I tossed around for the millionth time. And found myself looking right at my old stuffed lion, Alex. His dull black eyes stared at me, his smile unfading. "What are you looking at?," I whispered to him, just like old times and sighed for the billionth time. 

   I realized that for the first time, I didn't like anyone. To be honest, most of my life, I liked someone. From elementary school, I started having crushes and got infatuated with the cutest boy in my class. I guess I was the type of person who easily liked someone. But I've only loved once... And I don't want to remember the time I did. Anyways, it was a weird feeling to not like someone. It's been a while since I last had a crush, maybe a year? My life kind of felt boring, if it couldn't get anymore boring.

     Most of my friends got their lives figured out. Now that we're entering college, they have picked their paths and jobs they want to pursue. Some of them knew what they wanted to be since the start of high school. While I just did the best I could in everything to get into a good college. I just collected achievements and activities and now what? I'm still not sure who I am. I'm mostly drifting along, trying to live a safe, comfortable lifestyle. This summer before college is a pretty important summer for most of us. Alot of us are going on trips, visiting family, getting ready for dorm life, and whatnot. But I'm... not exactly doing much. I guess moving back to Korea for college with my sister counts as doing something. And working part time at a boba shop. And reading fan fiction. And dance. And eating ice cream while watching k-dramas. But it's not much.

     A lot of my friends also have their love lives. Most of my closest friends all got boyfriends who take them out on dates and do cute things together. Not that I'm complaining. But having a non-existent one isn't necessarily something to brag about. 

    My life honestly feels so slow while my friends' lives are progressing quickly. But I guess it fits me.

     Turtle. A nickname that stuck with me throughout my whole life. I liked taking things slow and easy. And I guess I always hid in my shell when the world got too uncomfortable. It's part of who I am. Usually outsiders think I'm super quiet, but once I became friends with someone, I would become super outgoing and crazy.

     I turned again and tried to go to sleep. After an hour of uncomfortable tossing, I finally went to sleep. 

       "Briing! Briing!" 

       "Ugh" I lazily fumbled around and turned my alarm clock off. I groggily walked to my mirror. Messy hair? Check. Puffy eyes from staying up all night? Check. After washing up and dressing in a casual shirt and jeans, I walked to the kitchen to eat breakfast.

       "Good morning Sora," my sister Suzy greeted me. Suzy's a year younger than me, going into her senior year. My parents decided to have her move to Korea with me and finish up her high school there. And together, we're living in a small apartment in Seoul. Even though she's younger, she's definitely more mature and knows where her life will go. Suzy wants to be a news anchor, which isn't that shocking because she loves to talk and she's a social person. 

       "Hey. Hand me that bagel, will ya?" After finishing my bagel and orange juice, I consulted my sister on my sleepless night.

        "Guess what? I realized that I haven't liked anyone in a while. Isn't that a surprise? " 

        "To be honest, no not really. With your head stuck in the clouds and always reading fairy tales, I'm not that surprised. You know, you should stop reading and go out and meet the real world. Meet real guys! Who knows, maybe you'll fall in love."

        "I'll consider it." I said, but I didn't. 

      After eating breakfast, I went out to take a walk around the park, much to my sister's delight in finally getting me out of the house. "You should be out there. It's a beautiful day. Stop being a turtle," she said, pushing me out of the door. But how could I stop being a turtle? I liked the comfort of my bedroom and feeling safe from being judged by the world.

     I took a deep breathe in and looked around. The bright sun, the beautiful gardens, the people laughing and socializing. It's not that bad I guess. I strolled around, taking in the beautiful view of people sharing memories with their loved ones and the pretty flowers gently swaying from the summer breeze. I walked to the boba shop that I work part-time at, which happens to be next to the park. 

      "Hey Sora! What are you doing here? I thought your shift was tomorrow?" my friend and part-time coworker, Jongin said. I knew him since middle school because our families were close. So every time I visited Korea, I would hang out with him and we would go to dance classes together.

     "I was taking a stroll around the park and decided to get boba." I replied, "Can I have a milk tea boba with extra ice?"

     "Coming right up, my lady," Jongin winked.

     "Haha. Do you wink at every girl in this boba shop because it seems like all the girls are attracted to you." I said, looking at all the girls who were staring at him and fixing themselves up.

     "Maybe. Mrs. Lee does say I bring in all the ladies to her shop." he said, wriggling his eyebrows as he made my boba. "Here you go. Enjoy your walk, I'll see you tonight." Maybe he purposely said that really loud because all the girls turned to me and glared at me. I quickly ran out before any of them could approach me. 

     "Uph." I looked up and realized that I bumped into someone. And that someone had his shirt drenched with my milk tea boba. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. I'll go get some napkins for you." I babbled. 

     "No, it's fine." he said and before I could get a look at his face, he left. 

     "Oh. Okay then." I mumbled to no one in particular. I walked back to the park and sat on a wooden bench. I pulled out my notebook and wrote a poem about the beautiful park. Writing and dancing, my two hobbies. I didn't know what to do with it so I folded it into a paper airplane and threw it. Surprisingly, it went really far and I lost sight of it. It must be really breezy today. 

     Somehow I ended up falling asleep on the bench. The bright sunlight made me really drowsy and I fell into a light sleep. I know, it's dangerous to fall asleep in a park, but I was really tired from staying up last night.  I woke up after about 5 minutes and I got up and stretched. I felt something fall off me. I looked down and saw a paper airplane on the ground. Is it my poem? How did it come back to me?

      I picked it up and opened it. It wasn't my poem. But instead, it had one word on it, Thanks.