The first tentative steps
Into a strange place
Full of strangers
And unknown faces
My hand reaches out
Hesitantly
And to my surprise
I am welcomed
With no questions.

The pessimist within
Believes not this scene
The lonely soul
Seeks warmth and companionship
While the dry wit beneath
Glories in the laughter
And joy.

Friendships are forged
Quickly and without reservation
I am surprised
Slightly bewildered
But a wide smile wreathes my face
And I take the offered hands.

Gradually, too
The walls around me
Crumple and lie at my feet
In rubble.
No longer do people perceive
The quiet, shy, and somewhat cold
Young girl I was
An image I created, nurtured
And grew into over the years
To protect myself.
Just as a butterfly emerges
From its cocoon
So did I emerge from mine
And discover my
True spirit.

I am the shy one
Cautious in placing my trust
Where it might not belong
But fiercely devoted
Once my trust is given.
I am the passionate one
Capable of loving and laughing
With intense emotion
But never capable of hate
For hate destroys all.
I am the roguish one
My first love is aughter
My second is life
Wherever there is laughter
And joy in a young one's antics
I am there.

Those first steps
Into a whole other world
Alien to me then
Home to me now
Has brought me further
Than any other steps
I have taken.
I was brought to a place
Where, freed from the
Boundaries of constraint
I was set free
And flew -
High and far.

Remember the name ShyOne
For she is no more
The one with the soul of a lost child
Has found the peace she sought
By doing what she hated most -

She has let go.