Fall is the best time of the year. The leaves change color and the smell in the air grows crisp. It’s the time of year where people begin drinking warm Apple Cider and wearing more layers. Boots are worn instead of sandals, and sweaters instead of tank tops. Unlike summer, fall tends to get more dark and cold at night. This forces everyone to come inside. The minute you step inside from that cold and dark atmosphere, you begin to feel warm. You stop shivering and you start taking off all the warm apparel that kept you safe from the cold. We as humans tend to feel safer when we are in a warmer environment. We don’t like to be in places where no sunlight can be seen or felt. This is like a cave. Inside a cave we feel afraid because it’s dark, cold. The minute we step out of the cave we feel safe because it’s bright and warm.
Inside the cave you are a prisoner. The prisoners are “Never allowed to move their heads.” (Allegory) All they could see and hear was the person right in front of them. In this case these people are the guardians. They are the ones that teach them right from wrong. Whatever the guardians teach is what the prisoner will believe. In my life I feel like a prisoner and school is my prison. Growing up in a Christian school where everyone was smart and seemed to know what they were doing, I felt alone. The Teachers (guardians) would teach what they thought we as kids should understand but I didn’t. They would give us homework that they thought was appropriate, but what they didn’t know is that it would take and extra hour to finish mine. The guardians always said everyone is blessed with there own gifts. Its true school was not something that I was gifted at. But the guardians never did anything about it to help me. They left me in the dark and soon I had to teach myself. I became afraid of what might happen but soon being in the darkness of the cave was something I became comfortable with. Shutting out my schoolwork became easier than accepting that I needed help. Asking for help is not something I was willing to do, because asking for help means you are now accepting that your different. I didn’t want to be different. I wanted to be in the same math as my friends and be partners with them without looking stupid. My mind was a prisoner and my body was becoming the cave.
Outside the cave you experience sunlight. Outside the cave is where real life begins. Unlike inside the cave where you are a prisoner, outside the cave you are a free person. You are able to make your own decisions, and decided right from wrong. In the show Black Mirror, Abby and Bing want something real. They are willing to go outside of their cave to get it. In the exact words of Bing he states, “ You’ve got something real . . . more than anything that’s happened all year.” (Mirror) Like that guardians said everyone is blessed with a gift. God blessed me with the gift of singing. Singing is my passion and something that I love to do. Just like Abby in Black Mirror she wanted to go places with her singing to prove to others she’s got what it takes. That is what I want to do. I want to go out into the world and show them what the Lord has blessed me with. We live in a small town of Lynden where everyone knows everybody. I am recognized and acknowledged here but I want to get out of this little cave and step into the light where others can see me. I want to be pushed out of my comfort zone and see how I will react. Going from something small to big is a real leap. That is darkness to light feels like; your eyes need to adjust to what new atmosphere is put around you. Singing is my light outside the cave and I want to see what can be done.
Darkness is where you experience pain. A pain so deep that you don’t know what right from wrong is. Death of a loved one is true pain. Seeing a building collapse of innocent people die is true pain. True Darkness is so painful that even putting on you jackets isn’t going to keep you warm. When you are in the dark you think that this is going to be the end, but you have to remember that there is light at the beginning of the cave. There is a lot of trials that I am going to come in contact with over the period of my life, but I can’t let that stop me from finding that light and warmth. The reason everyone loves fall is because they know that summer will be coming again. Once you experience being a prisoner you have hope knowing that light will come through the cave again.
