Chapter 1: Yu's Struggle ??

Yu?sat under the large oak tree, staring at the blank page in her sketchbook. The world around her was vibrant and full of life—the golden sunlight streaming through the leaves, the soft breeze carrying the smell of earth and flowers—but she couldn’t feel any of it. Where there had once been colors in her imagination, there were now only shades of gray.

She used to love drawing here. The oak tree had always been her favorite place, where ideas once flowed effortlessly from her mind to the page. But now, no matter how long she sat, no matter how hard she stared at the paper, nothing came. Her hand hovered over the page, waiting for the spark of inspiration that never appeared.

“I used to be full of ideas,” Yu whispered to herself. “But now… I can’t think of anything. Maybe creativity isn’t meant for me. Maybe I’m just not like the others—real artists who always know what to do.”

The more she compared herself to others, the more stuck she felt. She imagined other artists with their sketchbooks, effortlessly creating masterpiece after masterpiece, while she sat here with a blank page and an even blanker mind. Each time she tried to create something, her thoughts twisted and tangled until the ideas disappeared completely. Her heart felt heavy, and she wondered if she’d ever be able to create again.

Yu sighed and dropped her pencil. Maybe this was it. Maybe her creativity was gone for good. The thought scared her. How could something that once felt so natural, so easy, now feel so impossible?

She let her gaze drift upward, watching the branches sway in the wind. The oak tree had stood here for years, growing taller and stronger, season after season. It had seen countless summers and winters, shedding leaves and growing new ones. Maybe trees don’t worry about growing, Yu thought. They just do it. They don’t get stuck thinking about how to be a tree.

Suddenly, a small voice inside her whispered, What if?

It was a question, a tiny spark of curiosity. What if she wasn’t stuck because she lacked creativity, but because she had stopped asking questions? What if her creativity hadn’t disappeared, but had simply been buried under layers of doubt and fear? Yu’s thoughts paused on that single word—curiosity. She hadn’t thought about it before, but wasn’t curiosity the foundation of all creativity? The desire to explore, to wonder, to ask questions, and to see the world in a new way?

Yu sat up straighter, her heart beating a little faster. What if curiosity was the key? If she could rediscover her sense of wonder, maybe the ideas would come back. Maybe the problem wasn’t that she couldn’t create, but that she had stopped asking the right questions.

What if I try something different? she thought. What if I stop trying to create something perfect and just play with ideas?

Curiosity, she realized, was the beginning of everything. It was the root of creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Without curiosity, there was no spark, no drive to explore new ideas or challenge the status quo. Every time she had felt stuck, it wasn’t because she wasn’t creative—it was because she had stopped asking why and what if.

She reached for her pencil again, this time with a different approach. Instead of waiting for a fully formed idea to appear in her mind, she let her curiosity guide her hand. She began drawing simple lines—random, flowing lines with no clear purpose or destination. The lines twisted and curved, crossing over each other, creating new shapes. Yu smiled slightly. It wasn’t a masterpiece, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was exploring, letting her curiosity lead the way.

With each line she drew, her mind began to open up. She felt herself loosening, letting go of the pressure to create something perfect. The shapes on the page started to form into something new—something unexpected. She leaned in, feeling her heart lift as the spark of creativity slowly returned.

As she continued drawing, Yu realized that curiosity was the missing piece. Creativity wasn’t about having all the answers or knowing exactly what to do from the start. It was about being willing to ask questions, to explore the unknown, to make mistakes, and to discover new possibilities along the way. It wasn’t about perfection—it was about curiosity.

Yu stopped for a moment and looked at the page. It wasn’t finished, but it didn’t need to be. The important thing was that she had started. She had allowed herself to ask questions again, and in doing so, she had unlocked a door that had been closed for too long.

Sitting back under the oak tree, Yu felt lighter. She didn’t need to know everything. She didn’t need to have a perfect idea before she started. All she needed was to let her curiosity guide her, and the rest would follow.