I will probably talk about my time in the UK a lot in the future. That's what life-changing experiences tend to do to a person, after all. I can't pretend that I came back wiser or suddenly sure of what I want to do with my life, but I have definitely discovered, and rediscovered, the things that make my soul sing.
A lot of them are simple and not entirely unexpected: being a wanderlust, I love traveling. But as fun as it is to be somewhere, to turn in a complete circle and be surrounded by a new city or a beautiful landscape, my favorite part of traveling might actually be getting there. Something about sitting still as the world rushes by, either in a car or a bus or a train, is thrilling and, in a weird way, comforting to me. I love the soft hum of engines vibrating in my bones, I love the way I am anchored in the moment, having to absorb what I see out the window very quickly, because a blink later, and it's gone, and I love passing by houses and towns and farms and thinking that, right at that moment, those people are living their lives, just as I am living mine, and I am just passing through, unnoticed, like a ghost, and they will carry on long after I am gone, unaffected by me or my life or my choices.
It's weirdly humbling.
Speaking of humbling, I witnessed some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen while I was in the UK. My only regret was that we didn't have time to stop and take photos of the Scottish highlands on our tour. (I ended up taking most of my pictures out of the bus window. Sigh.) I'm definitely making it a goal to go back and designate more time to photograph the beautiful mountains, rivers, lakes, and forests of England and Scotland. There was so much beauty everywhere, and not the generic, clean-cut, not-a-flaw-to-be-seen kind of beauty--rather, they possessed a rough-around-the-edges, aged, and quirky aesthetic that had my funky, artistic soul falling head over heels in love.
"Now more than ever do I realize that I shall never be content with a sedentary life, and that I shall always be hautned by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere."
Isabelle Eberhardt
Song of the day:
Holocene, Bon Iver
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