Leah Archer was just 12 years old when she hit her head on a rock and fell into a coma, one that doctors weren't sure she'd ever come back from. But when she wakes up four years later, she faces the struggle of recovery and fights to regain any hint...
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EVERYTHING SEEMS TO return back to normal once Leah comes back to school. It's like the balance is restored. I can see her smile and hear her laugh at lunch, walking through the hallways, and it feels like she's everywhere I look. And I'm not complaining.
Every morning we walk together to first period, parting at the door with a kiss before going inside. I love walking her to class; the conversations we have at school are some of the best, no pressure from anybody else to be anything.
Weeks seem to fly by after Leah's stay in the hospital, and things couldn't be better. The football team wins some games, but we lose a few too, and no matter what happens Leah is right there in the stands, cheering me and Caleb on through it all. Classes are going great, but the one thing hanging over every senior's head is college applications.
I've narrowed it down to about seven schools, but deciding to apply somewhere and finishing the applications are two different things. Everyone is stressing of the UC application essays, and no matter how many times we all meet at Starbucks, I'm really struggling with finishing everything.
Farah and I agree to meet up at Barista's, a popular café for students, so we can really crack down on the essays and get them finished. We manage to find a quiet corner in the bustling shop to set up our laptops and get working.
"It's almost more like telling a story than writing an essay," Farah tells me as she looks through something on her screen. "You're not gonna structure it like some persuasive essay, saying 'my name is Noah Davis and you should accept me because I'm a smart and kickass student-athlete.'"
I can't help but laugh. "I know that, I'm just having trouble coming up with some good topics for the questions. Like, leadership is pretty easy with being on the football team, but my creativity? An educational opportunity I've taken advantage of? A challenge I've overcome, an academic subject that inspires me? I just can't come up with anything that sets me apart from everyone else. How can I expect to get in when I haven't done anything important?"
Farah rolls her eyes. "You're giving yourself less credit than you deserve. No 17-year-old has found the answer to world peace or the cure to cancer. I mean, I guess Malala is an exception, but you know, not all of us can speak out for girls education and win a Nobel Peace Prize."
I chuckle, pulling up another page on writing application essays. "I guess, but still, I need something to make me stand out. We've all worked too hard in school to give up now."
The barista behind the counter calls my name and I get up to grab my drink before getting down to work. I try and think about the last year or two and all that I've been through, looking to pull inspiration from anywhere. My injury is an obvious one that fits under the topic of a challenged I've overcome, but it's still related to football, and I want to be sure I let them know that football isn't the only important thing about me.
We work for a while, people coming and going from the small coffee shop as we type. Every so often, one of us will read off a paragraph, gauging the reaction and opinion of the other. It definitely helps to have someone like Farah to bounce ideas off, and it makes the process a lot smoother.
