A Coming Ritual

One day in the near future, I will walk into a bookstore and pick up a book from the display rack. I will examine the author’s name with a smile, open the book, and trace my fingers across the pages—recognizing each line, recalling the many revisions the text received, reliving the thoughts and emotions I felt when I first put the words on paper. I’ll look inside the front cover and check the name of the publishing company, remembering the first several rejection letters I received before my book proposal was accepted. I may read the book’s last few pages right there, to remind myself of the way I will have finally decided to resolve the plot’s conflict. Maybe I’ll buy a copy, just to prove to myself that I’m not still dreaming about this day.

written as part of my college application personal statement, 11/29/01