Gillespie 1

Julia Gillespie

Mr. Macleod

English II

17 December 2017

Carpets Break Comfort Zones

Humans are what you could call creatures of habit. It’s easy to say that I was just like any

other human in the aspects of the habits I created for myself. Every morning I had the same

routine, which included readying myself for the day by inserting my favorite pair of earrings. I

never thought that one day I would learn one of life's most important lessons by breaking the

habits I had created and by simply accepting something unique into my life; a new pair of

earrings.

Wake up. Wash my face. Put in my earrings. The daily ritual of inserting the worshipped

earrings into the holes in my ears rendered its special place in my morning routine before school.

They even had their own special spot in my bathroom where the liturgy occurred, two inches

from the left of the hot water faucet tab at the sink near the hand towels. I picked up the earrings

off the counter, ready to take on a new day of challenges with the same old earrings that had

accompanied me on every other outing. But my antagonist of a mother had different ideas.

“Julia. If you are wearing those god-awful earrings again. Change. Them. Now.” Her

demonic voice stung my ears and my heart. I froze. My mind went lunatic as my heart came

crashing down like the remains of a delicate building after its been demolished by a bulldozer. I

could lie. Ooh! And say I changed them and then cover my ears with my hair. Ugh no! She has

eyes sharp as a hawk! I rushed towards her, falling to the floor from the pain of a shattered heart.
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Begging on my knees, I pleaded for her to spare me from the terrible fate she had cruelly cast.

“Mom! How do you expect me -”? My desperate cries and frantic disposition of mercy were cut

off by an evil snicker and a swift turn of her curly head of hair, which I knew was covering up a

pair of little, red devil horns sprouting from her head. My sister consoled me, persuading me

with charismatic words that I should try new things and get rid of old ear monstrosities that made

her snore with boredom. And with a toss of a pair of her unfamiliar, shining earrings towards me,

the tides shifted.

Deep down, I knew I couldn’t argue my way out of the grave dug by Lucifer. With one

final wave of regret and reluctant cooperation, I took my earrings out of my ears. The comfort

they once provided was gone. It seemed that the once bright, warm lamp on the desk in my room

dimmed, and all the normal, comforting life and happiness had been sucked from the bedroom. I

accepted my fate by limply grabbed the new studs, as a twenty-ton weight came bearing down on

my heart. My fingers began to tremble as I literally held my fate in my own hands. The shiny,

gold surface of the new studs reflected the face of the torn girl that stared at them. I was still in

shock that my sister was able to convince me to wonder into the uncharted waters I knew lurked

with extreme hazards.

Beads of sweat began to drip down the side of my face. Lub. Lub Dub. Lub. Lub Dub.

My heart pounded. My hands trembled. Tiny earthquakes erupted through my veins. With

intense angst and concentration, I began to slide the earring back off the earring for its

preparation into its new home in the hole in my ear. Oh my god. What am I doing? Suddenly,

with an unexpected twist of betrayal and surprise, a sharp sting shot through my finger. It sent

shock waves of pain surging through the rest of my hand. It became limp and useless like a

soggy vegetable. The trauma was throbbing and burning. With no hesitation, a bubble of red,
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plasma-like hemoglobin rose and collected into the shallow divots in the first layer of my fragile

skin. The earring stabbed me! Rushing for safety, via trusty Band-aid, my life flashed before my

eyes. Memories of the old earrings who brought safety with them flowed through my mind,

bringing longing regret for the comfort they used to provide. Blood still flowing through the gash

in my hand, I wrapped the flesh wound with the protection and comfort of the bandage. My sister

watched as I began to cower away from my new destiny. But her presence gave me the courage

to decide I couldn’t cower away now. Julia, you just overcame something horrific. There is no

way anything could be worse. Just put them in and don’t lose them. You got this. I had to pursue

my journey.

Although the heartbreak continued, the bleeding ceased. With a renewal of bravery from

somewhere unknown, I began to raise the sharp end of the earring to the fragile skin of my ear.

