A Story of Procrastination | Teen Ink

A Story of Procrastination MAG

October 6, 2008
By Anonymous

Eleven thirty-one. It’s eleven ­thirty-one, and I’ve got nothing. Two weeks’ preparation, and it all comes down to this. Gnats swoop around my neck as my pen furiously dances on the paper.

Two hours. Two hours. Two fleeting hours counting down to judgment day. I had two weeks, two weeks, for five hundred words that tell a story, my story, a story of procrastination. People crowd around me, not knowing they are distracting me. My mind is a moth, they are the flame. I fly hopelessly toward them.

A gust of sudden wind rustles my paper, and I look down. Eleven forty-four. I’ve lost precious time! How can I overcome these distractions? Voices endlessly clamor in my mind. The worst thing is, they keep coming … the people, they’re everywhere.

The doors fling open and they rush out of the cafeteria, a sudden storm flooding my workspace like bugs, like caterpillars. They are caterpillars that eat and eat, devouring my blossoming ideas. My ideas are disappearing, leaving me! All ­because of the caterpillars, the people.

The bell. My veins ­con­tract. My heart stops beating for only a second, but it stops. My hands begin to shake uncontrollably. I stand and start walking to fourth period. Fifty-two minutes! I have 52 minutes to write a story, my story, a story of ­procrastination.

My walk quickens to a sprint. I’m running through the halls and I don’t care what they think because they don’t know me. They don’t know my situation. They never could … could they? Have these stressful feelings of frustration and shame ever filled their veins? Has aggravation and disappointment ever pumped through their hearts? Have I been a caterpillar?

Ouch. Wrist cramp! Is this karma for all the years that I’ve been the distraction? Well, the tables have turned all right! Has the distraction become the distracted?

In this sudden epiphany, I arrive at class. Students shuffle around their desks, but the room quickly falls silent. My ideas begin to return and recirculate, safely lodging the wretched caterpillars in their cocoons. My ideas are sprouting. They are growing and I love it.

I love it, but wait … These ideas have been tainted by ­stories filled with laughing, gossip, food, and reality. The characters have changed from knights, queens, and dragons to Benjamin, Angelique, Bianca, Tanner, and Mitchell. Worst of all, the antagonist has become Ernie, fat Ernie! How can I write about someone I hate? My ideas are ruined. They’re tainted and useless to me.

The bell rings. The cocoons are hatching and turning the caterpillars into butterflies. Butterflies that want to stay and live in my stomach, swirling and twirling around inside me. They fill me up. They make me want to vomit, vomit out all of these worthless ideas, and my feelings of shame and frustration.

As I approach the door, I can’t hold them in any longer. I feel the butterflies escaping through every orifice of my body. My pores pour sweat. My veins throb. My mouth spits out words, trying to explain everything I’ve gone through. My dead cat. My participation in extracurricular ideas. My extreme load of classes.

I want to speak, to say anything, but nothing comes. Something. Anything. They’re all excuses anyway, ­excuses that don’t help but delay the inevitability that at the end of this 52-minute class I have a paper due, a paper with metaphors, similes, ­alliteration, brushstrokes, and most importantly with my voice. My voice tells my story, a story of procrastination. All I have left are my poisoned ideas strung together into a story, my story, a story of procrastination.



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This article has 96 comments.


lmd_4994 GOLD said...
on Feb. 22 2011 at 8:18 pm
lmd_4994 GOLD, Union Grove, Alabama
13 articles 0 photos 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
"May you live every day of your life" - Jonathan Swift

O my word! This is awesome! I wish i could write this good :D

on Jan. 27 2011 at 3:35 pm
maryambadran BRONZE, Beirut, Other
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."

you are an absolutely inspiring and incredible writer. :) 

Curly_Sue said...
on Dec. 29 2010 at 9:01 pm
Curly_Sue, Sand Springs, Oklahoma
0 articles 0 photos 75 comments
great article. i can totally relate to the procrastinating. everyone can.

