As I sit alone in a well-known place, I come to realize the meaning of inner peace. Having come to Astoria Park for twelve years, I've never felt such exuberance within my soul. I watch and listen to the water rush to the toes of the shore. As it trickles back in matter of seconds, the water on the rocks gleams with delight from the twinkle of the half-moon. The water flows forward as if trying to hold on to time, over-power the idea of moving on. As the children behind me take my attention, I lose track of how tremendously beautiful the night sky can be. I hear the kids playfully enjoy their childhood, and I think to myself that they should just enjoy it while it lasts. Little do they know that just like the snow on the weary tree branches, life will soon be a heavy burden upon them. As I hear them, I take a moment to reflect on my own life. As a kid I came here just to be away from family problems. As I slowly begin to realize, family is with you but cannot always be. I stare up into the blue-orange gradient of the sky, close my eyes, and smell the air full of happiness and hold it in as if trying to savor what could never be mine. I open my eyes to a world full of people and a place so busy that there is no time for emotions. I look across at something that looks like an island with snow where green grass once used to be; only to figure out that nothing ever stays the same and never will. But I also realize that if I had a chance I would go to that island and abandon my worries and just stay there. I stood at the black, chipped-paint railing, with the fresh city air brushing my hair back lightly. Feeling as if this were a scene from a movie, I came to sense that there is no way to get straight across. If one could manage to zig-zag his way, through all obstacles, only then would he realize that anything is possible. If I could get straight across, there would be no way anyone or anything could come directly forward. Wouldn’t it be amazing if I was there and you, who reading this, were here by this railing? There would be no way, to come my way. Not in the path that I take, because in order to understand one’s pain, you must understand the concept of handling the situation. That is what I did. I understood.