"Leaving the Nest" By Olivia Theobald
"A Journey Through Korean Arts" By Courtney West
"A Journey Through Korean Arts" By Courtney West
Leaving the Nest
By Olivia Theobald
In a world, much like our own, there was a great forest. The forest was filled with all sorts of creatures. There were animals with fur, with scales, and with feathers. There were animals with two legs, with four legs, and even some with eight legs. Inside that mighty forest grew a great white oak tree. The tree started from a terrible windstorm. That windstorm blew a single seed through the air and where it landed it grew tall and strong.
Inside the white oak tree, lived four little birds. Together the family of birds created a nest, where they all lived together. The younger birds knew nothing but the nest. The nest was cozy and small, seeming miniscule in regards to the great white oak tree and absolutely infinitesimal in the vastness of the forest.
Inside the nest, there was Mother Bird, Father Bird, and there were the two sister birds. The youngest sister bird was adventurous and curious. Younger Sister Bird loved to play outside the nest, never afraid of falling. She would dance around the nest, teasing the neighboring squirrel kits, trying to catch the little fluffs of dandelion that floated through the air. Older Sister Bird was timid. She was content to stay inside the nest, cuddling up to the side of the nest and watching the leaves blow from the tree, or the clouds pass through the sky, or the stars shine through the upper branches of the tree.
One day, the neighboring squirrel kits climbed down to visit Older Sister Bird and her little sister.
“We’re gonna be old enough to go on adventures soon!” said the Kit with the Fluffiest Tail.
“What’re you gonna do on your adventures?” asked Younger Sister Bird, filled with curiosity and wonder.
“I’m going to find all of the food in the entire forest!” announced the Kit with the Biggest Belly.
“I’m going to have my own family and move to an unusual place.” said the Kit with the White Paws.
“I’m going to save the entire forest!” said the Kit with the Fluffiest Tail,
“From what?” asked Younger Sister Bird
The Kit with the Fluffiest Tail contemplated this for a second.
“I don’t know...from everything!” she said determinedly.
The other kits and the sister birds accepted this answer, as Kit with the Fluffiest Tail seemed to always know the right answer.
“What are you two going to do?” she asked.
The young birds thought about this question for a few moments.
“Well, I know what I want to do. And this is for certain.” said Younger Sister Bird, “I am going to be the best flier in all of the forest.”
Kit with the White Paws and Kit with the Biggest Belly oohed and ahhed at this idea. However, Kit with the Fluffiest Tail was quiet for once, because she was secretly envious of the simple fact that birds could fly and kits could not. Then the squirrel kits and Younger Sister Bird turned to Older Sister Bird.
“What are you going to do, Older Sister Bird?” asked the Kit with the Fluffiest Tail.
“I don’t know.” said Older Sister Bird, her heart filling with uncertainty.
“Well, you still have time.” said the Kit with the Biggest Belly.
“Not much time.” muttered the Kit with the White Paws.
Later, when Older Sister Bird and Younger Sister Bird were alone in the coziness of the nest, older sister bird confided in her little sister.
“What if I never know what I want to do?” she asked, scared, “Maybe I’ll never leave the nest!” she exclaimed.
“That’s ridiculous.” said Younger Sister Bird, always the practically harsh one, “You’ll figure it out.”
That night, Older Sister Bird tried to reassure herself that she would.
The days flew by. The sister birds played with the kits, talked with the fuzzy caterpillars, watched the honeybees busily buzz around their hive. The time was rapidly approaching for the sisters to learn a young bird’s most important lesson. Today, the sister birds would learn to fly. Older Sister Bird knew that this meant that soon it would be time for her and Younger Sister Bird to leave the nest. Her heart was still filled with uncertainty. How was she going to do this? she asked herself. All that she knew was she was absolutely terrified to leave the nest.
Younger Sister Bird, however, was not terrified to leave the nest. She dreamt night and day of leaving. She wanted to fly, she dreamt of soaring through the sky, zipping through the branches, singing as she claimed the title of the fastest flier in the forest. Even though Younger Sister Bird knew that there was no prize or title she could win, she still desired to be the fastest.
