Appreciate What You Have Essay Example

Have you ever got an MRI scan? If you have, you know exactly what Bailey was feeling when she got one. After you come out and have to wait for the results, it is an excruciating feeling to wait. In the meantime, you might be reflecting on things that you did in your life. Bailey did, and felt all of these things after and during her MRI. Her honest opinion: she thought she was going to die. But, during this time, Bailey learns to appreciate what you have because you will never know when it will be gone, along with the people around you. In the start of story she starts worrying that she is going to die and starts to comprehend the choices she makes. In the middle of the story, she starts realizing how she needs to appreciate her mom and others around her. At the end of the story Bailey starts have a new view on life and how to live it

In the beginning of the story “Fine”, we start to see Bailey, the protagonist, starts worrying that she is going to die and starts to realize the choices she made in her life span and reflecting on them. In the story “Fine”, on lines 20-30 it says... “Mom,” Bailey protests, shorthand for “Mom, you’re embarrassing me,” “Mom, you’re bugging me,” “Mom, you’re driving me crazy.” Bailey has said that word that way a thousand times in the past couple of years: When her mother said she shouldn’t let her bra straps show.

When her mother thought people went to homecoming with dates. When her mother asked why Bailey didn’t like Hanson’s music anymore. The complaint “Mom” was usually so perfect at conveying Bailey’s thoughts. But it sounds all wrong in this huge, hollow room. This shows that Bailey thinks that she is going to die. This is because it says, that complaint sounded so hollow in the room. This means that since she thinks that she is going to die there is nothing her mother can do about it because the complaint could not be reciprocate to.      

Also in later in the story, it says, “What’d you think? That I was going to be the dead person in the yearbook for our class?” Bailey jokes desperately. Their yearbook came out last week, and Allison had gone on and on about how every year the senior class had someone die, usually in a car wreck, and that person got a whole page of the yearbook dedicated to him. Last year the dead person was the head cheerleader, so there were lots of pictures.

Allison and Bailey and their friends had spent an entire lunch period imagining what a memorial page might say for everyone in their class. “Imogene Rogers, world’s biggest airhead, floated off into outer space . . . John Vhymes, biggest show-off, thought he had a better idea for running heaven than God does . . . Stanley Witherspoon, died two years ago, but nobody noticed until now . . . ” It had been funny last week. It isn’t now. Bailey hears Allison inhale sharply. Bailey tries to pretend she didn’t say anything.”. This shows Bailey going over her choices that she had made over her life, and reflecting on what she did wrong and how it was mean. Both these examples show Bailey, the protagonist, starting worrying that she is going to die and starts to realize the choices she made in her life span and reflecting on them.

In the middle of the story “Fine”, Bailey starts realizing how she needs to appreciate her mom and others around her. I know this because in the story it is talking about how she wanted to run after her mom when she left the room, she was staying in like she did in preschool when she wanted her mom to stay. This shows Bailey is starting to appreciate her mom because she didn't realize how much she really wanted her to be around with her. Also, Bailey probably wants her mom with her. This is because Bailey thinks she is going to die;however her mom does not. This connects with my theme.  Appreciate what you have because you will never know when it will be gone, along with the people around you. She is learning to appreciate her mom because she doesn't want to lose her. Also in the text, it is talking about how her mom couldn't get to the hospital on time, so Bailey had to go to the EKG(An electrocardiogram records the electrical signals in your heart.)room alone. This made her apprehensive because she really wanted her mom there. She learned to appreciate her mom’s presence because she never will know when her mom will not be there. Both of these pieces of evidence connect to my theme because it is showing how she is learning to appreciate her mom because of this experience. 

Finally, at the end of the story “Fine”, Bailey has a new view of life and how to appreciate it. In the last line it said, “Mom” Bailey protests, in humiliation, with perfect emphasis. The complaint never sounded so wonderful before. This shows Bailey has a new view of how to appreciate her life because she starts to appreciate her mom and others around her and she is making new choices. She recognizes how she is saying Mom and hoe on point and wonderful it sounded. A

lso in the short story it says,  She’s thinking about getting her ordinary life back—ordinary life with maybe a headache every now and then. Bailey doesn’t care—her head barely even hurt yesterday. She doesn’t expect a mere headache to change anything at all. She waits for the glow to fade from her view of her ordinary life, and it does, but not entirely. Even with headaches she has a pretty good life. In this text it is telling us that she thinks that she has a good life. This changes her view because in the beginning she thought that she was going to die and she hated her life. At the end, we now know that she has changed her view on life and thinks her life is good. 

Therefore, I think that Bailey from “Fine” learns to appreciate what you have because you will never know when it will be gone, along with the people around you. I think this because Bailey learns this theme throughout the story when different things are being thrown at her. Before I read this story I took things for granted, but after reading this story I am appreciating things and people more than I have before. So know I will always appreciate the people and things around me. So if you are ever in a situation like Baileys then always look at it in a new way, and just wait because it might even change the way you see things.