Look back—as far back as you can. You’ll see that your life is a tangled trail in the woods, weaving around this bramble and that stump, twisting around a large rock and veering sharply to one side to avoid a rushing river. Sometimes, your path might just go right through a snake pit, or maybe it will take you up a steep hill. It is an affluent little trail, and even though you’ve been on this road for all your life, you still don’t know where it leads. It has always been the road less traveled by.
Somewhere in a forest just like this, a girl makes her way down her own trail. She was—is, and perhaps will continue to be—a ray of sunshine. She fills her parents’ eyes with joy and pride from every moment since her birth. Her fingers, once thick and clammy as the hands of a child, can feel the ghosts of gentle grips that belong to her parents. Those grips, so many years ago, had helped her across a busy crossway. They had guided her in the direction of right and good, and steered her away from the thorny brambles of wrong and bad. “Safe!” on the other side.
The trail in the woods swerves. There on the right is a small clearing to rest. The girl sees an image of herself and her mother when she looks over. She remembers how sometimes, illness would overtake her and confine her to the bed. Her mother was always at her side, then, caring, fretting, anxious. Her mother would place a cool hand on her forehead, stroking her eyebrows soothingly until her child fell into fitful sleep. Now, the young one knows that her mother will always be there to give advice, standing strong beside her daughter.
Ahead on the path, the girl sees her brother and father. She will never forget their strong hands holding tightly onto the seat of her bicycle, pushing her forward both with words and with force, encouraging her to turn the pedals of her bike and ride independently. She rides this bicycle with pride, never failing to reminisce of those long ago memories.

Along her path, the girl stops. Perhaps, she thinks, it is time to take a new turn on the road?

She remembers how her father and elder brother would hold onto her hands as they walked and lift her up in the air, so that her feet swung a foot off the ground. She would giggle in pure ecstasy when they lowered her to the ground once more, excitedly begging for “again, again!”

Is it time I lifted myself off the ground by my own strength?

She can recall the days when she sat at the kitchen table, gazing apathetically at the food placed in front of her, slowly cooling as time passed. She thinks back fondly to the moment her mother would sigh in defeat and tell a story just so that she would finally eat.

Is it time I weave my own tale?

On that stump over there, the girl sees her mother scolding her. She treasures this moment, too, because the words are still with her, still mean so much. She keeps all her family’s words in mind, using them to make the proper choice. She has been taught to look at life in a positive way, to learn from her mistakes and never hold back a smile. For that, she is forever grateful.

What awaits me in the future?

The girl has grown, and now she is ready to face the risks of making mistakes along the dark path stretching before her, wherever that path may lead. She is not afraid. She has the words of her family in her heart, and that is all she needs. She wishes to grow her own branches and reach for the sky. She wants to grab the sun and bring it to the ground, where it will illuminate the way. One day, she will carry herself with the purpose and energy of one who has observed and learned.

Look forward—as far forward as you can. Tell me, what do you see?