Example of Base Story

When I was 11 years old, I went to an overnight summer camp, called Hastings, for a month.  I had a great time and made friends with a girl named Kate.  We sailed and canoed together during free hour and my feelings for her quickly felt like more than the friendships that I had had before.  Finally I decided to ask her to go to the end of .summer dance.  She said yes, but I had a problem.  My hair had grown very long that summer and it was difficult to keep out of my face.  I looked like a shaggy dog.

I wanted to look good for my first date ever and didn’t think that any girl especially Kate, would want to dance with me looking like that.   But there was nothing to be done. I couldn’t go to the barber shop, like my mother had wanted me to do before coming to camp. 

After getting ready for the dance I went to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, playing with my hair trying to get it to stay in place, but it was impossible.  It was too thin.  In the end, however, I found that if I brushed my hair just right, it would rest on my eyebrows and take longer to fall down turning me into a sheep dog.   This gave me hope and a plan.  I went to the dance with my soft-brill hairbrush in my pocket so that when it was necessary, I could go to the men’s room and brush my hair back into place.    

PAST               

I was very excited about the dance that I was going to go to that evening.  I was at Hastings overnight summer camp and the dance was to celebrate the last evening that we would be there that summer.  I was 11 years old and I was standing in my cabin’s bathroom looking in the mirror at my hair and wondering what to do.  It had grown very long that summer – I had been there for a month – and it was difficult to keep out of my face.  I looked like a shaggy dog and didn’t think that any girl especially Kate, would want to dance with me looking like that.   But there was nothing to be done. I couldn’t go to the barber shop, like my mother had wanted me to do before coming to camp, and it would have been to embarrassing to ask any of my fellow campers let alone my camp counselor for hairspray.  That and I doubted that any of them had any.                   

As I stood in the mirror, I played with my hair trying to get it to stay in place, but it was impossible.  It was too thin.  In the end, I found that if I brushed my hair just right, it would rest on my eyebrows and take longer to fall down turning me into a sheep dog.   This gave me hope and a plan.  I would go to the dance with my soft-brill hairbrush in my pocket.  And when it was necessary, I would go to the men’s room and brush my hair back into place.                  

MW 830 Lidia

Base Story

I don’t know exactly what to say because it has been a few years since I have written for English Class.  I could talk about the situation that we are living thought, but I think that we have had enough about the COVID pandemic already.   Instead, I’ll talk about people. 

Last year I worked in my mother’s hair salon and learnt a lot about working with customers many of whom are kind and polite, but there are some who bring out the worst in you.  These people can make you hate your work and put in in a bad mood for the whole day if you aren’t careful. 

You have to learn to manage your emotions and put on a happy face not because you want to, but because you have to.  And this is an ability that one has to acquire over time with a lot of practice.  As I have begun learning how to do this, I have seen that I have grown quite a bit and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to have worked for an entire year. 

MW Alberto M.G.

Base Story

This year has been very difficult for everyone because of the COVID pandemic which has ruined a lot of things such as concerts.   But my summer holidays with my friends wasn´t one of them even though we had to take precautions.

Our journey started at the bus station in Jaén where we all waited for the bus with our suitcases, masks and sanitizer gel.  We were ready to go to Almeria and for a few relaxing but safe days at the beach. When the bus arrived, we got on and started our journey.  During the trip the bus made a couple of stops and we took advantage of the breaks to smoke - at safety distance of course.  Once we were in Almeria we discovered that none of the discos or pubs were open but we still had a good time in the bars and at the beach.

This is how I spent my summer holidays, following a lot of restrictive guidelines but having a good time which demonstrates that even in a pandemic one can have a good time if they are careful.

MW 830 Felipe

Base Story

We all have many different experiences and create many memories during our lives which mark us and form who we are and how we perceive ourselves.  And one of mine is my first day of school.

School is a place where we grow physically and mentally and the place where we meet many of the people who will become a large part of lives.  For these reasons the first day is so important.  

The first thing, that I remember, is that it was a sunny day although maybe it is just my imagination because I remember it as a happy moment.   The way to school was full of children walking together in groups or with their parents, all going to the same place.  When I arrived at school, I remember that there were many parents waiting at the door to the school. 

Once inside, the classroom walls were very colourful and the chairs were different colours.  I also remember that there were a lot of stuffed animals, especially a giant Tucan perched on top of a cabinet.

