SATIRE

At the bottom of the lake I rest, munching on bait fish and sleeping all day, the usual day as a gar. I have nothing to do except sit in the school (of fish). Responsibilities come and go through my brain with no internal processing. No homework to be done, chores, or articles to write for Journalism 1 class. Next thing I know, I hear a ripple above and sense the slick scales my neighbor next to me.

“I sure hope this is not a souvenir tree,” I hear as I’m getting pulled away from my beautiful home, full of algae and aquatic plants. “Or 100 gar would be bad too.” Before I realized, I broke the surface seeing bright blinding light like I never had before. My tiny fisheyes could not comprehend the sight.

“Oh my gosh it is 100 gar!” said the voice. Except now it’s clear it is coming from a towering individual only heard in stories, a man. His statement finally stuck in my tiny fish brain. This school (of fish) doesn’t truly have individuals. At the end of the day, I have never been an individual. I am only a part of a larger picture, like a tail in a whole bait fish, a cog in a machine. As I am cut free, I find myself unable to swim, water finally filling my gills but despair filling my heart. I truly am only 1 of 100. Everyone else lives the exact same life as me day by day in this lake. Survival is all we know. Then, a thought crosses my mind. To think of all this and realize my mundane life, I truly am my own fish. To escape this paradox, I must swim away from the swarm. I am one in a krillion. Despite being told I am only 1 in 100, my individual thoughts and dreams make me my own fish. Equipped with new knowledge, I make a break from my school (of fish).