Legends

I said goodbye to one of my most challenging girls today. I know it's likely that she'll be back (we see a lot of the same kids over and over again), but I really hope she lives a full and happy life. Her world has been rough and cruel to her; I am glad that I was at least able to make her smile.

I get weird looks from my fellow staff when they find out I tell stories. They don't understand what the point is of fairy tales once you reach a certain age. They forget that legends and fables have lessons within them, and those who are open to it will learn that lesson far better than any other way. This girl was one of those.

Every time I was her staff, she would ask eagerly for what kind of story I would tell, and spend the rest of the day wondering about it. She would rally the other girls around her, and send them all into silence when I dimmed the lights and sat. She'd drift off into the land of legends, and return with a faint, happy smile. For her, I wrote a list of books to read. I want her to continue that wonder even after going back to reality.

People who say that people who read or tell stories just do so to escape reality don't understand the point of that at all; we read or tell to make reality that much clearer. The grains of truth within each tale are the grains that will take root and grow; to understand that life, that reality, does not begin and end with your birth and death, but continues in one continuous, endless loop is both terrifying and freeing. Stories take the pressure off us to be the best; instead, they simply encourage us to hope.

And hope then will flourish into dreams, dreams into goals, goals into reality. The strongest, most successful, happiest people in the world may not always be the richest, but they will be the ones with heads stuffed with lore and hearts singing with hope and promise.

And for this girl, hope was all she wanted.