Little Bird

Dialogue in movies or television can seem fairly boring to most people. People love the action and special effects. As a writer, I love the words. Great dialogue between characters with rich histories is what keeps me interested in what I'm watching.

Last week on Game of Thrones, a conversation happened between the character known as The Hound and Sansa Stark. The Hound mentions to Sansa that he wishes he could have saved her from King's Landing after her father was killed, like he did for Arya (so to speak). He could've saved her from Ramsay Bolton, Littlefinger, and all the bad things that have happened to her. Sansa replies, "Without Littlefinger and Ramsay and the rest, I would've stayed a little bird all my life."

If you've been watching the show from start to finish, you can easily notice the transformations happening in the characters. They all had their times of living fairly happily. There was no Night King. There was no fight for the Iron Throne. But life keeps on moving, people make selfish decisions, secrets are told, and happy times often come to an end. Especially in good stories. You see a character, like Daenerys, get tired of just being used, and they finally make a decision to change their circumstances. No matter the cost. Or you have Arya, who always wanted to be a great fighter. Probably more so with the intent of protecting herself and her family than taking out the biggest threat to the Seven Kingdoms. Then there are the obvious villains like Joffrey, who only seem to become worse even if things are seemingly fine in their world.

I find it unfortunate that it's harder for us to see character development in our own lives. That's why I think the dialogue in stories is important. When Sansa and The Hound came to the conclusion that she is not a "little bird" anymore, it made me reflect on myself. Of course, I don't live in a world with skeletons trying to attack me, or being forced to marry someone I don't like. I have a fairly easy life, as I'm sure you do, too. But, I think most of us can pinpoint an event in our lives that changed us just a little bit.

Over a year ago, one 24 hour period changed me just little bit more. In one day, I lost my car, my job, and my house. My car broke down so bad that I just had to sell it to the mechanic. When I got home, which was provided for me by my job, I was told that I was being let go based on some rumors that were being spread by another person. The next morning I had to attend my cousin's funeral; he had passed away at a young age just a couple days before.

I felt so lost. More than that, I felt as though God or some divine power was punishing me. At the same time, something had awoken inside me. I was done with being a footnote in my own story.

Around that time, I started watching Game of Thrones. I watched Arya closely as her character reminded me of how I felt as a young girl. I always felt as though I needed to be strong for my family. That's why moments, or months, of weakness and depression made me so upset with myself. (Spoiler alert!) When Arya jumped out of the dark night and slay the Night King, I couldn't get that picture out of my head. That one scene inspired me to try again. That's why I'm writing this. It's been years since I've published any writing online. My Night King has been all my thoughts telling me I'm not good enough to do these things anymore. I've been burnt, and I didn't think I could walk through that fire like Daenerys.

I don't want to be rescued from trials and hard times. I want to go through them. I can't stay a little bird forever. In my mind is where I have to decide to develop this character: a stronger version of myself.