Ode to wandering!
I’m going on a spontaneous trip to Boston this weekend! I’m going to see a few friends there, but importantly I also want to just spend some time walking alone on beautiful paths. One of the things that bothered me upon moving to New York City last year, which had never even occurred to me to think about before, was the fact that I can’t really wander around here. Sure, it’s super walkable, which I love, and you never know what cool store or restaurant you’ll stumble upon when you turn the corner, but… I feel kind of stifled only ever having the choices of straight, right, or left when I’m walking around in Manhattan. And because of this, even with my offensively poor sense of direction I still kiiind of have an intuition for where I am on the island at all times. I miss winding paths and the feeling of wandering, having no idea where I’d be on a map. I also miss the sweet air of smaller towns and the more natural placement of trees (instead of these weirdly rigid squares that are the ‘parks’ in Manhattan).
Recently I came across this Calvin and Hobbes comic strip:
It excited some echo of my childhood self in me who didn’t know to care yet about things like money, or the future, or friendship dynamics. Suddenly I missed that person! And although I’ve grown a lot since then, I think there are some things that my 6-year-old self had right: something about authenticity maybe, or not living for others.... Anyway, that comic strip is what I want my walk in Boston to feel like.
I’ll let you know if I find any frogs or weird bugs!
Edit: It feels kind of dumb to say 'I'll let you know' when literally no one is reading my blog (except my sister – hi!), but I read some advice (on Tiramisu's blog) to try addressing your posts to a 'curious friend.'