Five inches away from my ear. Would this hurt? Four inches. Is this even worth it? Three inches.

My heart pounded. Two. My head spun. Closer and closer, I raised the dagger to my ear. Regret

pulsed through my body. Fear surged. Just do it. My hands trembled, and my tears cascaded

down my cheek and my stomach churned and my legs felt weak. Just do it. At the same time, I

brought the back of the earring towards my head. I had never yearned for an object from my past

so much. Suddenly, as if the terror had taken greedy and evil control of my body, my fingers lost

grip of the seemingly microscopic back. I watched as it took a fatal plummet towards the thick

jungle of plush threading that wove together into what was the carpet of my bedroom floor.

My world came crashing down as the miniscule earring back fell into that Bermuda

Triangle. What went in, almost never came back out. The carpet was known to be a black abyss

of dreams and everyone knew it. I swung my head around towards my clock. 6:59 A.M. It would
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be any second before my mother would blow a fuse about how we were going to be late for

school again, and she didn’t want to see another first period tardy.

I threw my body on to the sea of thread and thrust my hand into the thick carpeting that

encompassed the entire floor of the bedroom. Time was ticking. Tears blurred my vision. My

head overflowed with demonic thoughts of failure. Panic slowly began to rise up my neck like

goosebumps caused by a chill. I dug my hand into every crevice and corner of the carpet that

held my fate captive. Tick…Tock. Tick… Tock. The mocking sound of the wall clock blared

like sirens of an oncoming ambulance. “Warning!”, they said. “Time’s running out!”, they

screeched with articulation. The sound of the fuming footsteps of an enraged mother stomping

up the stairs neared closer. And closer. And closer. I still shoveled through the rug, not knowing

what was living in that Underworld. Come on! It’s here. It has to be! I began to feel as if every

hope to find the back had shriveled up. And died. The musty smell of the carpet choked me.

Thousands of waves of tears fell. This is not happening! Oh my god. Even though I felt as though

my efforts were for none, I would not let a carpet triumph over me. With one ultimate battle cry,

I dove one last time into the canyon of the carpet.

With outstanding surprise, I ripped the back of the earring out from the succubus of

dreams. “Yes!” I cried with glee. I spun around my room, leaping for joy. I couldn’t wrap my

head around the amazing feat I had just accomplished. My trophy of success over the devil of a

carpet was obtained. The grief the carpet bewitched upon on me had been overcome.

I understood that once my reward was secured, I could never let anyone take away the

glory it brought. I flew to my mirror to investigate the new addition to my morning routine. As I

made my way, I tightened the back of my earring onto the stud, making sure it was snug in its

new position. Without warning, the earring back clamped the skin on the back of my ear tightly,
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causing sliced nerves and painful bruises to occur on the spot. Even though the pain I had just

experienced was the pain of thousands of needles pricking my ear at once, I couldn’t let such an

obstacle stop me from succeeding. I had already come this far. Quickly, as if I had not even been

phased by the pain derived from the earrings, I recovered. I fixed the back as my ear screamed in

agony. Calm. Cool. Collected. I took a deep breath and gathered myself for the moment I had

been nervous to encounter all along.

My mirror was known to reflect a mediocre girl when I normally looked at it. But this

time, it was different. This time, the mirror flooded with bright, shining lights that resembled the

halo of an angel. These earrings changed me. They are beautiful! God-sent! I sprinted out of my

room, making a sharp turn down the hall. I threw my arms open in front of my mom, and yelled

with pure jovial excitement. “They are perfect!”. These earrings didn’t look like the horror I

imagined. They looked like triumph and new journeys.

I learned through my series of unfortunate events that there is no doubt humans are

creatures of habit because we fear what will result from trying new things. But my eyes were

opened that day. Now I understand that if we never take spontaneous chances, we may never

experience the unique things life has waiting for us. I mean, now these earrings are my favorite. I

don’t even know what I would ever do without them.