’t enough, now everyone thinks I am a lazy coward! I didn’t even ask to be here in the first place. I just want to leave, but I am too angry. I will prove that these are all untrue for the sake of my family’s name. A guy a little older than me, named Breca, challenged me to swim the open sea. I have really been improving in the training drills so I am actually ready to prove myself. This seems like the perfect opportunity. Maybe if I can win this race, people will see that I have been working hard this whole time and I am not a slacker. The race is tomorrow, so I will update when I get back.
Author's Note:
I based this off of the Beowulf Unit, mostly from The Young Beowulf story. It talked about how Beowulf had to leave his family at a very young age so I wanted to explore his feelings about leaving everything he knew. The original story just assumed that he would be happy to go, but I wanted to contrast that in my story with his longing to be normal. The original story did talk about how he trouble adjusting so I expanded on that and went deeper into what his inner thoughts would be.
Bibliography:
The Young Beowulf by Strafford Riggs
Hi Savannah,
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you presented your story in the style of a journal. I think that’s a great and easy way to get into the mind of the main character and see what they are really thinking. I liked the story that you wrote and can totally relate to having a hard time fitting into a new place.
Wow. I love the way you wrote this story. I haven't seen anyone write it as journal entries before. Very clever. I thought about writing it like an investigative journalist would, like with notes and dates and times, but I never got around to it. I love that it is in first person, obviously since it's a journal entry. Really nice job!
ReplyDeleteI love how you chose to write journal entries. It makes it so much more personal. I also love how you chose to write a backstory sort of story and show the emotions Beowulf is feeling through all of this. He sounds like a typical teenage boy. I haven't read this unit, so I am wondering how old he is. Still, really good job on your story!
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