The earth spins at approximately 1,000 miles per hour, and rotates around the sun at about 67,000 miles per hour. Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”. Being a teenager, for me is much like the earth spinning and rotating at thousands of miles per hour. I am turning and dashing towards my future faster than I can understand. Everything is changing and if I can’t stop and catch my breath, I’ll crash into the sun at the blink of an eye. Thankfully, I’ve found a way to stop the universe, if only for a few minutes, and smile for a while. How does one manage to stop the universe, though? I go to the spot where the Hockanum River meets the Connecticut River. There’s something about white foamy water colliding with rocks, stepping on millions of tiny grains of sand, and seeing the curve of the earth in the distance that washes away time. There’s something about the joining of two rivers that seem to erode the stress and strain of daily life. There’s something about seeing the expanse of the world and realizing that, compared to the earth, I am a speck and in relation to the universe, I am even less than that. Somehow this stretch of worn tan rocks washed by brown salty water is where I find contentment. It’s easy to understand why people fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean. It’s as if the waves wear your worries away. If you were a rock in the ocean, the waves would crash into you and smooth out your rough edges. This is what the river does for me. It files away my fears and frustrations until I am no longer jagged. For me, the river is like reading a book. I am pulled into another world where it’s just me and that world is mine. I can walk forever, look forever, and be forever. There is also the option of being alone, or with
The earth spins at approximately 1,000 miles per hour, and rotates around the sun at about 67,000 miles per hour. Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”. Being a teenager, for me is much like the earth spinning and rotating at thousands of miles per hour. I am turning and dashing towards my future faster than I can understand. Everything is changing and if I can’t stop and catch my breath, I’ll crash into the sun at the blink of an eye. Thankfully, I’ve found a way to stop the universe, if only for a few minutes, and smile for a while. How does one manage to stop the universe, though? I go to the spot where the Hockanum River meets the Connecticut River. There’s something about white foamy water colliding with rocks, stepping on millions of tiny grains of sand, and seeing the curve of the earth in the distance that washes away time. There’s something about the joining of two rivers that seem to erode the stress and strain of daily life. There’s something about seeing the expanse of the world and realizing that, compared to the earth, I am a speck and in relation to the universe, I am even less than that. Somehow this stretch of worn tan rocks washed by brown salty water is where I find contentment. It’s easy to understand why people fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean. It’s as if the waves wear your worries away. If you were a rock in the ocean, the waves would crash into you and smooth out your rough edges. This is what the river does for me. It files away my fears and frustrations until I am no longer jagged. For me, the river is like reading a book. I am pulled into another world where it’s just me and that world is mine. I can walk forever, look forever, and be forever. There is also the option of being alone, or with