An Old Story About An Even Older Story

So I have a little story to share, and you might enjoy this. As I was packing up my things from home a couple weeks ago I was digging around some of my boxes of sentimental crap and I found some of my old school work. Like really old school work.

One of my favorites was what was supposed to be an assignment about the Mayflower. I was supposed to write a journal in the perspective of a settler on the Mayflower's journey to the new world. What actually happened was basically the cliff notes version of any Shakespearean tragedy dramatically condensed, placed in an 8 year-olds somewhat disturbing imagination, and lacking follow through or closure. Additionally, seems that I had no concept of what actually happens on ships.

I will share some highlights of the story now. It's starts out a little slow, but bear with it because it gets... different. Disclaimer: I am staying true to the original spelling and grammar because I think it keeps the integrity of the work (lol... integrity).

My Mayflower Adventures

SEPTEMBER 5th 1627

Hello my name is Gretchen. 
I am from Holland. 
Right know I'm boarding the May-Flower this is going to be really exciting! 

SEPTEMBER 8th 1627

Yesterday I found other kids. They aren't exciting, but they're something. 
On September 6th I found two cats and played with them too; but to be honest, the cats were better than the kids.

SEPTEMBER 16th 1627

My mom got seasick because she was in the room too much. 
She might die!

SEPTEMBER 24th 1627

My mother is doing much better now. 
However, my father had a knife which a strange man stole, 
The man went crazy and cut my father with the knife then jumped over board. 

SEPTEMBER 28th 1627

Father is still in bad condition, but he is still talkitive. 
All the kids are pretty upset about being in the ship still. 
Everything bad seems to have to do with me.

OCTOBER 14th 1627

Today, my mom and dad read the Bible all day and made me read it for five hours since I didn't read it last week. 
I told them I had read this part, but they just told me to read it again.

OCTOBER 22th 1627

I have the fluenza. 
So I can't play anymore and I don't know what's going on. 
 I think I will die.
Life is horrible.

NOVEMBER 1st 1627

My mother has gone crazy. 
She thinks I'm a three-headed dragon and that father is a caramel cake.

*Spoiler alert* we never find out if the mother becomes sane again or if Gretchen is cured from "the fluenza" or if the father ever gets an infection from being sliced open by an unstable settler.

I don't think I should share anymore, but I can tell you that a large segment of the journal was spent talking to/about a cat that Gretchen found on the boat. Eventually the poor girl gets off the craziest ship in existence and lands in the Americas or whatever. But seriously, I'm pretty sure no one else in the 4th grade class had everyone in the story go insane by the end of the journal.

I did get a good grade on the journal, but my teacher wrote this comment at the front of it:

Interesting details about the trip

Very creative

I think she added it as a way of trying to address the absurdity of the story, but I'm glad she could see past the historical inaccuracies to get to the important part which was ummm... the violence? The oppressive nature of religion during that time? The susceptibility to illnesses? The mental instability of the settlers?

In the end it is kind of nice to look back at your own imagination. Although at first when I found it again I was confused and doubtful that I could have ever wrote something like that, it is oddly reassuring now that at some point and in some context I was "very creative" in my own distinctive way.

I think I have said too much already so I will end this, thanks for bearing with a very strange flashback into my life. I'm probably going to take a nap. Everyone stay away from the fluenza ok? That ish is dangerous.