Your World

Your world is as big as you make it,

I know for I used to abide,

In the narrowest nest in a corner,

My wings pressing close to my side.

But I spotted the distant horizon,

Where the skyline encircled the sea,

And I throbbed with a burning desire,

To travel this immensity.

So I battered the cordons around me,

And cradled my wings in the breeze,

I flew to the uttermost reaches,

With rapture, with power, with ease.

-by Georgia Douglas Johnson

Over the last few weeks, I have repeated the previous lines, over and over and over again. My friends have found it at times to be annoying; I find it inspirational.

I read this poem, and I always have an image to accompany it. Most reasonable people imagine a pure white dove (or a seagull according to one of my more "logical" friends) freeing itself from strings and flying off into the sunset.

I, on the other hand, have been sucked into the world of "How to Train Your Dragon" by Cressida Cowell brought to life by Dreamworks. This turns this poem into something only I could imagine:

I imagine a dragon, taken down by a bola. Once it escapes, it flies to freedom, and its life changes forever. Of course, I've made up a much more complex story in my mind, but I only need you to understand what I see before I tell you what it means to me.

I've decide to explain this using the plot of my favorite movie: How To Train Your Dragon.

Your world is as big as you make it

This implies you have a choice. You can stay stuck forever, or you can try something new to find your true happiness. Hiccup tried something new, and on his final try, he took down the most powerful dragon known to viking: the Night Fury. His life got "infinitely better" even if it didn't turn out how he'd originally hoped.

I know for I used to abide

The author used to do this. Follow the rules, never break out of habit, etc. Berk had been beating dragons senseless for three hundred years, and that got them no where. "They've killed hundreds of us" and "We've killed thousands of them" hold a meaning.

In the narrowest nest in a corner, my wings pressing close to my side.

Johnson kept her world small, and cowered into a corner, keeping her distance from everything else that seemed new. Astrid ran away, rather than cower, but the concept is the same. She would later realize that something new was "pretty cool."

But I spotted the distant horizon, where the skyline encircled the sea

The narrator finally finds something intriguing. Something new. Something wonderful. Hiccup took down a Night Fury, yet for some reason, he couldn't- wouldn't kill it. Later he'd come back to look for it, intrigued by the "toothless" creature. Why? He found it wonderful, and he'd already been different before. Why not be different in a totally different way?

And I throbbed with a burning desire, to travel this immensity

So the author decided, "I want to do it." The author wants to try this new thing that seemed would take her somewhere she'd like. 'I want to fix this,' was what Hiccup was thinking, but either way, he would try to do it. He would help the dragon he'd crippled fly again, in the process discovering wonder by wonder that it would be "amazing".

So I battered the cordons around me

Or you could say she broke out of her shell. She was getting out of the corner no matter what. Just shake the fear off and stare it in the face, rather than just let it take you over and keep you away from your desires. Hiccup stared the "unholy offspring of lighting and death itself" and ignored his fear later as he extended his hand to the Night Fury's snout, completely trusting his heart and the dragon.

And cradled my wings in the breeze

This is the process of getting ready. You're about to take on something that used to be out of your reach! Take your time as you try to get used to the new surroundings or ideas that come with this new desire. That's how Hiccup managed to convince Astrid of how wonderful flying could be. Obviously Toothless starting with the tricks was a bad idea, but when the tumbling turned into a glide, she found herself getting used to the idea of flying. Weeks later she'd find herself into the idea of performing tricks, which is how progress should work.

I flew to the uttermost reaches

You're finally doing it. And you're putting you all into it. You won't stop until you reach your goal. Hiccup tried tail after tail; saddle after saddle, but never gave up. It got him to the point of flying in the end, and "yes, it worked" out pretty well.

With rapture, with power, with ease.

Once started, you can't help but feel ecstatic, because you finally did it! You took off, and now you can make your world bigger. Nobody would have thought about what everything or anything would look like in the sky. Nobody would have the feel of "wind in your" hair felt so good. It takes experiencing new things to find out how great they can be. And after finally being able to do it, you find yourself at ease, because the throbbing desire no longer throbs.

Now all that's left to do is find another desire.

Then, make it happen, and make your world just a little bigger than before.

It's all up to you when it comes to how big your world is. Don't keep the same routine when there's a million things to do out there and you haven't even done a thousandth of them, is what this poem sums up to.

After figuring it all out myself, I plan to follow the poem's advice. Hiccup did it, and so can I, because I couldn't stand a small world with nothing to look forward to.

Disclaimers:

I do not own "How to Train Your Dragon" book series; that belongs to Cressida Cowell

Nor do I own the Dreamworks' film, "How To Train Your Dragon" or any of the quotes used to explain the point of this poem

The poem "Your World" was written by Georgia Douglas Johnson, therefore, not mine.