The Forest Maze

Darkness, then twilight.

You see a wall of foliage before you. A grand wall of frightening proportions, so great that the sunset sky is shadowed by its sheer height. You, however, are not so taken aback by your new, grandiose surroundings to notice that you are alone. Or that there is another wall behind you. And to a side.

Without hesitation, you take a step forward. After all, just sitting there won't solve anything. There don't seem to be any instant-death traps set in the vines, so off you go, not pausing to wonder how you got there to begin with.

Night has fallen, and the walls of your prison begin to glow somehow, just enough for you to see them clearly with the light of a full moon. An eerie mist flows along the ground, swirling around your feet. Thankfully, the hedges keep any wind off, but you can't help but shiver as you sit in the soil after wandering for so very long. The silence of the night, rather than soothe, only further unnerves you. As you gaze up at the lack of stars, something dawns on you. The silence, the solitude...Other than the hedges, not a single living being can be found. Not just other people, but nothing. The word alone fully crashes down upon you as you fall back.

The mist crawls over your body, pulling you down ever so slightly. You try to close your eyes, desiring only to fall into a deep sleep...sleep...but, there is a light that pierces the misty veil. Irritated, you quickly sit up and stare at the source of the intrusion...which seems to be the moon, of all things. Funny, you don't remember it being so bright earlier...remember...ing someone. There's someone you have to get back to...that's right...Silly you. You don't have time to be lost in some maze. The mist dissipates as you rise. As you regain your bearings, you notice a black speck on the moon, but easily dismiss it, as escape is the priority. However, the growing shadow over your own is about to convince you otherwise, when something nails you squarely on the head.

Of course, nothing was going to stop you from getting out of here now, but your newfound lump insisted on you being realistic. Quickly deciding to ponder the maze after you investigate your assailant, you cautiously turn around, only to...

...*you got a flamethrower*

The greatest risk...

...is not taking one.

Sigh...Teenagers

The teenage specimen never ceases to amaze me. What other life form tries so fervently to act as an adult, and sometimes even looks like an adult, but can still retain a mind even more immature than a child's? Maybe that's too pessimistic of me. Maybe a little high and mighty, seeing as I'm a teen myself. But...

I like to think that I put others before myself.

I like to think that I'm not the center of the world.

I like to think that other people's opinions are not said world.

I'm not (the) one to say if what I think is right or not, but I know that the rose-tinted glasses have long since come off; it's hard not to notice things. How we talk behind everyone's back. What we say for no reason. What we do for no reason. What we don't do...for no reason. A guy I know said this, and I've already agreed with this forever, but I don't understand why anyone could ever think it is a good idea to hurt someone. Yet teenagers continue to commit crimes against humanity daily. It's not really a question of who's doing the backstabbing, but how deep they decide to push it in, purely on whim. And how rarely the salve of honesty is ever applied. What really bothers me though, is how little any of us actually stop and think. Think about just what the hell we're doing to ourselves. Oh, which reminds me of a more minor point: silly teens curse far too often for it to ever be taken seriously, right?

I know I'm being too pessimistic, but at the same time, I can't honestly say that I can comprehend all of this. I've begun to pride myself on being a very good judge of character, albeit unconsciously it seems. Out of all the friends I've made and people that I've allowed myself to get close to at all, I've only made the wrong choice once, and she doesn't even know it. Fitting though, in that she happens to epitomize most of my grievances with this troublesome, hormonal demographic.

However, for the sake of not beginning and ending on a negative note...again, here's something positive. Never doubt the capacity of a teenager. Capacity for anything. For all our inherent foolishness, we're capable of much more than we ever get credit for. Capable, perfectly, of that crisis-averting thought, that deep thought, always slowing things down. And capable also of the cure for this steaming pile of...yeah. Capable of love.

That's all that really matters, isn't it?