I've been searching for a sunny spot in my vision. I look for it in the trees, the sky and the whispers of the wind. Yet the gray horizon prevails, the mud extends itself like an ocean over the campus and spirits, like the air, appear damp.
I walk to class each morning pulling my coat tight around me, my eyes watching the ground before me. I so intently study the path ahead for answers -- where am I going, where am I coming from? I stop in mid-step and look up. Around me there is life.
The faces around me are mirrors of my own emotions -- nervousness, excitement, disillusionment, confusion. And yet I feel trapped in a gray existence from which I can't emerge.
I rub my hands together and continue my travels, my eyes downcast, blind to the color, the music, the life around me. The mud seeps through my sandals -- my futile attempt to cling to the warmth of the summer -- and soaks my feet.
I commit my energy to the avoidance of puddles. This requires immense concentration. I see one ahead of me. It's shaped like Texas, seeping into the crevices of the pavement.
I think, "If I take three small steps and then a larger one, I can avoid San Antonio all the way to Dallas. Or I could take two larger steps, but I may end up in Houston and I don't want to do that."
I secure my bag on my shoulder, one ... two ... three ... and leap! I soar through the air like an eagle, free from the constraints of gravity. I spin, flip, kick up my heels and land softly on the ground. I look up triumphantly.
For the first time, I see feelingly. With a swelling in my heart, I notice the splash of orange in the trees, the red which teases the maples and the yellow which compensates for the absence of sunshine.
A leaf plays with the wind in front of my eyes, as it dances down to the ground. A smile tickles my toes and rises like a wave through my body and until it comes out on my lips.
In my flight I have seen the forest in the corner of my mind; a kaleidoscope of colors which glimmer and shake with the whims of the wind and the warmth of the sun. My soul is revived, my eyes are opened and I realize it was there all along -- the sunny spot in my vision.