Mother Bird gave them their first nudge out of the nest. Younger Sister Bird jumped out onto the branch. She fluttered her wings wildly until she began to rise up into the air.
Her eyes sparkled with the thought of a new adventure, “I’m doing it!” she exclaimed.
“Good job. Now your turn.” instructed Mother Bird.
Heart filled with fear, Older Sister Bird cautiously stepped out of the nest. She flapped her wings half-heartedly.
“See,” she said, “I can’t do it” her throat tightening as she pushed down tears.
As she went to step back into the nest, Older Sister bird lost her footing, slipped, and went tumbling down.
“Help!” she cried, falling through the branches, past the squirrel kits, past the honeybee hive, past the tightly knit cocoons of the friendly caterpillars.
Then, her sister’s words rung in her ears, You’ll figure it out.
So she fluttered her wings desperately as she neared the bottom of the tree. She closed her eyes, certain that this was the end.
Older Sister Bird opened her eyes. The tree completely engulfed her. She felt her wings fluttering up and down, the wind between her feathers. The liveliness of the tree seemed to empty her heart of all uncertainty. She was flying!
She flew all the way up the tree, past the cocoons, past the busy honeybee hive, past the squirrel kits, all the way up to her nest. But she didn’t stop there. She glided and twirled, all the way to the top of the tree, singing happily as she darted from branch to branch.
As she balanced on the top branch of the tall white oak tree she heard her sister’s voice again. You’ll figure it out. And as she looked out upon the mighty forest she knew that she always would.
By Olivia Theobald
In a world, much like our own, there was a great forest. The forest was filled with all sorts of creatures. There were animals with fur, with scales, and with feathers. There were animals with two legs, with four legs, and even some with eight legs. Inside that mighty forest grew a great white oak tree. The tree started from a terrible windstorm. That windstorm blew a single seed through the air and where it landed it grew tall and strong.
Inside the white oak tree, lived four little birds. Together the family of birds created a nest, where they all lived together. The younger birds knew nothing but the nest. The nest was cozy and small, seeming miniscule in regards to the great white oak tree and absolutely infinitesimal in the vastness of the forest.
Inside the nest, there was Mother Bird, Father Bird, and there were the two sister birds. The youngest sister bird was adventurous and curious. Younger Sister Bird loved to play outside the nest, never afraid of falling. She would dance around the nest, teasing the neighboring squirrel kits, trying to catch the little fluffs of dandelion that floated through the air. Older Sister Bird was timid. She was content to stay inside the nest, cuddling up to the side of the nest and watching the leaves blow from the tree, or the clouds pass through the sky, or the stars shine through the upper branches of the tree.
One day, the neighboring squirrel kits climbed down to visit Older Sister Bird and her little sister.
“We’re gonna be old enough to go on adventures soon!” said the Kit with the Fluffiest Tail.
“What’re you gonna do on your adventures?” asked Younger Sister Bird, filled with curiosity and wonder.
“I’m going to find all of the food in the entire forest!” announced the Kit with the Biggest Belly.
“I’m going to have my own family and move to an unusual place.” said the Kit with the White Paws.
“I’m going to save the entire forest!” said the Kit with the Fluffiest Tail,
“From what?” asked Younger Sister Bird
The Kit with the Fluffiest Tail contemplated this for a second.
“I don’t know...from everything!” she said determinedly.
The other kits and the sister birds accepted this answer, as Kit with the Fluffiest Tail seemed to always know the right answer.
“What are you two going to do?” she asked.
The young birds thought about this question for a few moments.
“Well, I know what I want to do. And this is for certain.” said Younger Sister Bird, “I am going to be the best flier in all of the forest.”
Kit with the White Paws and Kit with the Biggest Belly oohed and ahhed at this idea. However, Kit with the Fluffiest Tail was quiet for once, because she was secretly envious of the simple fact that birds could fly and kits could not. Then the squirrel kits and Younger Sister Bird turned to Older Sister Bird.
“What are you going to do, Older Sister Bird?” asked the Kit with the Fluffiest Tail.
