Travels – Stories, Dreams, & Spaces

Lunch at Back Beach

It started with the unlikely monotony of a toothbrush, a nalgene full of irony pump-water, a tube of toothpaste on its last leg, and an entire ocean. My obsession with routines— supported by the anti-routine nature of living on a boat that’s shape is entirely decided by a formation of tides, winds, and forces completelyContinue reading “Lunch at Back Beach”

The Mapper

There’s a picture from a children’s book I really like. It’s a landscape in a boy’s figure who seems to be flying over an otherwise solid color. I have dreams sort of like this except the exact opposite. Instead, I fly as an empty figure over a landscape or the gentle curves of a massContinue reading “The Mapper”

Monotony of Metropolitan Life and the Inherent Fluidity of the Natural

Imagine you live in two houses throughout your life. The first house is an old structure overturned by unkempt ivy and lush moss. It sits in the middle of a dense forest with a mountain view of a deep blue lake. You wake up every morning and go through your daily steps that usually leadContinue reading “Monotony of Metropolitan Life and the Inherent Fluidity of the Natural”

A Brief Book Review: The Voyage of the Sanderling: Exploring the Ecology of the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Rio by Roger D. Stone

In my infinite quest to find books about travel and sailboats void of the fetishization of colonialism, imperialism, or eurocentrism, I dove deep into this novel which I purchased in a quaint bookstore called Westsider Books in the Upper Westside of New York City. While Stone, who recently passed away this year, makes some goodContinue reading “A Brief Book Review: The Voyage of the Sanderling: Exploring the Ecology of the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Rio by Roger D. Stone”

The Other Side

I’ve been to the edge of the world before. I know it seems like every other post I talk about some weird island or boat I’ve been to. Yeah, we get it, Ella, you like the ocean and lighthouses and schooners but what’s the point? What’s the point besides their aesthetic beauty or shiny galore.Continue reading “The Other Side”

So Where Do We Go Now?

I sit here knowing I shouldn’t write about school stuff or the things that make my eyebrows squint downwards so the images in my head can replace my vision. The creases on my face tighten almost rhythmically at the thought of anything abstract. Yet all that spirals around in my brain are the things I’veContinue reading “So Where Do We Go Now?”

Map of “Somewhere”

m I am free On an island far far away from here, where sailboats toss and roll in the surf, and seagulls soar like a soprano’s song Lines destined for a diary or at least a schooner’s topsail becomes the indicator of land where inlets become infinite, coves abundant A land where I am free,Continue reading “Map of “Somewhere””

Swan’s Island

One of my favorite movies of all time undoubtedly has to be Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson. It’s the kind of movie where no matter how many times I drink in its scenes soaked in a yellow tint of childhood nostalgia and accompanied by a soundtrack you absorbed from your grandma’s record player- no matterContinue reading “Swan’s Island”

Miss Rumphius and Reflecting on the Violence and Romanticization of Childhood Stories and Memories

I’ve had the privilege of academically diving into the idea of recognizing the violence in so many of our most beloved childhood stories at Bryn Mawr College. In some of my English classes, we’ve analyzed the works of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lucy Maud Montgomery, all three Brontë sisters. Now outside of my usual academic setting,Continue reading “Miss Rumphius and Reflecting on the Violence and Romanticization of Childhood Stories and Memories”

Writing (His)Stories as They Happen

In the same way that we see history as the study of the past, I sometimes wonder about the ability to tell stories without later reflection. If we can think so intensely and fondly of memory does that mean that in the moment, while the action was taking place, an equal relationship occurred? Or perhapsContinue reading “Writing (His)Stories as They Happen”