It’s strange to think that now that no single year will begin without me thinking about my time in the Caribbean — no matter how long this glorious time in my life lasts.
I arrived to this island and brought with me stormy weather, palm fronds littering the roads, my windshield gently clouding up in the heat. The worst rainy season for years, they said.
Now it’s a new year, and that northwesterly breeze is a welcome knife cutting through the humid air.
I’ve lived in the Caribbean for over a year now. It started as my adventure and it has become my adventurous home.
Here’s what I’ve learned after hundreds of Caribbean sunsets:
The Color Of My Heart
It’s brilliantly purple and lush greens, it’s hues of orange mixed with pink and yellow. It’s as dark and bright as a sunset. It’s an oxymoron and it is content.
An Ocean of Photography
I’m like, now, totally dope at taking pictures of the ocean, on the ocean, and one time in the ocean. It’s a skill and I feel like I’ve mastered it. Back home I wasn’t much one for going into the sea, mostly because of how cold it was. It’s been a joy discovering how much a love warm waters.
I Can Do Anything I Set My Mind To
Many, many, times in your life, you will hear people say that ‘if only it were this way’ or ‘if only it were that way’ then they’d do more of the things they love. Then they’d be the person they want to be, finally, truly.
We all know that this is functional nonsense. And yet, we all let it pass without comment because we know that this lie is a protection; it’s a safe guard from our own worst critic, ourselves. If external factors are the reasons for our shortcomings, we can’t fall down into that terrifying and deep spiral of self-loathing again.
I’m not saying you have to stop lying to yourself completely — sometimes you need that lie just to survive.
What I am saying is that you have more power than you think and this year I discovered that
Anything I want to do.
Anything I dream of doing.
I have the power to try. And that is a beautiful thing.
What have you discovered this year?
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Thanks, Lauren! I’m excited too 🙂
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Lauren Macrie
For some people, it takes a lifetime to realize what you’ve realized in just a year. I’m excited to see what you try in 2019! What an amazing adventure you started. I can only imagine what happens next. 🙂