“I don’t know.” said Older Sister Bird, her heart filling with uncertainty.
“Well, you still have time.” said the Kit with the Biggest Belly.
“Not much time.” muttered the Kit with the White Paws.
Later, when Older Sister Bird and Younger Sister Bird were alone in the coziness of the nest, older sister bird confided in her little sister.
“What if I never know what I want to do?” she asked, scared, “Maybe I’ll never leave the nest!” she exclaimed.
“That’s ridiculous.” said Younger Sister Bird, always the practically harsh one, “You’ll figure it out.”
That night, Older Sister Bird tried to reassure herself that she would.
The days flew by. The sister birds played with the kits, talked with the fuzzy caterpillars, watched the honeybees busily buzz around their hive. The time was rapidly approaching for the sisters to learn a young bird’s most important lesson. Today, the sister birds would learn to fly. Older Sister Bird knew that this meant that soon it would be time for her and Younger Sister Bird to leave the nest. Her heart was still filled with uncertainty. How was she going to do this? she asked herself. All that she knew was she was absolutely terrified to leave the nest.
Younger Sister Bird, however, was not terrified to leave the nest. She dreamt night and day of leaving. She wanted to fly, she dreamt of soaring through the sky, zipping through the branches, singing as she claimed the title of the fastest flier in the forest. Even though Younger Sister Bird knew that there was no prize or title she could win, she still desired to be the fastest.
Mother Bird gave them their first nudge out of the nest. Younger Sister Bird jumped out onto the branch. She fluttered her wings wildly until she began to rise up into the air.
Her eyes sparkled with the thought of a new adventure, “I’m doing it!” she exclaimed.
“Good job. Now your turn.” instructed Mother Bird.
Heart filled with fear, Older Sister Bird cautiously stepped out of the nest. She flapped her wings half-heartedly.
“See,” she said, “I can’t do it” her throat tightening as she pushed down tears.
As she went to step back into the nest, Older Sister bird lost her footing, slipped, and went tumbling down.
“Help!” she cried, falling through the branches, past the squirrel kits, past the honeybee hive, past the tightly knit cocoons of the friendly caterpillars.
Then, her sister’s words rung in her ears, You’ll figure it out.
So she fluttered her wings desperately as she neared the bottom of the tree. She closed her eyes, certain that this was the end.
Older Sister Bird opened her eyes. The tree completely engulfed her. She felt her wings fluttering up and down, the wind between her feathers. The liveliness of the tree seemed to empty her heart of all uncertainty. She was flying!
She flew all the way up the tree, past the cocoons, past the busy honeybee hive, past the squirrel kits, all the way up to her nest. But she didn’t stop there. She glided and twirled, all the way to the top of the tree, singing happily as she darted from branch to branch.
As she balanced on the top branch of the tall white oak tree she heard her sister’s voice again. You’ll figure it out. And as she looked out upon the mighty forest she knew that she always would.
A Journey Through Korean Arts
By Courtney West
One day, a little white piece of cloth wondered into a martial arts school. She had no idea what to expect. The little white cloth was so terrified because she was only six years old. On her first day at the school, a punching bag taught her the proper way on how to punch and kick. Throughout the first night of basic training the white cloth observed that there were others like her but only of a different color. A month into training the Punching bags taught the white cloth the different stances and the basic kicks. The different colored cloths approached the white cloth and voiced to her that white is the beginning of her journey and representing no knowledge yet. At the end of the month the white cloth noticed a slight change in her. To her surprise, she was a light shade of yellow. She did not know what this meant so she kept training harder and harder. The punching bags led a ceremony to test all the colors of cloth on what they learned and mastered. At the end of the ceremony what once was the white cloth was now bright yellow. She was told yellow signifies that she has started to learn the ways of the punching bags. The punching bag stated that the harder she practices and the more dedication she shows your color will represent what she has accomplished.
