~Andrew Voss, Class of 2024

“Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward.” 

-John Maxwell

Nathan is a 16-year-old kid who lives on a farm with his mom in the countryside outside of Chicago. At the farm, they care for many kinds of animals, like cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, and horses. They also grow a lot of plants, like radishes, potatoes, peppers, corn, sugars, and carrots. Nathan’s dream is to grow and eventually take over the farm and make it one of the biggest farms in the world. He can’t do that without hard work. For seven days a week, Nathan would water the plants, give them more fresh soil, and give them attention. When Nathan is not caring for the plants and keeping them healthy, he will look over the animals by feeding them all different sorts of food, giving them water, keeping them clean, and playing with them every now and then. Nathan has a blast every day by just keeping the farm safe and healthy. His favorite part is just watching the plants and animals evolve and grow big and strong; it always makes him feel happy inside.

One day, all this happiness and joy will change. It started off as a normal day. Nathan woke up early and went downstairs. He saw his mom making breakfast, so he decided to go outside first to the plants, where he would gather some of the food that the plants had made. The second thing he would do is go visit his animals to see how they were doing. Nathan got a hose and sprayed the pig pen so that the pigs could have more mud to roll in. He gave the horses hay and let the cows and sheep roam around and eat the grass. All of a sudden, while Nathan was feeding the chickens, he heard a quiet hissing sound, which then quickly led to a big clash! It was the gas stove.

Nathan quickly looked back at the house and saw a fire, so he ran. He barged into the house and quickly grabbed a rag to block the smoke from the fire. That’s when he saw his mom on the couch, asleep. Nathan woke her up and carried her out of the house. Right after Nathan called the police to bring a fire truck and an ambulance because Nathan’s mom was still not awake. 

Thirty minutes went by, and the fire truck and ambulance finally got there. The medics went directly to Nathan’s mom while the firefighters put out the fire, and the police talked to Nathan. Nathan told them everything that he knew about the gas stove, the sound it made, and where the fire started. Finally, when the firefighters put out the fire, it was too late. Nathan saw the remains of what the fire left; it was just ashes. His animals are gone, his house is gone, and his room is gone. Even his mom had to stay in the hospital for around 2 weeks. The only thing left were some bits of his crops. It was at this moment that Nathan realized he had reached rock bottom and that he would be living alone. Nathan had to get his remaining stuff and go to the city. 

That’s what he did. He used a little bit of the money he made from the farm business and bought a hotel for two weeks until his mom came back and she would decide what to do. Nathan now just rests on his bed in the room and waits for the next day, which will be the day when his next step will be.

That night was the saddest and most heartbreaking night for Nathan. He didn’t get much sleep. He decided to wake up early in the morning and walk around Chicago because he was still trying to comprehend what happened. While walking back to the hotel, Nathan decided to stop and get a bite to eat at a cafe called Sip and Savor Cafe. It was pretty empty. Nathan decided to just order, and while he was ordering, he also had some small talk with the manager, whose name was Stanley. When Nathan asked how Stanley’s day was, Stanly replied with devastating news, saying that that cafe was going to close down by the end of the day. When Nathan heard that, he was crushed, but right after, Nathan got a spark. He had one of the greatest ideas, and it was that he would buy the restaurant and keep the cafe open. It was a big risk to take, so Nathan went back to the hotel, which was one block down the road, and did some research.

After multiple hours of research and a lot of calculations, Nathan realized that he would have to use almost all of the money that he has made from the farm and put it into this cafe. He didn’t even talk to his mom about it being a now-or-never decision he had to make, and Nathan just went with his gut. Nathan left his hotel and sprinted back to the cafe with the money that was required to save the business. Once he went to the cafe, he saw Stanley sitting in his chair for what he thought was the last time. Until Nathan walks up to him and Nathan says, 

“Hey Stanly I have done a lot of thinking, and since you were so kind to tell your story, I wanted to repay you by saving your cafe with this money.”

Stanly was over the moon in joy and happiness; it’s like he lived to see another day.

“Thanks, kid; I really do appreciate this. I found myself happier and prouder of you. The only thing is that I am getting too old for this, and I need you to take over the business. Trust me, it will be hard, but I’ll teach you the ropes.” Stanly said in his raspy old voice.

Nathan was surprised and honored to take over the cafe business. It was always his dream to take over a business, but he could have never imagined it would have been a business like this. Nathan was also nervous because he thought that he had messed everything up.

Nathan’s first week of trying to get the hang of things was a little shaken, with many mistakes and ups and downs. Since Stanly was there for Nathan, guiding him through the process, Nathan stayed focused and passionate about what he was doing. Nathan also remembers how empty this cafe used to be, but now, because of his hard work and the special ingredients he had from the leftovers of his farm, more people have begun to come in and enjoy what the cafe brings.

By the second week, Nathan is starting to get the hang of things and keeps making fewer and fewer mistakes. With less help from Stanley, Nathan begins to make new pastries from his special recipe, which attracts more customers, and the business has officially started booming. With the cherry on top, Nathan has revised the worldwide attraction of news stations. Talking about his heroic actions by saving the cafe and buying the cafe back up again. 

A couple days later, Nathan finally gets to see his mom again since she has fully recovered from the fire. When Nathan sees her, he first gives her the biggest and warmest hug you could ever give and then tells her about everything. After Nathan’s mom listened to Nathan’s stories, she was ecstatic to see how much her son had taken initiative and brought the family back up. 

A couple of weeks later, Nathan and his mom are fully running the business, with Stanly coming in every now and then. The cafe is as popular as it could ever be, and Nathan and his mom find a new house to live in. They live a happy life while finding a new passion for baking and making the people around them happy.