Some of my classmates were crying although I do not remember if I cried or not.  My teacher, who was very tall had two crying twins in his arms.  Later these two brothers, Germán and Álvaro would become by best friends that year, but they would repeat the curse and we would lose contact.

That day we played many games, because it was the first day, and finally I remember a large corridor formed by the parents that I walked down until I saw my mother and we went home. 

But what I remember most about that day was that the excitement that I felt to be at school and to make new friends made me forget how scared I might have been about being on my own for the first time.  I carry this same enthusiasm to this day and when it falters all I have to do is remember this day. 

MW 830 Tito

Base Story

This day I was excited because my friends and I were going to play football for the first time in a long time due to the restrictions imposed to combat the COVID pandemic.  While we were choosing the teams, suddenly Luis who was another friend but who no one knew was coming, appeared.  Before Luis came, there were 15 of us so we could not make even teams and Luis was our saviour.

After picking the teams, we went to the Salobreja Football Field where we paid the entrance fee and went to the soccer field.  We had one of my friends Miguel’s new ball and started to play.  It was a very exciting game in part because there were a lot of people watching us even though we didn’t know why.

When we started, I thought that my team was not very good, but with effort and Miguel’s expert dribbling we were able to score goals.  In the end, we won and did a culé for the other team which they and our public enjoyed immensely.  

MW 830 Maria

Base Story

Last year was really difficult for me because all my friends were studying in other cities.  So I was really looking forward to Christmas Vacations, when they would all be visiting, and especially to the New Year’s Eve party where I would see all of them.   

On the 30th of December one of my best friends, Natasha, went shopping for some clothes for the party the next evening.   We were pretty worried because we did not have dresses for that day.

Finally I wore black pants with the most beautiful pink sequenced shirt with that I have ever seen.   

New Year’s Eve at 1:00 AM, after having dinner with my father’s family, we went to the party.  There my friends and I meet a group of other people that we knew and among them was a boy, Chema, who I knew, but with whom I had never had a conversation.  That night he came over and started a conversation with my, I don’t know why, but maybe he liked my pink sequenced shirt or maybe he was just attracted to me.  We were a little bit drunk after a night of drinking a lot of spirits, but we started speaking.   The conversation, due to the booze, was not very fluid although for me it was interesting owing to the fact that I learned more about him, his family, studies and feeling among other things.  

MW 830 Patri

Base Story

Last year I finally decided to change the course of my life and stop working for others so that I could open my own freelance business.  In May 2019, I went to Ronda to speak to my boss, who was from England but lived in Ronda, and let her know that wasn’t going to be working for her anymore.  It was a strange moment for me because I had been working at the same agency for more than 5 years.

The day was sunny and Ronda, as usual, was beautiful.  I normally worked from home so my boss was a little surprised that I had arranged an in person meeting and even though she suspected that something was up, she did not know the real reason I wanted to see her. 

As Ronda is a four hour drive from Jaén, where I live I needed to feel comfortable so I had worn an informal outfit: jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers.    Once there, we had to meet in a bar because three years before we had closed the office space to work remotely.  The bar that we went to was really cool and after telling my decision to by boss everything went even better than I had expected because despite the fact that I wanted to leave the company, she did not want me to stop working for her. So for the next eight months, until she moved to England, I free-lanced for her.

 That moment definitely marked a before and after in my life, and every day I am happier to have made that decision.

MW 830 Alberto M.

Base Story

One clear and very sunny day, I was studying “civil law” in the library and was really tired.  I wanted to lay down on my bed and maybe sleep for at least three or four hours.  I was wearing sports clothes – specifically a red t-shirt and black shorts – which are perfect for taking a long afternoon nap.  But the other people in the library were very loud and the boy who was in front of me kept moving things all the time.  I couldn’t concentrate so I was going to be there for a while.

 The atmosphere in the library was stuffy, and I was hungry because I forgot to bring something to eat aside from some chocolate (I usually had fruit which gives me more energy).  This just made it even harder to concentrate.  I wound up just looking at the other people, and not studying.   In the end, I was there for 5 hours holding a heavy book and trying to memorize concepts.  It was horrible and I really wanted to get out of there, but I the exam was just a few days away. 

The experience was very stressful, but it was really worth it because a few days later, I passed the exam with a five.  A five is not a great score, but it was enough to pass and it was equal to 6 credits.