“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” As said by John F. Kennedy, we should not dwell on the past and present establish our future. Sara Zarr also shows us throughout the course of Story of a Girl that we should accept the past and not let it dictate the future, as it prevents one from moving on and healing. Deanna was never truly able to move on from when she was thirteen, until she accepted the apology of Tommy. Deanna constantly thinks about what she did with Tommy, what everyone thinks about her now, and what she is going to do about it. However, Deanna makes the choice to move on, when she accepts Tommy’s apology. At first, Deanna got the apology from Tommy, and
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Deanna’s brother, Darren, also shows acceptance and moves on. This time, however, Darren’s girlfriend leaves him for awhile after an argument, and comes back randomly. Darren, extremely upset at leaving their child with him, makes Stacy (his girlfriend) and April (his daughter) go to Stacy’s mother’s house. Even then, Darren does not let that dictate how he acts in the future. Darren, with the help of Deanna, apologizes to Stacy and moves on. “She leaned against Darren and watched April in my arms and I felt happy, really and truly happy, like I’d done something good talking to Darren that morning the way I did.”(Zarr, 165) Stacy and Darren’s actions show that they moved on from the past, and were ready to take one step into the future.
Acceptance is the key to healing and moving onto the future. Letting the past dictate it prevents one from moving on. Sara Zarr shows this through Deanna and how she moves on from her mistake, Deanna’s father’s lack of acceptance and failure to move on, and Darren’s apology and acceptance that allowed him to move on. Everyone makes mistakes, but what truly matters is how one deals with the situation, and decides to forgive, accept, and move on, or dwell in the past and let it dictate who they are as a
Deanna’s brother, Darren, also shows acceptance and moves on. This time, however, Darren’s girlfriend leaves him for awhile after an argument, and comes back randomly. Darren, extremely upset at leaving their child with him, makes Stacy (his girlfriend) and April (his daughter) go to Stacy’s mother’s house. Even then, Darren does not let that dictate how he acts in the future. Darren, with the help of Deanna, apologizes to Stacy and moves on. “She leaned against Darren and watched April in my arms and I felt happy, really and truly happy, like I’d done something good talking to Darren that morning the way I did.”(Zarr, 165) Stacy and Darren’s actions show that they moved on from the past, and were ready to take one step into the future.
Acceptance is the key to healing and moving onto the future. Letting the past dictate it prevents one from moving on. Sara Zarr shows this through Deanna and how she moves on from her mistake, Deanna’s father’s lack of acceptance and failure to move on, and Darren’s apology and acceptance that allowed him to move on. Everyone makes mistakes, but what truly matters is how one deals with the situation, and decides to forgive, accept, and move on, or dwell in the past and let it dictate who they are as a