In life, people face many obstacles, some of which cause problems that seem almost impossible to overcome. People who can't solve their conflicts sometimes think that escaping them is a solution. However, running away from a difficult situation is never the answer. In "The Long Way Around" by Jean McCord Patty ran away as a means of escaping heartbreaking dilemmas an experience she soon regretted. Like Patty, when teenagers run away to escape difficult challenges, they later face even more hardships.
"The Long Way Around" by Jean McCord is a story about a troubled young girl. Patty is a depressed sad girl because recently her mom died and now she has a stepmom who is nothing like her and her mom. She feels grief for her new life and her new family because Patty feels like everyone and everything changed except for her. In the story she described how much she hated her new life, her new school, and her new family. Patty's initial problem was because of her mother's death she didn't just lose her mother, she also lost everything familiar to her, which resulted in problems at home and school. Patty's main conflict led her to more challenging and difficult problems.
Patty's difficulty with accepting her mother's death resulted in other problems at home and at school. At home Patty's life is a mess, her stepmom is nothing like her and is causing problems for her. Patty is upset and annoyed because her little brothers call her "mom" and thinks that her stepmom is trying to replace her real mother. To make things worse, her father has just transferred jobs and now she has to go to a new school and leave her old friends that she grew up with behind. Patty is depressed, sad, and tired. In her new school, she detests the students, the teachers, and the classes, while walking past a group of girls they giggle and laugh behind her back. Patty hated everyone even her father who seemed like a whole new person. When Patty couldn't take this much stress in her life, she thought there was only one solution and that was to run away with her dog Rufus. Patty collected money, food, and clothing and left her house secretly, after walking around she realized on the road they faced even more hardships, Rufus and Patty were starving and exhausted. When Patty tried to escape her problems, more difficult and challenging problems aroused. Patty realized she made a dumb mistake and called her dad to pick her up. She discovered that running away isn't the solution and only caused more problems for her.
What Patty learned can be helpful to all of us. An important theme of the story is that you can't get rid of your problems by running away. When you try to escape your conflicts by running away, the problems don't just disappear, they add on. Patty was starved and tired she couldn't even take of herself, let alone Rufus her dog. Another crucial theme of the story is to accept tragedies and move on with your life. When Patty refused to accept the idea that her whole life changed, many problems were aroused. At school she hated the kids and the teachers, and at home she had numerous problems with her new family. Sometimes it is best to forgive, let go, and live your life. The story of Patty had many life lessons in it. Patty's experience is enough proof that running away is a mistake, and will only add to your problems. In addition Patty has showed that it is best to let go and move on, because she refused to let go there were countless problems at school and at home.
Throughout life, even the strongest people face the most challenging problems that they will have to face and conquer. Patty's solution to solving her problems was running away. Instead, she faced even more conflicts. Patty's personality and lifestyle changed after her great tragedy. This is a great example to let go and move on. Her experience shows us that from tragedies and mistakes you learn a lot of life lessons that are valuable and are consistently used in your life. Furthermore Patty's tragic story proves if you run away from your problems instead of facing them, you can never achieve success and move on with your life.