Stubborn Sally

Hi there! My name’s Sally, but everyone at school used to call me Stubborn Sally. Why? Because I never asked for help. Ever. No matter how hard something was, I was always quick to refuse any offering hand. 

Once, on vacation, I was walking up to my hotel room, lugging two very heavy bags on my shoulder up stairs. Sweat dripped down my forehead as I breathed heavily, struggling with my bags. An employee of the hotel rushed to my side,

“Do you need help, miss?” 

“No, thanks!” I grunted, continuing to climb alone. 

BAM! I couldn’t hold on any longer, and the bags slipped out of my hands, opening in the process. My hairbrush, socks, and shirts spilled all over the stairway. I felt my face flush, but I continued to ignore everyone passing by who asked if I needed help.

“I don’t need anyone’s help,” I muttered, as I stuffed everything back in my bag.

Another day, at school, we were doing math problems in class. I tried to make sense of the numbers, but I didn’t understand them at all. I furrowed my brow and scrunched up my nose.  My teacher, Ms. Smith, must’ve seen me, because she walked by and whispered, 

“Remember, if you’re stuck, you can always ask for help.” 

I shook my head. I can figure this out on my own! 

The more I tried, the more confused I was. My friends left to play at recess while I sat there, staring at my half-finished problems. 

At recess, my best friend Mia and I wanted to play jump rope. I looked down at my sneakers to see my laces untied, but refused to ask anyone for help with them. I quickly tied a messy knot with the laces and went to go play.

SMACK! The knot came undone as I was skipping jump rope and I tripped over my untied shoelaces, sending my body crashing into the swingset. A girl watching from the top of the slide saw me and giggled. My face burned more than ever before. Ms. Smith rushed over. 

“Oh no! Sally, next time, make sure you tie your shoes before playing. It’s okay to ask for help if you don’t know how.”

I quietly nodded and thought, No way!

Later on came art class. We had to build a tall paper tower and the tallest one would win a prize! 

“Let’s team up!” Mia said. 

“No thanks. I work alone,” I said proudly.

Mia's face fell and her shoulders sank and she walked away. 

I folded, stacked, and taped my paper. The tower wobbled. I added more tape. It leaned. I tried balancing it with my hand. 

Mia looked over. 

“Sally, do you want help now?” 

I clenched my teeth. “No! I don’t need help!” 

I started again. Fold. Stack. Tape. CRASH! Again. CRASH! I looked at the clock. Only three minutes left. My eyes filled with hot, angry tears. 

I glanced at my classmates. Their towers stood strong because they had helped each other. I let out an exasperated sigh and looked at my mess of paper and tape. No matter how hard I worked alone, I wasn’t getting anywhere. I felt stuck. 

I sighed and turned to Mia. 

“Fine. Maybe just a little help. Sorry for being so stubborn earlier.” 

She grinned. “That’s okay! First, let’s make a strong base.” 

We folded, taped, and stacked together. For the first time, my tower didn’t fall. 

It wasn’t the tallest, but it stood strong. And I felt something even better than winning. I felt proud. Not because I did it alone—but because of what I finally learned. Asking for help didn’t mean I wasn’t smart. It didn’t mean I was weak. It just meant I wanted to learn and grow. 

The next day, I raised my hand in math class when I didn’t understand something. At lunch, I asked a teacher to help me open my juice box. And at recess, I let Mia teach me how to tie a double knot. 

I still liked figuring things out on my own. But now, when I needed help, I asked. And guess what? No one called me "Stubborn Sally" anymore. They just called me Sally—the girl who wasn’t afraid to learn. What about you? Have you ever been stuck on something? Remember, asking for help can make you more confident and it’s never a bad thing when you need it!

THE END