The punching bags began to push the little yellow cloth harder and harder. The little cloth noticed she was changing colors again. The punching bag approached to her and informed her that she would now learn to protect herself from another cloth. After a period of intense practice, the punching bag decided to gear up the cloths for a sparring match. During the match with another cloth, she learned basic areas to kick, punch, and block to avoid being hit. A month into being a yellow cloth she was confused why she didn’t get to go to the ceremony. A punching bag voiced to her she was not ready and still needed to improve. She came back the next day and trained with the other cloths that were there. The cloths practiced their kicks, punches and their sparring skills. She began to realize she wanted to be like the punching bags. She knew that it would take hard work and dedication so that is what she started to give. Two months into being a yellow cloth and intense training. The punching bag asked her to demonstrate her skills at the next ceremony. As nervous as she was, the yellow cloth tried harder than she had ever tried before. During the sparring match with another cloth, she got punched, kicked and even knocked down but she got back up and tried harder. To her astonishment, she noticed every time she got up from being knocked down, she was slowly changing to green. The punching bag approached her at the end of the ceremony and congratulated her for becoming green. He communicated with her saying she has now become one with the ground. As with every previous color change she would learn new things.
The wait for the ceremony felt longer as the training became more intense. The cloth was being pushed to her limits. The punching bags told her that her journey now is to master the art of board breaking with different parts of her cloth. She was nervous because she had never broke anything other than a twig. During her board breaking ceremony, she broke board after board, gaining more confidence each time she broke one into two. To her admiration, she caught a glimpse of her in the mirror, to her disbelief she faded into a royal blue. The punching bag approached her with pride and said, “You have become blue which means your skills have grown stronger, like a plant growing towards the sky.” Due to this accomplishment, she knew that she would have to train harder than she had before. She learned new more complicated kicks such as jumping and spinning. She was excited to use the new things she learned in her next sparring match. The punching bag pulled her aside and said that she is going to be learning new methods of defense using weapons. She began to practice the advanced kicks and punches as well at the basic weapon techniques. After diligent practice and very concentrated training the cloth realized it was time for her to attend another ceremony. During this ceremony, she didn’t notice any change in her color. She got a little worried. She wasn’t sure what this meant or if she was doing something wrong. She took a deep breath, geared up, and refocused her efforts, giving it her all. She got paired up with another cloth of a darker color. As nervous as she was, she decided she had nothing to lose and gave it all she had. The darker cloth kicked her so hard she that noticed she was torn. Thinking that she failed the punching bag come near her again and told her to look at herself. Reluctantly, she looked at herself. She was now red.
The punching bag said due to her perseverance she has changed to red which means danger. Feeling slightly scared but mostly confused, the punching bag told her that a lot of responsibility has come with being a red cloth due to the amount of knowledge she had learned, including the skills that is to be demonstrated and the amount of danger that she could inflict. She was then informed she could be an apprentice to a punching bag. She was thrilled. For six months, she was doing her training as well as watching the punching bags do their job. She was informed that she needed to go to a tournament before her next ceremony. She waited until a tournament was close to decide she wanted to go . She was petrified because she had never been to a tournament. However, she knew that she must try her best and do what she did in training. She participated in her first event. When the first event was over she made her way to her second event. On her way, she noticed her red was a little darker. Throughout the tournament, she noted that her red was getting darker. When she went back to the school the next day, she was told to go to her final ceremony.
Now being eleven, she went to another ceremony. This time there were multiple punching bags that approached her. The punching bags yet said, “you now become mature with a respectable skill level and you have demonstrated how to reject darkness and fear. Congratulations young punching bag”. With a deep sigh of relief as well as being overjoyed. The sixteen-year-old punching bag now can spread her knowledge to the next little white cloth that will wonder into the martial arts school.
By Courtney West
One day, a little white piece of cloth wondered into a martial arts school. She had no idea what to expect. The little white cloth was so terrified because she was only six years old. On her first day at the school, a punching bag taught her the proper way on how to punch and kick. Throughout the first night of basic training the white cloth observed that there were others like her but only of a different color. A month into training the Punching bags taught the white cloth the different stances and the basic kicks. The different colored cloths approached the white cloth and voiced to her that white is the beginning of her journey and representing no knowledge yet. At the end of the month the white cloth noticed a slight change in her. To her surprise, she was a light shade of yellow. She did not know what this meant so she kept training harder and harder. The punching bags led a ceremony to test all the colors of cloth on what they learned and mastered. At the end of the ceremony what once was the white cloth was now bright yellow. She was told yellow signifies that she has started to learn the ways of the punching bags. The punching bag stated that the harder she practices and the more dedication she shows your color will represent what she has accomplished.
