1. What do you think it would be like to live on a little island that is accessible only by boat? What if it was a small community of 200-300 people with a little, K-5 schoolhouse? A small grocery store with nothing but the necessities. Now with the world of Amazon and being able to order your groceries from the grocery store on the mainland, it does make it a little bit more convenient. I imagine there are different logistics to consider that make life less straightforward. But there is a simpleness to it. I imagine you lean on the community a bit more when you run out of salt, or need to borrow a neighbor’s truck to pick up something from the mail ferry. I imagine that without the instant option, you might realize you can live without that thing and with fewer things and options, I imagine that life becomes a little bit slower.
2. The clean, crisp air surrounded me as I stepped out of the car. As I took in a deep breath, I could smell the seaweed and salty ocean mixed in with the smell of food cooking as the nearby lobster shack got ready to open for the day. I went straight for the rock jetty, feeling the unevenness under my Teva’s as I hopped from flat stone to jagged rock, taking care to avoid the pools of water and slippery seaweed.
3. Okay, I’m truly wondering why I chose 6. Maybe Tuesday Three would be easier? I did just get home from a long travel day but I am determined (and encouraged!) to write these 6 points.
4. I realize that it may be confusing to read these as I would like to make it a mix of my thoughts and ponderings, as well as random writings of scenes and experiences. Something I struggle with is considering all the different words to describe the smell, the feel, the sight, etc. How do you make it real? More importantly, how do you make it so tangible that your reader is brought into it? I have the larger ideas, but it is the execution of the smaller details that I have little experience with and I hope to push myself by writing little scenes here and there. So you’ll just have to let your imagination wander as you read these random points and take from it what you want.
5. What is it that calls us to a place? Why are some people more drawn to specific climates and certain scenery? I have been thinking a lot lately about how the climate and nature around us really do lead to a certain kind of culture. The objective influences the nature of people because people have to adapt to their environment. People in a hot climate don’t have to consider how to shore up a house for the cold winter. And those in a cold climate don’t have to consider natural disasters that may occur to hotter weather. These considerations (and so many more!) influence how we think, how we face problems, and how we go about our various considerations.
6. This week we traveled to my favorite part of this country. It was cooler, it was greener, and the water abounded in many forms – the ocean, ponds, reservoirs, and rivers. We walked so much, took public transportation, ate really good food because the produce and quality of food is so much better than where we live, and I had many intellectual and deep conversations. Ironically, that is something I deeply miss having outside of those I interact with at school. I’m not going to go into my thoughts about that with where I live. Yet amidst all the goodness and the relief to be able to unplug from school for a week, there were downsides too. I did not sleep great. I was often overstimulated by the amount of people we saw and spent time with. In the first few days, I wondered if my energy was going to last the whole trip. There were times I was worried about certain things outside of my control. Now that I am back home, I can quite honestly say that it was one of the best trips we’ve taken on so many levels. But that doesn’t negate the times of uncertainty, exhaustion, or frustration and if anything, all the varying levels of emotion and energy are what make it feel more like a normal week in a beautiful place. And in a way, that does make coming back home a little bit easier.