Whew, so much to catch up on. One of the main things that's been going on recently is that I've become the founder and editor in chief of The Blue Hawk, a school newspaper for Bluegrass United. It's been awesome so far, and tomorrow our second edition will be out. It's definitely a learning experience for me, learning how to write a column, figuring out how to get everything in on time so I can compile it all, and, the hardest for me, editing my people's columns and not taking over. I love to edit and mark papers with red ink all over. It's just a quirky thing about me. I love grammar, sentence structure, word choice - all of it. Anyways, it's been difficult for me to keep my writers' style intact. I tend to want to take over and rewrite the whole thing. But that's not what the newspaper's about. It's about giving teenagers an opportunity to be creative in ways they might not be otherwise, whether it be through writing a column, photographing an event, or creating a comic. It's been awesome to read everyone's articles and see everyone's pictures and compile it all into The Blue Hawk. I love it and can't wait to see where it goes.
For the second edition, I wrote this article. Since I'm the editor in chief, I get to write about whatever I want for the editorial. Perfect job for me. I'm allowed to be opinionated and everything. It's great. :) Hope y'all enjoy it! Happy reading!
“The Fault in Our Stars?? Oh my gosh, that’s like my most favorite book/movie EVER!!!!” Yep, this is the cry of a typical teenage girl right about now. And before I continue, you are free to disagree with me if you like. But I didn’t like it, really at all. It was so depressing and there was no hope.
I’ve been through this cancer thing before. My mom was diagnosed with cancer when I was nine, while she was pregnant with my brother. It was tough, seeing her hurting that way, and being so unsure of the ending. But God, in his great mercy, got us through it and now both of them, my mom and my brother, are as happy and healthy as could be. My mom has been cancer free for eight years.
Then, when I was thirteen, my grandpa, or Pop-pop as all his grandkids called him, was diagnosed with cancer. Five weeks after he had been diagnosed, he went home to be with Jesus. And let me tell you, that was probably one of the toughest things I have ever been through. I still struggle with it sometimes.
You may be sitting there thinking, ‘I’m sorry for your loss and all Ellie, but The Fault in Our Stars wasn’t really that bad.’ I can understand why you would say that. And I completely respect your opinion.
At the same time, as I said before, I struggled with the fact that there was no hope. Jesus was not in it at all. Hazel and Augustus - their lives revolved around themselves and whatever they could find to take pleasure in. To them, death was the finality of life. There was no assurance for them of where they would go after death. And that’s what made me sad. Hope and joy were nonexistent. Can you imagine if Christ had been the center of this story? They would have had so much joy, and not just fake happiness that comes from perishable pleasures, but real joy. They wouldn’t see death as the finality of life, but rather the beginning of infinite life and happiness. It would have been a much grander infinity than the one they had dreamed up for themselves.
I do have to say, this book gave me a new perspective and helped me have more compassion towards those who have been through this without hope. Who are going through it right now without hope. I can’t imagine going through something like that, not knowing that death does not have the final say. I think that’s the main message we, as Christians, can take from the book. There truly are those who are lost, without hope, in this broken world. They need compassion. They need love. They need Jesus. And he’s called us to love those people. To spread this hope, this joy everywhere we go. And by his grace, may we be his vessels, the lights in the dark places, bringing hope to the hopeless.
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