The “Bug” Story

A while back I was going through old letters I had kept over the years from college. I have a collection of everything I’ve done so far. I MEAN EVERYTHING. Study note cards, pieces of paper with almost nothing written on it, and every single pen I’ve ever used. Several times in the last few years I’ve almost thrown everything out but something always tells me not to.. 🙂 Anyways, I came across a letter I wrote to get in a scholarship competition, and lets just say I am shocked at my writing skills back then, however, the story is pretty hilarious. It’s plain to see that when I start writing, I say whatever is on my mind, regardless if it makes me look like I have screws missing 😉 The same goes for my book. It is full of stories that I am proud to share with the whole world, except for maybe one or two stories, but seriously, God made me write it.. LOL. I am just thankful I have an editor that is making sure my book has a clear direction from the stories I wrote. Unlike, this letter that I am about to share, there is no direction. I began writing about a tornado and somehow ended my story about a bug collection 😉 The great news is I won a $1000 scholarship!!

Here is the story:

Office of Financial Aid
Texas State Technical College
Harlingen, Tx.

September 14, 2009

RE: TSTC Harlingen Disaster Relief Grant

In Missouri where I grew up there were only tornados, but I never did get to see one. Every time there was a thunderstorm, my daddy would make the whole family of fifteen go to the basement. And that caused me to get very nervous and scared. Of course, there was no need to worry because the tornado never came, but just to see those dark skies was enough to make one shiver.
I came to Texas in 2006 and I began to hear people talk about hurricanes and I thought I would like to be in to see what it is like. Well, I got my chance when hurricane Dolly showed up and it was quite an experience! However, I must say I hope there will never be another one. The hurricane left the part of the roof torn off from the house and the yard was covered with branches and trash. But the saddest part of this deal was prior to the hurricane, the teacher gave the students an assignment of collecting one hundred different bugs for the Entomology class. Right before the hurricane, I had collected about thirty bugs and I had them in the freezer. When the electricity went off, I took the dead bugs and sprayed them with enamel paint so they would not rot. After the hurricane, I was determined to collect the rest of the bugs I needed to get a total of a hundred. So every night (for a week) after dark I would go out to the pole lights to catch some. I would put on an oversized raincoat in hopes of keeping mosquitoes away; they were just ready to devour me as soon as I stepped outside. It was almost like if they knew when I was coming outside. The raincoat helped a little bit, but some mosquitoes still found a way to get to my skin. Anyway, I had collected and perfectly arranged ninety-two bugs in a showcase and I had a name for all of them by the first day of class after the hurricane. Then I got devastating news; the teacher said that since I have a grade of an “A” in his class I don’t need to turn in my project. I asked if I could turn mine in anyway since I have ninety-two bugs ready. He said, “No don’t bother.” The rest of the students that did not have an “A” had to gather thirty bugs and turn them in for the final grade. It was the last week of the semester. I left the classroom in tears and thought all my hard work had gone down the drain. All because of a hurricane the teacher changed his mind about the bug project and did not realize that I was out there in wet grass fighting mosquitoes trying to find bugs. Besides, I was the only student that had actually worked on finishing the project after the hurricane. I was offended because the teacher didn’t even want to see what I had done. The bugs are now my souvenirs.