I came to the forest to find silence. I came to the forest to find a place where my mind could wander to places that don’t come up in everyday life. I take a look around me and I see life, the log I’m sitting on was once living. The grass is growing every day. I look to my left and I see a small maple seedling trying to grow. The maple seedling stands proud beside me, it was planted next to the old tree that was recently cut down. I assume the growing tree was planted as a replacement to the one I am using as a bench. The seedling has three leaves, one is about to drift off with the slight breeze of the fall air to join the rest of the leaves lying in the ground.    

A red maple seedling trying to grow among the old trees is difficult. The maple has to adapt to the soil and try to acquire as much sunlight as possible before the big trees cast shade. The maple must strive for greatness to become accepted.

A seedling in the forest tries to grow up among these tall trees, but she’s young. She’s naïve. She doesn’t know enough quite yet. The seedling tries to grow, every day, she tries. By observing the old trees, she is learning from their every move. She is almost there, but she’s not there yet.

The seedling encounters an obstacle every day. One day it may be heavy wind whistling through the trees. The next day it may be pouring rain,  that flows off of her face. She may watch that rain storm pass and see the rainbow through the trees. The rainbow helps her realize that there is often a good outcome after a rainfall.

The seedling notices she has grown taller and acquired more leaves. She realizes that there are trees in the forest that have more leaves than her. She knows that they may have been planted in a completely different environment, something that she did not have. That’s ok. Other trees and other seedlings went through their own struggles and that’s how they learned. They’ve learned from the trees who are now fallen.

The maple gets knocked down by a strong gust of wind. The stem is bent and it looks fragile as a porcelain doll, as if its about to snap. It seems as if the small tree wonders whether she should get up. She may think, “what is the point to get up, if I just will fall down once again.”

A voice in her head whispers, “get up Maple, it will be worth it.”

I told her it was God.

God has help me through my life; he has the voice telling me that I can accomplish anything. He may have come through the voice of my mother, my coach, or my teacher but he was there.

My mother has always been there for me. She helped me through my hardships of growing up with divorced parents, and she showed me how strong your own opinion should be. She helped me realize that when you lose something, such as my parents separating, you gain something in return. When my parents separated, my mother and I formed a bond that is stronger than if I had grown up with both of my biological parents under the same roof. My mother was always telling me to follow my heart. She constantly was there to tell me that I can do anything I put my mind to. Last spring, my mom’s voice was one I never failed to hear on the track; her voice was the only one I could pick out of the crowd. She would yell, “DIG DEEPER JO! GO!” Her voice alone caused my legs to run faster than ever, making my goal of becoming a state competitor come true. My mom told me that I can do anything I put my mind to that morning of sections, and I did.

My coaches have showed the voice of God. My track coach is very religious. I believe he has a strong voice from God. Before every meet he explains to my team what we are capable of. He often gives us a time that we find is nearly impossible, then we run it. Before our race at the Mid State Conference meet, he told my 4x200m relay that we were able to run a 1:49. We had never run together before, and we thought he was crazy for throwing out that time at us. We finished that race with a time of 1:49.18, we couldn’t believe that he was right. That voice was able to let my team know what we were capable of, when we didn’t think we were good enough to accomplish it.

I believe God has spoke to me throughout my painting career in the voice of my art teacher.  Art is something I believed I would never excel in. In middle school, I dreaded art class. Now, in high school it is a class I look forward to. I can excel because every day in painting Mr. Hartung tells me to trust my abilities. Earlier this year I was painting a portrait, and I could not figure out the right shape of the eye, Mr. Hartung would come up to my desk to check my progress, and I would start to complain to him. He would cut me off just to tell me to paint what I see, and trust my artistic ability.  God gives him the voice I need to excel. I now trust my abilities that I never knew I had.

I have wondered many times what has gotten me to the point in my life I am at right now. I can take a look around me and the silence answers my question. There are role models around me. These role models have taught me many important keys to life. Those keys to life have made me who I am. They have helped me learn things. No one is born with knowledge. Knowledge is observation. Observation is life.

Life may throw curveballs that act as obstacles. I realize obstacles help with growth. A tear stained face shows struggle. The sparkle of the rainbow shines like a bright white smile. A smile shows a bridge was crossed. The world on the other side of the bridge is just another log on the trail that gets stepped over to face a new height.

The seedling in the forest finds role models. The sugar maple becomes her greatest competitor. The great white oak stands old and wise giving her advice when she feels despair. The seedling starts to acquire so much knowledge through her role models. She finds her obstacles represent milestones. The milestones mark who she has become.

I look down once again. The seedling is still there standing proud of who she has become. The third leaf was lost into the wind finding a new home; the seedling lost a leaf to grow another. Often times when you lose something, you gain something new that holds twice the value. The seedling grew today, each day it grows. I look down once more to say goodbye to the maple that has taught me a lesson. I came to the forest to find a place where my mind could be set free; the seedling grasped my free mind teaching me that growing is a way of life. I leave the forest with a new mindset towards life, it’s ok to grow; it’s ok to let people influence how you grow. I exited the forest in sweet serendipity.