“Once Upon A Time there was a dear little girl who was loved by everyone who looked at her, but most of all by her grandmother, and there was nothing that she would not have given the child. Once she gave her a little riding hood of red velvet, which suited her so well that she would never wear anything else; so she was always called ‘Little Red Riding Hood.”

The story of Little Red Riding Hood is a story we’ve all grown up with. The blood red cape, the consequences of straying from the path but usually, above all else, the wolf stands out in our minds.

We imagine a fearsome creature, with yellow eyes, and a maw fixated in a snarling position, covered in silver-grey fur. He haunts the nightmares of children, who fear being eaten by this greedy creature and that fear keeps us on paths when we’re deep in the woods.

We reassure kids that the wolf isn’t real. That there’s no creature to fear out there and there’s no monsters under our beds, but that’s a lie. There’s always something we fear out there. The monsters may not have literal claws or sharp teeth that can pierce our skin, but instead they have words that rip us to shreds and laughs that intrude our minds.

The darkest part of the woods for many people is high school. It’s a battle field between the wild monsters searching to do harm for their own benefit and the gentle children looking to survive. The path is a winding one, with parts where the rocks seem to slide from beneath our feet all at once and other times it feels like we’re trying to walk through mud, progressing so slowly that we consider stopping all together and giving into the wolf's malicious intent.

When you try to run you just get lost, and there’s nowhere to hide from the prying eyes of the creatures that surround you. Their words form above us, like a canopy of leaves blocking out the sun and preventing us from seeing the light. We attempt to keep our wits about us but often the wolf is wearing sheep's clothing and we stray because we trust them. The path sometimes narrows so much that we feel like we’re walking a tight rope. With each trembling step we feel as if the ground below us will open up into a sinkhole and our last vision will be the wolf staring at us, watching our every move.

Yet darkness cannot exist in a world without light. As you’re sinking you look up at the dark green shade that spans the sky and you see a light glimmer. You see that crack in the darkness of the forest and you realize that, yes there’s monsters but there’s also a beast within you, who has a fire that burns brighter than the terror trying to shadow your life.

You pull yourself out of the hole that’s trying to devour you and you feel the ground solidify beneath your feet. You take a deep breath, and realize the scent filling your nose is the iris blossoms surrounding the trail, then you continue. You fight for every step and while it may be painful sometimes, it’s everything that matters. You move forward on the trail until you reach the clearing and see truly how beautiful everything is.

The sun warms your skin and the sky shows you that there’s so much beyond the dark forest you’ve struggled in and you continue the journey. Sometimes you may have to trek through the dark forest again, but always know, that above that thick darkness there’s a beautiful sign that it’s all worth it. You will survive, and you will beat the monsters.

“Red Riding Hood went joyously home, and no one could ever do her any harm again.”