Celebration

Day 16: Celebration
As the sudden noise violently woke me up, I was greeted to the smell of smoke. As I got up, I was surrounded by a crowd of people, cheering at something and making a lot of noise. I brushed off any dirt and other mess on my clothes and finally looked in the same direction as the rest of the crowd.

I was at a fireworks show, apparently. I didn't know specifically what this was for; I don't think there's been any occasion to celebrate recently, so seeing this was kinda confusing.

However, as I looked around, one of the members of the crowd noticed me, and then pointed me forward. The people around him also followed his gaze, all focused on me, and they proceeded to signal me to move forward. After I refused to do so, they resorted to pushing me to the front of this audience, with more and more people noticing me.

I didn't like all this attention on me, but there had to be a reason it was happening, right? I decided not to fight it and just kept moving forward, as that's always worked for me before.

I finally moved to the very front of the multitude of people, the numbers seemingly infinite. As I turned around to face them, I could hear the noises grow louder, as they started cheering and hollering more.
Was this... for me?

I didn't want to assume anything, so I just stood there, watching everything unfold. I couldn't focus on anything, though, as the crowd started chanting and clapping rhythmically, almost as if they were anticipating something. The words they were saying sounded like nonsense, but as I started to listen closely, I could make out their words.

They were definitely chanting my name.
I have no clue why; I don't feel like I did anything to deserve such praise. It felt unnecessary.
As I racked my brain to find reasons, I could only narrow it down to the progress I've made.
It still doesn't feel worth celebrating for, but it seems like this mob of people insist on doing it anyways.

This really made me think about how much has happened recently. I've made a few accomplishments here and there, made friends, developed rivalries, and done things I've never even thought I'd ever do.

I don't think my journey is over, though. I have a lot more to accomplish. I have more battles to fight.

I took a deep bow in front of the crowd, much like an actor during a curtain call, and started running off to find my way forward.