Gently peeking out of my shell
Just like a turtle carefully pokes her pointy, little head out of her shell when she's ready, so do I. For me, life, my life, has been and will be a natural progression of events and spaces that have lead me to become the FortuneCookieTurtleGnome. One day, I may be ready to change the Turtle part to Hermit Crab. The contrast, in my mind, between my turtle and hermit crab life stages is that in this moment, I feel like being inside the shell that I've occupied, and that has grown with me all this time. When I reach the step I call my hermit crab stage, I will be leaping from my tight, uncomfortable shell that is no longer my size, my color, or my design. I will be left vulnerable to hurt, cold, isolation, but I will also be on the move, seeking the shell that best suits me. At this point in my life progression, I'm still the turtle, half-grown, many times peeking out to see what her biome has to offer, many times retreating to the familiar inside of her shell that's been with her all along. Oh, and, HAH! The gnome is just a humorous take on what I find outside myself, like the Etowah gnome, or the Cullowhee gnome, or the Harry Potter gnome, the Starbucks gnome, the slippery driveway gnome, and I've only just begun!!!
