Week 1 Storytelling: Sleepy John

"DEEDLE, deedle, dumpling, my son John

Went to bed with his trousers on;

One shoe off, the other shoe on,

Deedle, deedle, dumpling, my son John."

(Source)

There was once a boy named John. John is tall and handsome, seventeen-year-old senior in college with strong hopes of becoming a doctor. John knows that he must keep his grade point average high and do well on his MCAT, so he spends his days and nights working so hard to prepare for medical school that he rarely makes it to his bed without his trousers on. Although John's mother tells John time and time again that he needs more sleep, he still stays up to stress about all the assignments he must complete. John's friends often complain that he is an overachiever, and that he is missing out on some of the most important moments of senior year like football games, special campus events, and having fun on the weekends. Although, John doesn't listen and does not believe them.  When John returns home from a busy day, he never has a little fun or takes breaks for just a short time while studying. When he does rest, he cannot seem to sleep without at least one shoe on.  His mother often finds poor John sleeping with his day clothes on with at least one shoe off and thinks to herself "My dear son John has worked himself into overly dressed slumber." John wakes up again, seeing that his mother has tucked him in even though he never undressed from yesterday's clothes. John feels bad, because he is all his mother has and she constantly worries about him and his study habits. John then decides to make a change.

That very day, John decides to listen to his friends and rest and have fun for just a day. John asks his mother if he can have a couple of friends over before going to a football game. John's mother happily agrees and John's friends are pleasantly surprised that John has invited them to his house, and that he is joining them at the football game to have a little fun for once. When John goes to the football game, he realizes that this is the best time he's had in a while. John starts to realize all that he has missed and balances his time between his studies, family, and friends. John no longer passes out with his trousers still on. John's mother can now even tuck him in without his shoes on.

 John even finds a girlfriend whose name is Jane. Jane is a lot like John. Jane is also a senior at their college with hopes of becoming a doctor. Jane also loves to study and rarely sleeps. Although Jane has already gotten into medical school, she helps John get ready for his tests. They study together and are as happy as can be. Jane loves John and sleeps just like he. When they are together, John goes back to his old habits of sleeping rarely. John’s mom finds John sleeping again with yesterday's clothes still on, with one sneaker on and one off, along with a sleeping Jane who mirrors her boyfriend John. John’s poor mother can do nothing but tuck the well-dressed teenagers in bed and be happy that John has a friend to share his poor habit. 

Author's note: In this short nursery rhyme it talks about a boy named John who falls asleep with his trousers and one shoe on. I adapted my story to be about a teenager named John who worries and studies all the time. He does not get a lot of sleep, but when he does he often sleeps without undressing himself from his day clothes because he is so tired from studying continuously. John's friends make fun of him for his studying and believe he should have some more fun. When John finally does start to have fun again, he meets a girl (Jane) that is just like John and brings him back to his old habits. I got inspiration for this story from a friend who is always stressing about everything related to school. They often study and over study when they should just have a little fun every now and then.What I want people to take away from this story is it is okay to be studious, but many people think that you are not doing college right if you are getting a good night's sleep. I do not believe this, and I think that it is very possible to study a good amount of time and get a healthy amount of sleep.  The nursery rhyme for this story came from The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang (1987).