The Journey

This week couldn’t have started weirder for Jackson. First, it was the pregnant woman who seemed like she was in pain. Then, it was the weird engineer who wanted to talk to him and his friends at lunch. Nobody could understand anything except for their teacher. He had plans for the seniors of this year.

“For the last but not least exam of your lives, please take your seats. The test will be starting in a minute.”announced the examiner. He was an old man who had a joyful soul. It took awhile for him to hand all the exam papers out but the class didn’t mind at all.

When he took his teacher’s seat, he could watch the student’s face for hours. This was because he handed them blank papers.“Now please let me explain. For your last test, I want you to recreate your inner world. You can even make a dot if it tells that it is you. But please, Jackson, do not do that and sit for the next 45 minutes. Be yourself for the sake of god.” he chuckled which made the class laugh hysterically.

This old guy had his own tricks for the subjects but this one really creeped the class. Especially Jackson. He had hit the books the other day, for the cheating worksheets. After a while of looking at the blank papers, students started to do what the teacher said. Some drew their reflection from a mirror which kinda was odd, and some started to write wildly. Some even started to create aboard, making lines and dots between events. Each of them created something which made them feel

comfortable with themselves. After 45 minutes, the old man collected all the papers and stood up after ages. He approached the end of the classroom and started to pace up and down.

“Has anyone realized something weird is going on in this last week of high-school?” Jackson and a few students raised their hands confidently. They were expecting a detailed explanation because they couldn’t handle more craziness anymore.

“Good.” “And has anyone emailed the weird engineer after he talked to you at lunch?” asked the old man. The students whose sketchbooks have spoken the most raised their hands. “It has been an amazing four-year for me. You little kids, become so mature that even sometimes I find myself acting childish during the day. I’m getting old guys, please don’t mind me.” chuckled but cried at the same time. Then, he continued.

“This was my last test for you. With all the stress, you guys forget the main purpose of why you’re studying so hard. You forgot what you wanted with your lives. Your parents, whom I spoke early that week had a big effect on you. I just wanted to make you see what you are really passionate about without any external factors.”

“I wanted to kindle the little flame in you. The pregnant woman is my daughter and her husband the engineer and my dear son-in-law accepted that idea instantly. I mean, let’s say he owed me one.” he laughed on his sleeve.

“And this one, represented being a psychologist. You see, there are 3 types of thinkers. Visual thinkers who think byusing pictures or actions. Pattern thinkers are those who think by making connections between actions and emotions. And for the last, there are verbal thinkers. They think in words or sentences. If you liked the idea of studying human psychology, why not to study this one, right?”

The next day, after the classes of seniors entered the SAT’s, they all gathered around and had a good-bye party.Their minds were all mixed up but, they never forgot the old man's experiment. They always remembered him saying: “Finding yourself is a journey which you need to be the main character.”