Don't Look Back

Banner Image: Sunshine and Flowers

Rays of sunshine hit down upon the Earth. The sweet scent of flowers encircled every creature. A fresh breeze was constantly in motion. Turtle and Goose attended the same school, and graduation was quickly approaching. Like most of their friends, they were feeling the blend of excitement and nervousness. After four years in school, they were ready and excited for new experiences. However, nervousness always arose when they thought about the new challenges and uncertainties of the future. There was the feeling of safety when one repetitively does something familiar.

Finally, it was graduation day. All clean, with caps on their heads, Turtle and Goose entered the Maturing Forest for graduation. They had always dreamed about arriving to this place in their lives. The constant long nights of studying, the thirty-plus pages of lab reports, and the anxiety-filled time during test preparation always seemed worth it, as long as they were able to enter the Maturing Forest for their own graduation.

Turtle had a job lined up as the night watch guard. He was so excited for this job that he dreamed of it every night. He pictured his role standing watch to protect his fellow animals. Although the job would be challenging, he knew that with his exceptional night vision he would be perfect for the job.

After graduation, Goose planned on becoming a teacher for the elementary school animals. Goose wanted to impact the next generation of animals and she believed that being a teacher would be the perfect way of doing this. As a highly social animal, Goose wanted to be a welcoming face to all young animals.

However, all of a sudden Turtle's stomach began to turn and the feeling of nervousness began to arise.

Turtle turned to Goose and panicked saying, "Goose! I can't do this. I'm doing okay in college. It's comfortable to me. Plus, I know so many animals and they know me. There is no need for me to try something new!"

Goose looked Turtle in the eyes and said, "Turtle, we can do this. YOU can do this. I'm scared too. But I was taught by Sister Goose that the hardest part is crossing the graduation stage with our heads looking forward and held high. We just need to put one foot in front of the other. After that, we gain confidence in ourselves for the next part of our lives."

"What do you mean the hardest part is crossing the stage with our head forward and high, Goose?"

"Sister Goose said that no matter what we CANNOT look back as we cross the stage."

Turtle nodded in agreement which showed Goose he understood and would follow. Turtle said, "Okay, Goose. I trust you. But can we at least walk across the stage together? I need you as my guardrail and support."

Goose smiled and said, "Of course, Turtle!"

Then, with Turtle's foot and Goose's wing linked together, they crossed the stage. As they were crossing, voices arose in both of Turtle's and Goose's heads saying, "Work is going to be hard. You are not going to be successful. You peaked in school and it is downhill from here. No one is going to appreciate you like they did in school. This is something new for you and you cannot do it."

Turtle looked back to find these voices and dismiss it! But as he did this, he got sucked into the Portal of the Past.

Now, he is stuck there forever with no more opportunity for growth.

The other animals said, "It is unfortunate that Turtle looked back. The voices were in our own heads because sometimes we can become our biggest critic. Turtle had all the capabilities to be successful. However, Turtle had his mind stuck in the past, which led his physical body to be stuck in the past also."

(Image representing the graduation event Turtle and Goose are attending.)

Bibliography. "The Turtle and the Geese" from Two Turtle Jatakas from the version in Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web Source.

Author's Notes:

I have chosen to add my own twist to the original story. "The Turtle and the Geese" contained the characters of a turtle, two geese, and village children. The Geese and Turtle became friends and the Geese invited Turtle to their home. Turtle was very excited about this idea. The Geese told him that he can come, but he cannot talk during the entire trip. So they all began flying with Turtle clasping the middle of a stick by mouth and then the Geese clasping the two ends of the stick with their mouths. However, during the trip, there were village children making fun of Turtle because he looked silly. Turtle defended himself, but, in doing so, he opened his mouth and talked which broke the single rule that the Geese had. Therefore, Turtle fell and died.

I have added additional lessons to the theme of the story, as well as I have changed the plot and setting. As graduation is approaching for me this coming May, I wanted to remind my present self and future self about not being stuck in the past, but, rather, to embrace the future. I really enjoyed the lesson in the original story about how people will have foresight and recommend you do a certain thing for your own good. However, sometimes we don't listen to those people which can cause us harm.

In addition to original lesson, I also wanted to show the lesson of not being stuck in the past or else it will hinder your growth that should be occurring in the present. I know that I personally wasted the first half of my first semester of college because I kept thinking and telling myself that I peaked in high school. (I'm so glad that I got over that!) As I am about to graduate college, I don't want the next part of my life to continuously be thinking about college. Yes, there are many fond memories and it is good to reflect on them. However, wishing I would time travel and be back in college is something completely different.

Furthermore, I wanted to incorporate "real" stuff to the story by giving the characters greater depth and accuracy. For example, I researched that turtles have great night vision; therefore, I included this in the story. Furthermore, I researched that geese were highly social animals.

Lastly, I wanted to add a hint of another lesson that sometimes we are our biggest critic but we have to crush those negative thoughts for our own good. In the original story, the critics were the village children, or something that is external. While critics can be external, they can also be internal which I wanted to show in this story.

Overall, this was very fun to write. Creative writing hasn't been something I have done since high school and it was interesting to create a story while formulating a lesson.