By Nancy M. Scuri
Campus News
Optimism is a perfectly legitimate response to failure. – Stephen King
If you were looking for advice on how to succeed in college, a horror writer probably wouldn’t be the first person you’d ask, especially Stephen King. What would a man who writes best sellers like Cujo, Salem’s Lot, and Christine have to do with advice for students? As it turns out, the man who admitted in his memoir On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft that he “probably doesn’t belong in a smart people’s club,” managed to graduate from the University of Maine, earn his credentials, and teach high school English while working on his first published novel, Carrie. Perhaps there’s more to King’s work than vampires and creepy clowns.
Time past was time past. You just couldn’t get hold of the things you had done and turn them right again. … Had it been otherwise, people would probably die of old age still trying to rewrite their teens. – Stephen King, The Stand
It was frightening when it came out in 1978, but The Stand continues to resonate today, not only because of the description of an epidemic, but of its epic battle of good versus evil. One of the many subplots in the book is the idea of letting go of the past. This can be hard. We cling to something (relatively) minor, like an embarrassing episode in grade school, or something more serious and immediate, like a catastrophic semester that torpedoed your GPA. It’s human nature to obsess over what could, or should, have happened. There is a point, however, where we need to take the lesson and face the world as it is. It’s easy to beat yourself up over things have done. We must remember that we cannot control other people or outside events. We can only manage ourselves in the here and now. Got dumped? Their loss. Didn’t get the job you were counting on? There’s a better one out there. Is this a little too much Pollyanna sunshine? Maybe. But you have to be willing to let go and act from a place of optimism, even a little bit, even if you don’t feel it 100%. It’s how you work your way through.
Swear to me swear to me that if it isn’t dead you’ll all come back. – Stephen King, It
Secondly, remember we cannot run from our demons. I can hear you from here: “You just told me to move on and be optimistic?!?” Yes. Yes, I did. However, there is a world of difference between clinging to something that’s keeping you from your best life and confronting it, resolving issues, and healing. As you may recall from the novel, the miniseries, the movies, and so on, a group of kids, known as the “Loser’s Club” take on a murderous clown/alien and drive It back into the sewers. They swear an oath to return if the monster starts killing again. They grow up, burying their traumas and getting on with their lives with varying degrees of success. After 27 years, they are called back to their hometown, where they are forced to confront their monsters, external as well as internal, and it is only after It dies and Derry is destroyed in a storm, that they finally heal and can move on. It can be as minor as getting past procrastination, it can be as major as resolving a deep-seated trauma, but the process is pretty much the same. Now, you may not be in a place where you can do this whole confrontation and healing this right this second, and that’s OK. Just remember that the day will come, and it will very probably be awful for a bit, but then it will be a lot better. Promise.
I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. – Stephen King, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
People are surprised to learn that Stephen King writes stories like The Green Mile, and The Body (you may know it better as the film Stand by Me). He also wrote Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. When it was originally published as part of Different Seasons, it was subtitled Hope Springs Eternal. It is a story of prison life, of crime and punishment, but at its core, it is a story of hope and friendship. Over the nearly 20 years that Andy Dufresne has been incarcerated in Shawshank Prison, he develops strong friendship with fellow inmate Red Redding. After being released from solitary confinement for playing music over the prison PA system, Andy confides in Red that it is hope that allows him to endure his hardships. Andy is finally able to escape and gives Red clues that allow the two men to meet up in Mexico and begin a new life.
If letting go of the past lets you move forward, and facing your fears helps you resolve your issues, then hope is what will get you through. Don’t take my word for it, though. Just ask the master of horror.
One last piece of advice from Stephen King would probably be that if your best friend dies mysteriously and then shows up floating at your window wanting to come in, you probably want to say no.
Just saying.
Nancy Scuri is a freelance writer and editor with over fifteen years of teaching experience at the college level. You can reach her at www.nmscuri.com.
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