Summer is for Singing

The Ants and the Grasshopper- Aesop

One fine day in winter some ants were busy drying their store of corn, which had got rather damp during a long spell of rain. Presently up came a grasshopper and begged them to spare her a few grains. "For," she said, "I'm simply starving." The ants stopped work for a moment, though this was against their principles. "May we ask," said they, "what you were doing with yourself all last summer? Why didn't you collect a store of food for the winter?" "The fact is," replied the grasshopper, "I was so busy singing that I hadn't the time." "If you spent the summer singing," replied the ants, "you can't do better than spend the winter dancing." And they chuckled and went on with their work. 

I will admit that the first time I read this, all I thought of was how jealous I was of the grasshopper, because she got to sing and dance all year long. And then I realized that that wasn't supposed to be the moral of the story, and Aesop's fables ALWAYS have a moral. Oops. But in reading this two, three, and four times over, I'm having a hard time finding one. I know it's supposed to be to work- to gather food before you have fun. But that's not what I see. If nothing else, this just makes me grateful that there are so many different types of people in the world. There are people willing to be the starving artists, and people willing to be the responsible ones. And see? The ants didn't criticize the grasshopper. They didn't yell at him for being dumb. And the grasshopper didn't complain or deny the facts said about him. What a wonderful combination! Too bad we're all humans and we find pleasure in criticism. I think more people need to sing. That would fix things. 

For the Stomach. 

"The Vulture" by Hilaire Belloc

The Vulture eats between his meals,

And that's the reason why

He very, very rarely feels

As well as you or I. 

His eye is dull, his head is bald,

His neck is growing thinner.

Oh, what a lesson for us all

To only eat at dinner. 

This is a lesson I need to learn. I snack. All the time. In truth, my only consolation here comes from the fact that the vulture is a male. Besides, I think this vulture looks quite content. Well, I cordially invite you all to sit and contemplate your own eating habits as I go get my butterscotch pudding out of the fridge. And I think I will enjoy it. 

We begin with courage. 

How the Little Kite Learned to Fly

"I never can do it," the little kite said,

As he looked around at the others high over his head.

"I know I should fall if I tried to fly."

"Try," said the big kite, "only try!

Or I fear you never will learn at all."

But the little kite said, "I'm afraid I'll fall..." 


As the end of Winter semester approached, I realized something. Finals mean more than tests. They mean the end of things; The invisible but definite line between familiar and insecure. There isn't any going back into the comfort zone once you step out. 

fi·nal \ˈfī-nəl\ adj. 1. coming at the end: syn. definite, irrevocable, irreversible, unalterable.

Endings cause change- in abundance. Change like packing everything up, leaving everyone and everything you had known for the past 6 months and moving into a new apartment with new roommates with new definitions of life. At the semester's end, I was very afraid to fall. Where I would have fallen to, I have no idea, but I knew it would not be a comfortable place. That fear still lingers in the back of my mind, and I feel, like the little kite, wary to leave the comfort of the ground. However, it is becoming more difficult to function on land when everyone is so happy in the air. I'm starting to feel the lift. 

"The big kite nodded: "Ah well, goodbye;

I'm off," and he rose toward the tranquil sky.

Then the little kite's paper stirred at the sight,

And trembling he shook himself free for flight.

First whirling and frightened, then braver grown,

Up, up he rose through the air alone,

Till the big kite looking down could see

The little one rising steadily.

Then how the little kite thrilled with pride,

As he sailed with the big kite side by side!

While far below he could see the ground,

And the boys like small spots moving round.

They rested high in the quiet air,

And only the birds and the clouds were there.

"Oh, how happy I am!" the little kite cried,

"And all because I was brave and tried."

Trying is all one can do, really. Even successful endeavors come as result of a try. It is, unfortunately, one of the most daunting tasks anyone can be faced with. My mother would often tell me when hard things came up in my life to be a duck; simply let trouble roll off of you as a water rolls off of a duck's back. That's all well and good, but for now, for this end and this try, I think I'll be a little kite. 

"all because I was brave..."