Nothing but the stars - 8/28/26

This photograph was taken by me in the middle of nowhere. I'm pretty sure it was New Mexico, but it may very well have been in Arizona.

Shortly after my first year of college ended, my boyfriend and I took two weeks to road trip to San Diego and back. The day leading up to this photo consisted of hundreds of miles being driven, many songs sung, a visit to at least one national park, many coffee stops, and the fleeting feeling of living a memory.

As a young and angsty teenager, 13 or so, I lived in a tall townhouse. My room was on the third floor. I remember learning how to take the screen out from the window, crawling out, and sitting on the roof at the oddest hours of the night. I wanted to look at the sky. I have always felt some relief in knowing how small we all are. That feeling definitely revisited me during our trip.

The road trip felt so major to me, but at the end of the day we were just another car on the road. I don't mean for that to sound existential or dim; to me it is a bright feeling.

Things can go so awry, or so perfectly, or even somewhere in between, but regardless, the moment is always just a car driving by or just one star out of the whole sky.