by ABIGAIL M. ADRIATICO
OLIVE’S DESK was a complete mess.
Her first day in college was fast approaching and she felt the need to do something to calm her nerves. Thinking she needed to redecorate her space, she took everything out of her desk and cork board.
With everything placed on the floor, she moved things around without a clear plan in mind. Everything looked far more cluttered than when she began.
Frustrated, she crumpled one of her papers into a ball and threw it as hard as she could towards the waste bin by her opened door. It hit the door frame instead and rolled out into the hallway. At the time, her mother had just gone out of her room and noticed the crumpled ball on the floor. She reached it before Olive did.
“Do you need help?” she asked her daughter softly. Olive nodded sheepishly. Her mother knew her well enough to know what was bothering her.
“I was nervous about my first day in college, too.” Olive stared at her mother as she took one of the photos on the table and pinned it to the empty cork board that hung on the wall. It was a photo of Olive back in high school during her very first visit to the campus—the day she decided she wanted to study there in college.
Her mother turned towards her with a warm smile while stroking her hair. Olive smiled back.
“You will do just fine.” F