The punching bags began to push the little yellow cloth harder and harder. The little cloth noticed she was changing colors again. The punching bag approached to her and informed her that she would now learn to protect herself from another cloth. After a period of intense practice, the punching bag decided to gear up the cloths for a sparring match. During the match with another cloth, she learned basic areas to kick, punch, and block to avoid being hit. A month into being a yellow cloth she was confused why she didn’t get to go to the ceremony. A punching bag voiced to her she was not ready and still needed to improve. She came back the next day and trained with the other cloths that were there. The cloths practiced their kicks, punches and their sparring skills. She began to realize she wanted to be like the punching bags. She knew that it would take hard work and dedication so that is what she started to give. Two months into being a yellow cloth and intense training. The punching bag asked her to demonstrate her skills at the next ceremony. As nervous as she was, the yellow cloth tried harder than she had ever tried before. During the sparring match with another cloth, she got punched, kicked and even knocked down but she got back up and tried harder. To her astonishment, she noticed every time she got up from being knocked down, she was slowly changing to green. The punching bag approached her at the end of the ceremony and congratulated her for becoming green. He communicated with her saying she has now become one with the ground. As with every previous color change she would learn new things.
The wait for the ceremony felt longer as the training became more intense. The cloth was being pushed to her limits. The punching bags told her that her journey now is to master the art of board breaking with different parts of her cloth. She was nervous because she had never broke anything other than a twig. During her board breaking ceremony, she broke board after board, gaining more confidence each time she broke one into two. To her admiration, she caught a glimpse of her in the mirror, to her disbelief she faded into a royal blue. The punching bag approached her with pride and said, “You have become blue which means your skills have grown stronger, like a plant growing towards the sky.” Due to this accomplishment, she knew that she would have to train harder than she had before. She learned new more complicated kicks such as jumping and spinning. She was excited to use the new things she learned in her next sparring match. The punching bag pulled her aside and said that she is going to be learning new methods of defense using weapons. She began to practice the advanced kicks and punches as well at the basic weapon techniques. After diligent practice and very concentrated training the cloth realized it was time for her to attend another ceremony. During this ceremony, she didn’t notice any change in her color. She got a little worried. She wasn’t sure what this meant or if she was doing something wrong. She took a deep breath, geared up, and refocused her efforts, giving it her all. She got paired up with another cloth of a darker color. As nervous as she was, she decided she had nothing to lose and gave it all she had. The darker cloth kicked her so hard she that noticed she was torn. Thinking that she failed the punching bag come near her again and told her to look at herself. Reluctantly, she looked at herself. She was now red.
The punching bag said due to her perseverance she has changed to red which means danger. Feeling slightly scared but mostly confused, the punching bag told her that a lot of responsibility has come with being a red cloth due to the amount of knowledge she had learned, including the skills that is to be demonstrated and the amount of danger that she could inflict. She was then informed she could be an apprentice to a punching bag. She was thrilled. For six months, she was doing her training as well as watching the punching bags do their job. She was informed that she needed to go to a tournament before her next ceremony. She waited until a tournament was close to decide she wanted to go . She was petrified because she had never been to a tournament. However, she knew that she must try her best and do what she did in training. She participated in her first event. When the first event was over she made her way to her second event. On her way, she noticed her red was a little darker. Throughout the tournament, she noted that her red was getting darker. When she went back to the school the next day, she was told to go to her final ceremony.
Now being eleven, she went to another ceremony. This time there were multiple punching bags that approached her. The punching bags yet said, “you now become mature with a respectable skill level and you have demonstrated how to reject darkness and fear. Congratulations young punching bag”. With a deep sigh of relief as well as being overjoyed. The sixteen-year-old punching bag now can spread her knowledge to the next little white cloth that will wonder into the martial arts school.