funnybunny said...
on Dec. 8 2010 at 11:24 am
oh by the way this is a really really good article i really enjoyed it

funnybunny said...
on Dec. 7 2010 at 9:36 pm
what r they called

funnybunny said...
on Dec. 7 2010 at 9:31 pm
u r totally right i am doing the same thing right now with an english report

Akzca BRONZE said...
on Dec. 7 2010 at 8:17 pm
Akzca BRONZE, MONROE, Ohio
3 articles 2 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Dont let your dreams be dreams"~~Jack Johnson

This is great. I really get the feeling that this was rushed, which adds so much to the story! good job.

SteFanii GOLD said...
on Dec. 7 2010 at 5:57 pm
SteFanii GOLD, Green Bay, Wisconsin
12 articles 22 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
Inspiration comes from the heart of patience

I thought this peice was fantastic because I unfortunatly procrastinate myself... hey by the way I've written a few peices myself about teen drama car accidents, teen troubles etc please comment...thanks

Dakota_Lynn said...
on Nov. 15 2010 at 3:48 pm
Dakota_Lynn, Oxford, Georgia
0 articles 0 photos 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
But that's not the point here.

I can relate to this personally. I am one heck of a procrastinator, It's rather sad, actually.

on Nov. 15 2010 at 3:39 pm
boston418 SILVER, Weymouth, Massachusetts
5 articles 0 photos 48 comments

Favorite Quote:
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." -Jim Eliot

Hahaha I love it!  I relate, lol!

on Oct. 24 2010 at 10:29 am
jericonation PLATINUM, Princeton, New Jersey
31 articles 22 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Never let a little thing like total humiliation get between you and a good time."

wow i love this! its totally relatable and beautifully written :)

on Oct. 2 2010 at 8:17 pm
Hi-5_Girl BRONZE, Moosic, Pennsylvania
4 articles 3 photos 18 comments
Funny I should be reading this while putting off a huge lab report due on Monday. Love this piece!

Thrush BRONZE said...
on Sep. 10 2010 at 5:08 pm
Thrush BRONZE, Tegaad, Other
4 articles 0 photos 65 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Live life to it's fullest extent, it's the only life you've got" "Enjoy yourself, be yourself, love yourself"

Awesome, I like it. I take it this is the story you wrote for your class?

on Aug. 19 2010 at 11:14 am
Blue4indigo PLATINUM, Sturbridge, Connecticut
24 articles 0 photos 382 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather be sorry for something that I did than for something I didn't do.
-Red Scott

Wonderful story, it is very easy for me to relate to. Very interseting to read.

By the way, can somebody read some of my stories, rate, and critisize? Thanks.


JemXero said...
on Aug. 19 2010 at 12:57 am
JemXero, Clarksville, Maryland
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
Great article, it was very descriptive. I can relate because usually I'm a procrastinator myself.

alberto said...
on Jul. 6 2010 at 9:44 pm
i really like it,,i am looking forward to open this site always

on Jun. 14 2010 at 4:05 pm
MyTeacherMadeMeDoIt PLATINUM, Grand Haven, Michigan
21 articles 4 photos 53 comments

Favorite Quote:
I dream of a world where chickens are free to cross the rode without their motives being questioned. (A friend)

i love the way u wrote this i felt my mind racing and everything seemed to move quickly i was really drawn in good job :)

ThatHair said...
on May. 23 2010 at 9:55 pm
ThatHair, Worcester, Massachusetts
0 articles 0 photos 59 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to go," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where-" said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

How ironic. I'm procrastinating right now. 0_o

on May. 23 2010 at 4:59 pm
chartothalatte GOLD, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
10 articles 1 photo 62 comments
so done this! but 500 words takes me around 20 minutes to type with no distractions. very good article, though!

CrazyMK SILVER said...
on May. 1 2010 at 8:23 pm
CrazyMK SILVER, Lindale, Texas
6 articles 0 photos 8 comments
So relatable! I totally connected with that story. Truly amazing.