Boy in the night - Karlina Mikek

It was a warm, humid night. Clear skies all around and the full moon shining bright. A boy
questioning his decisions stands in front of the open sea, thinking what comes next. He is aware
of his surroundings, closely observing the trees and the path in front of him. Trying not to look
back, he feels threatened by the future. The fireflies around him give him a sense of confidence
and power. By giving a thumbs up, he supports himself and his choices that will come. His
imagination opens with nature. He can just imagine how it will feel on the other side of the path.
In just a few short hours he will experience it. The excitement built up, but the things left behind
are scary overall, he doesn't yet know what will happen there.

Bravely, he steps forward and finally sees that letting go sometimes is good. A firefly carefully
flies above the boy and shows him he can do it. All the memories left behind are not forgotten
but he is prepared to find new ones, and so with an open mind he steps foot on the island. He
slowly looks back to his past and quickly moves forward into his new reality. The moment he
stepped on the bridge it shook. This worrying event made him question his new reality. Thinking
“what if the same happens in my new place”. But bravely regardless, he eventually finds his way
to the end. There a group of welcoming people show him to his new home. Finally, he was
happy and sure of his brave decision. After all, we know not everything will be perfect all the
time anywhere you go. Soon he will start his new school and will be able to see how life is
elsewhere. There is always a scene of worry, “will I make friends?” and so on, but he has
already seen that the people here are lovely. He has to get rest, tomorrow will be an exciting
day. New, New, and New. Perhaps he will get the opportunity to tell his new friends what an
exciting time he had coming to this new place. After all, it was quite a rollercoaster coming here.
New faces in the school feel welcoming, but how do his classmates really feel about having him
around? Changes can be stressful and to not be able to come home to reflect on them it is
extremely hard. This boy, soon to be a man, because of his maturity, embraced this change
positively. How will he feel overtime? Probably overwhelmed, an uncomfortable experience he
has been through recently coming to the island. In a sense, I'm sure he does feel privileged to
be on this mysterious island regardless how scared he is. He comes back to his strange,oddly
comfortable house and begins to write his journal about everything that happened. “Dear future
me, I had an exciting day today to say the least. I met all of my classmates and got more familiar
with this strange island. I do feel safe here, like everyone around me is able to protect me from
anything really. I'm glad I'm finally here. I do feel worried about what will happen next, but for
right now I'm okay. In some way I am excited to go to school again tomorrow and actually start
learning. I’ve heard from people who will hopefully be my friend that the math at my school is
slightly different. I asked in what way is it different and all the student told me back was that I'll
see in our lesson, so I am wondering what that is going to look like? In the past day that I have
been here I honestly haven't thought about home much because I've been quite busy, but I'm
sure I'll have a hard time sleeping today. I will further update my future self on my journey,
tomorrow.”

His journal is a way for him to never forget who he really is. We change, it's a good thing but in a
way you never want to forget where you came from. I feel his journey changed him in some
ways, also in a good way. Through this tough situation he conquered through, and in that way
became stronger and better for himself. By moving and stepping out of his comfort zone he will
meet more people and friends that will all end up having his back eventually. His story continues
for decades and through the years he builds himself and becomes a better person overall. In his
older years, he helps others on their path to personal success as he had to experience it in the
same path just a few short decades ago. In his island that he now sees at home, he feels
comfortable and fulfilled but he still doesn't forget his home, home.