A guest blog entry from one of our iNspired students…
Once upon a time there was a little fish who lived at the bottom of the sea. This little fish swam with the same school her whole life. Most of the other little fish never questioned if there were other schools of fish out in the sea, but this little fish was different. This little fish never felt completly right at the bottom of the sea. You see, this little fish’s parents didn’t come from any of the schools near by. The parents of this little fish taught her that there were other schools in the sea and that the sea was much bigger than she could ever imagine!
One day the little fish told her parents that she wanted to see the rest of the sea; she was so curious to learn what was really up there! Her parents were sad to see their little fish go, but happy she would see more of the sea and all it had to offer. So the little fish mustered up all her courage and embarked on her journey to explore the sea!
Once she started swimming higher, the little fish started feeling very strange. The little fish was smelling new smells and seeing new sights! There were so many colorful new things she’d never seen before. And the water itself felt different at the top of the sea– the little fish felt could breathe easier! All of this was shocking to the little fish. She wasn’t really sure what to make of it! What she did know was that she couldn’t get enough of this new air she was breathing at the top of the sea.
Swimming at the top of the sea, the little fish met other little fish like her! Other little fish who breathed air! It took a some time before the little fish to noticed that all of these new sights, smells, and schools of fish weren’t actually all that shocking; they were just different. None of it was strange or weird– just different. The little fish was excited! It felt like everything was making sense for the very first time. She felt she belonged at top of the sea. Life at the top of the sea was so exhilarating that the little fish felt knew she couldn’t go back and stay at the bottom of the sea forever.
The little fish did go home to the bottom of the sea to share what she had learned. The little fish was so glad she had the courage to swim upwards and now she now knows she wants to spend her life breathing fresh air, learning all she can, and traveling all over the sea!
This little fish, Leelah Greenspan, is not at the top of the sea at the moment… but soon enough she will be back up there. Only this time it will be in a different part of the sea!
