Short Story Analysis- Running by Ellen Howard

I read the short story from the book, Am I Blue? and the short story was called Running by Ellen Howard. This short story was about a girl named Terry. Terry is a teenager and has a sister named Heather. Heather is in college and her parents let to go to Europe. When Heather comes back, she asks her parents if she could bring a friend back with her because her friend is having problems at her house and she got kicked out of her house because of her parents. When the family is at the air port they realize that Heathers friend is a lesbian but, they still accept her into their home. Sheila, Heathers friend, is really sweet and her parents kicked her out of the house beacuse they found of she was a lesbian. This is really sad to hear about because the people that you thought cared the most about you and the people that you could always rely on, kicked you out of the place you live, because you were being honest and true to yourself. This story upset me to see how people, even a persons parents just abandonded their child because of something that he/she couldnt help. Terry starts to get to know Sheila and she really starts to like her because she is different and understands her. In the story, Terry gets upset about her best friend not comming to camp with her because she chose her boyfriend and Sheila was there to comfort her. In the end, I feel like Terry is also a Lesbian because she shows the signs that she doesnt like guys and likes girls. Something that I thought about a lot was the last sentence of the short story. Terry says," And then she shipped through the door, leaving me outside. But the door was open. If I had the courage, I could follow"(101). I think this quote shows that if Terry has the courage to be true to her self she could also follow in Sheilas footsteps.