A New Year’s Surprise - Class 7 Writing Block Feature
Mar 25, 2025
A NEW YEAR'S SURPRISE
by Isabella Maas
Okay, buckle up buttercups, because you’re about to read the tale of how I, a mostly functioning (emphasis on mostly) human being, stumbled on a land of vibrant wonder and, more importantly, figured out what all those squishy feelings are actually about. I call it my “New Year’s Surprise,” because, frankly, that’s what it felt like – a glitter-bomb of unexpected emotions detonated directly into my usually-stoic face.
It all began as these things often do: with a desperate need to escape. You see, the usual New Year's Eve festivities were starting to feel less like a celebration and more like a choreographed exercise in forced cheer. The sparkly dresses, (I've always hated those), the obligatory clinking of glasses, the "new year, new me" declarations that everyone (including me, let's be totally honest) would inevitably forget by mid-January…was all a bit much. So, when a slightly weird, slightly cryptic invitation arrived from my eccentric Abuelita, promising a "Viaje transformados" to a place called the "Blarillo Brillante,” (for you English people the 'Glittering Glade') I didn't pack my bags, I hurled them.
Now, my Abuelita is the type of person who communicates more through interpretative dance (aka, her own version of the bachata) and cryptic songs than actual, you know, words. This trip was no exception. The directions were a collection of rhyming nursery rhymes, sketched maps with arrows pointing nowhere specific, and a single, slightly ominous instruction: "Empaca tu corazón, porque será la brájula." I initially scoed. My heart? A compass? Clearly, Abuelita had finally succumbed to the siren song of the dancing banana hat brigade.
But, fueled by a potent mixture of rebellious spirit and desperate need to avoid the huge parties my parents brought me to; I followed the clues. The journey, let's just say, was less "scenic drive" and more ''Obstacle course designed by a whimsical lunatic.” I waded through knee-high mud, climbed over moss-covered rocks that seemed to shift positions every time I blinked, and even had a brief but deeply unnerving conversation with a squirrel who's name was Jerry.
Eventually, though, after what felt like centuries, I stumbled into it: the Glittering Glade. And good grief, was it aptly named. Imagine a valley painted in every color imaginable, with waterfalls that shimmered like liquid diamonds, flowers that pulsed with soft, inner light, and trees whose leaves seemed to whisper conversations to each other. It was otherworldly, breathtaking, and, I'll be honest, made me feel a little bit like I'd drank one of Abuelita's teas that looked like they were made of stardust.
But the Glace wasn't just beautiful; it was... alive. Not the “trees are swaying” kind of way, but in a way that resonated deep within the marrow of my bones. I felt it in the way the gentle breeze seemed to caress my skin, in the vibrant colors that seemed to seep into my soul, and in the way my heart (yes, My heart, the supposed compass!) started beating a ridiculously enthusiastic rhythm.
This is when things started to go really crazy. I saw a herd of what seemed to be…unicorns? I watched them trot past, my mouth hanging open, and could have sworn one of them winked at me. You see, for most of my life, I'd been a master of shoving emotions into neat little bores. So you can imagine my surprise when I started to laugh like I was a five year old
But the Glade had zero respect for my perfectly compartmentalized emotions. The very air seemed to crackle with a potent mix of joy, worder, and a strange, almost overwhelming sense of connection to...everything. I found myself feeling a whole explosion of emotions, from joy to sadness, from fear to anger, and everything in between.
When the sun began to set, I began my long wall back. I was in no way the same person I’d been just this morning, but someone who could find beauty in a single raindrop, and who now understood that emotions weren't a weakness, but the very fabric of what made us humans.
Now, I'm not saying I'm some sort of emotional guru who floats through life on a cloud of bliss. But I am-saying, if you ever receive a cryptic invitation promising a "viaje transformador," go for it. You never know what amazing things you might find out there if you just let yourself free.
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