Curses are Made to be Broken {18}

Moving down to Provo initially seemed like a great idea until I saw the red and blue lights flashing behind me, signaling me to pull over. I arrived at my apartment on the brink of tears only to see my roommate sitting on the floor crying over the unexpected death of her phone. Over the course of my first few weeks of school I watched as my roommate's luck seemed to improve, as mine progressively got worse. My first speeding ticket began the onslaught of unlucky circumstances that encompassed my life after I moved to Provo. I noticed that all areas of my life were being affected by this unlucky curse. 

My first trip to the grocery store I was terrified by the ominous look that the cashier gave me after I he had wrung up my groceries. He stared at me as he said, "Well this is creepy..." Immediately I felt the pangs of dread creep into my stomach. Of course my total had amounted to exactly $6.66. I turned to my roommate with a worried look but she reassured me that everything was going to be okay. Little did she know that I had already seen the growing fear in her eyes.

My second week of school turned into devastation when the stucco on the side of my parent’s garage demolished the entire passenger side of my brand new car. I struggled to figure out how I was going to make ends meet as I was faced with an increasing bill of expenses. 

As school progressed my curse continued to make itself known. One of the busiest weeks of school was impacted when my computer crashed in the middle of an assignment. I stared horrified at the black computer screen only to discover that none of my documents had been backed up on an external hard drive. That week I heavily relied on the compassion of my teachers as I tried to recreate week’s worth of assignments in a matter of days. Little did I know that this was just the beginning of my struggles with electronics.

Things seemed to be looking up until a treacherous walk through the parking garage took a turn for the worse. I stood unmoving as I helplessly watched my two-week-old iPhone tumble off of the pile of clothes in my arms. My roommate turned in horror, realizing what had just happened. Her eyes moved from my phone lying facedown on the pavement to the horrified expression on my face. She looked at me in pity as she

said, "Pick it up Jess." An inhuman cry of sadness burst from me as I saw the shattered cracks that covered the length of my once perfect phone. I couldn't help the tears that consumed me that day. I didn't know how anything could get any worse but little did I know what was in store for me the following week.

After a few odd glitches my world was turned upside-down when my laptop suddenly decided to go to the grave. All would have been fine and dandy had my external hard drive not decided to call it quits at the exact same time. Again I had to rely on the mercy of my teachers. Any other school I think my life would have been doomed, but the kind nature of BYU's professors saved me once again. 

Despite the difficulties that plagued my first semester, every curse, even the darkest ones, have a silver lining. The following are some of the remedies that have helped me lighten my load and turned some of my saddest moments into humorous memories: holding a funeral for my laptop and dedicating songs such as "Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables to my dearly departed laptop, ravaging the pantry to make burritos at unruly hours of the morning (fondly known as "Burrito Party Time"), building a fort with Christmas lights under my bed, and taking the time to feel my emotions so that I could turn them into positive energy.

I have learned that regardless of the difficulties that I face, whether it comes in the form of a speeding ticket or the loss of a major assignment, no challenge has presented itself that cannot be overcome through faith and optimism. I am truly grateful that what I have learned in fairytales is true—every curse can be broken.