Presentation Type
Performance
Abstract
Naomi Hollans’s nonfiction piece, “Things That Just Happen,” narrates a young woman’s experience with tragedy. After her grandfather’s death from cancer, the young woman receives another shock: her mother is diagnosed with cancer. While her mother endures chemo and the young woman prepares for college, her 4-year-old brother is also diagnosed with cancer. In the midst of these bafflingly painful circumstances, the narrator, her peers, hairdressers, and Sunday school teachers seek an explanation for suffering. Hollans’s reflection examines the human need to understand pain and discusses the various motivations for asking “why?” in response to grief. “Things That Just Happen” details the outlandish theories human beings often pursue, as well as theorizes about the motivations behind the “why” question. Hollans’s piece considers the ultimate possibility that pain can occur without reason and that sometimes, things just happen.
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Jan Harris
Recommended Citation
Hollans, Naomi, "Things That Just Happen" (2025). Student Scholar Symposium. 150.
https://digitalcollections.lipscomb.edu/student_scholars_symposium/2025/Full_schedule/150
Included in
Things That Just Happen
Naomi Hollans’s nonfiction piece, “Things That Just Happen,” narrates a young woman’s experience with tragedy. After her grandfather’s death from cancer, the young woman receives another shock: her mother is diagnosed with cancer. While her mother endures chemo and the young woman prepares for college, her 4-year-old brother is also diagnosed with cancer. In the midst of these bafflingly painful circumstances, the narrator, her peers, hairdressers, and Sunday school teachers seek an explanation for suffering. Hollans’s reflection examines the human need to understand pain and discusses the various motivations for asking “why?” in response to grief. “Things That Just Happen” details the outlandish theories human beings often pursue, as well as theorizes about the motivations behind the “why” question. Hollans’s piece considers the ultimate possibility that pain can occur without reason and that sometimes, things just happen.