Today is the day! We want to extend a big thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a piece to our contest. With over 30 entries, our decision was not an easy one. However, one entrant in particular stood out to us with his unique writing style and ability to captivate us from start to finish.
The Vasz Books writing contest winner for September is:
Michael Hanton, of Barrie, Ontario!
Michael Hanton, 19 years old, is currently working toward his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications with a minor in Philosophy. He attends Niagara University, where he also participates in the Men’s Soccer Team. In the future, Michael wishes to pursue a career in personal injury law.
On behalf of Vasz Books, we hope that you all enjoy this story as much as we do.
Opinion of Life
“There’s no point in dwelling on what we can’t change. There comes a time when you just have to accept life for what it is, and make the most out of it.”
-Patricia Hanton
Life is what we make it. It always has been, and always will be—this I have learned to be true.
My mom is one of the strongest people I know. She’s been dealt a bad card for the majority of her life, but she doesn’t let it get the best of her.
Growing up, she was always an active person.
sports—she played them all
an active social butterfly—
not much of a drinker but one helluva dancer
and always a diligent worker—
either as a flight attendant flying overseas
or working as a dental hygienist
firmly planted on the ground.
Realistically, she was the worst person to suffer 9 car accidents in as many years—never being in the wrong with any of them. The once energetic go-getter is now confined to the restrictions of walking with a cane—
“I’m already limited enough, there’s no way in hell I’m being pushed around in a chair all day, too,”
she insisted as she turned down the option for a wheelchair.
Not only was her life turned upside down, but our entire family’s dynamic was, as well. As much as she tried to keep things normal for my two brothers and myself, there was an obvious change in the way we functioned. Family ski nights no longer included the whole family. Out of necessity, dad started working two jobs. The chores and responsibilities of two adults were then placed on three kids, in order to pick up the slack around the house.
Despite her warranted inability to maintain the household we once had, my mom did everything in her power to keep things normal.
“No, I can do the laundry, it’s one of the only things I still can do,”
she would say as we attempted to help out. Normal, everyday tasks became a struggle for her. Still, we never heard a complaint.
The way I see it, my mom could have accepted her disability and permanent handicap one of two ways: She could give up, become a vegetable on the couch and be waited on by my brothers and myself. Or she could fight.
Fight through the handicap.
Fight through recurring night terrors of the accidents.
Fight through the exhausting appointments all across hell’s half-acre.
She chose to fight.
She chose not to accept what she had become, but to maintain what she was with a slight difference.
Unknowingly, my mom has taught me a lesson of life, courage and success. I have learned that life is what we make it. It always has been, and it always will be.
My mom is a fighter, and she doesn’t let circumstances change that.
She still does all of our laundry, even though it’s a struggle.
She has, after years of rehab and mental improvement, started driving again.
She is still one of the most socially active people I have ever met.
And she’s still the first one on the dance floor.
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