Wisdom From The Witless

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..."