This Tuesday nine of us embarked upon a sea kayaking trip – destination: Lighthouse Beach for our 48-hour solo experience. With choppy waters, we paddled a whopping mile from campus before having to beach the boats and camp out for the night. Day two, we try again: only to encounter more sea-sickening waves and exerting far too much effort for the distance traveled. We stop for lunch and a nap on the beach, then out on the water again. Alas, we make it one-third of the way to our destination before resulting to hitching a ride the rest of the way to Lighthouse. Along the way, some lovely conversations, bonding over games of Wizard, and the best campfire pizza bliss. Valentine’s Day dawned upon us and we spent the holiday alone — in the most literal sense. Thursday marked the beginning of our48-hour solo. Seven of us scattered along the shore of Lighthouse Beach with nothing but pink sand, our thoughts, and the horizon of each new day before us.
Solo: a time for self reflection, awareness, acceptance. Ye of little faith who may be wondering, “What in the world do you plan on doing with your life?” Well, I took some time during my solo to contemplate this question and let me affirm your doubts by responding–I still have no idea. “But,” you say, “weren’t you supposed to figure that out on your gap year?” I, too, had in mind an idealistic notion that my gap year would provide all of the answers to my confused teenage angst over what to do with my life. But, you see, us gappers — we’re still figuring things out. I rest assured that I’m worlds away from the person I was when I graduated high school, and no college textbook could have taught me what I’ve learned this past year about my place in this world. As I reflected upon this thought with the crashing of waves before me, I realized how perfectly okay it is to not be completely consistent in my beliefs. To contradict myself is what it means to become a young adult. So I say: soldier on, wandering warriors. Life’s short. Defy those societal pressures and live the life you want to live.
by Sarah Sasek