Once upon a time, there lived a little girl...well, yup, she's back again to tell a story. That evening, she was sitting beneath that willow tree - one of her favourites in the park. She took out her pink sketch book from her bag and started doodling on a fresh new page of the book...feeling a gush of excitement, all ready to 'paint her life' the way she wanted it to be. It did not matter to her that other people might not be able to understand what she was doodling...maybe she's used to it, maybe she's used to not being understood most of the times, maybe she had always lived in a world...to be precise, in her own world.
As the lines, curves and shapes are formed and transformed on that blank page of her sketch book, she thought about what happened that morning at school. Her teacher, Mrs A, came over to her, for the second time that day, urging her to go for a nationwide drawing competition. Mrs A felt that she should give the competition a go as she does exhibit talent in the area of art. The little girl was hesitant about the competition. She started feeling nervous just thinking of it. She remembered taking part in an art competition two years ago and when the participants were told to draw on the spot, for the first fifteen minutes, she could not feel her pencil even though she was holding on to it. For that moment, she felt her heart was not connected to her hand...that compulsion to produce something, to achieve something seemed too overwhelming for her. She knew she was not enjoying the process, she knew she hated to be in the limelight...she knew she liked and treasured her private space to do what she really loved to do. Life's expectations could in a way crippled her...maybe it's just her.
The little girl looked at what she had doodled...ha, another piece of creation (never mind if it's not understood and not the norm)...another precious piece of her own space (never mind about the expectations, definitions or the competitions). The sunset that evening was so comforting that she could literally feel the warmth of it cushioning her anxiety for the day...slowly alleviating her fear and worries. She hugged her sketch book close to her as a couple of the leaves of the willow tree slowly waltzed their way down to the ground. The little girl managed a little smile on her face...
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