Читать книгу Becoming a Counselor - Samuel Gladding T., Samuel T. Gladding - Страница 46

After transferring to Wake Forest, I quickly became involved in a number of activities. One of them was becoming the athletic section editor of the Howler, the Wake Forest yearbook. In this position I spent a lot of time on “Pub Row,” shorthand for Publication Row, where the yearbook, student newspaper, radio station, and literary magazine were all housed. I enjoyed laying out the pages and writing the copy. Yet I wanted to write humorous pieces too, and the literary magazine was a natural outlet for that.

One day, while sitting at my favorite desk on the fourth floor of the library near a window, where I could watch the sun set and get inspired to write, I decided to go for it—write a humorous essay. “The Lakes of Wake” was my first attempt. It was a rainy day, and I noticed the campus had poor drainage. Inspired by what I saw, I wrote about the ponds of water that were forming and named them all. After writing in long hand, I spent 3 hours typing. When it was finished, I was too shy to deliver it to the editor even though I knew him. I waited until I was sure everyone had left the Row, and under cover of darkness I slid my essay under the editor’s door. To my delight, I received an acceptance letter a few days later. The editor conveyed he thought my writing was “deft.” I did not know the meaning of the word but was thrilled when I looked it up.

My feet did not touch the ground for a few days because it had rained again and the lakes had reformed. Upcoming tests and essays brought me back to reality. Having my work accepted boosted my creative confidence. Still, I waited until past midnight when no one was around to submit my next piece of humor. It was on toilet paper—uh, not its essential use but rather the tradition of throwing rolls of it in the trees when Wake Forest had an athletic victory.