VIEWS FROM ABOVE
The first time I flew on an airplane I was 20 years old. I was flying to Rhode Island to visit a college boyfriend who had recently moved back to his home state.
Flying felt like a big deal. I remember being terrified, which wasn’t an odd feeling for me to have back in those days.
I was pretty much afraid of everything when I was growing up — insects, sleepovers, substitute teachers, riding the school bus, dogs, the dark, …. I could go on and on, and get into some really deep, dark stuff, but that’s not what this post is about.
This post is about beauty. It’s about inspiration. Freedom. Travel.
It’s about bravery.
Embracing life’s experiences rather than hiding from them.
I didn’t take any photos from the window seat on that first journey. I didn’t look at things in the same way that I do now, literally or emotionally. That day I just wanted to get off of the plane alive.
There were no trips to Europe or summers on the coast when I was a kid. No ski vacations or spring break sojourns or Christmas at Rockefeller Center. I didn’t grow up in a traveling family. There were opportunities though.
When I was 14ish I went on a long road trip with my high school best friend, her mom, and her mom’s friend. We visited New York City, Washington DC, Niagara Falls, and other places along the way. I had never been away from my family for that long and, even though I was having fun, I remember missing them and wanting to be back home.
Not too long after the NYC road trip I had a chance to travel abroad with a church choir — hard pass. I was in no way adventurous when I was a teenager. Not like that, anyway.
I remember dreaming about living in California someday, even though I had never visited. But it never felt like a real thing. As someone with severe lifelong anxiety, it was almost impossible to imagine that I’d ever find myself nestled beneath palm trees overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Even though I did…eventually.
As time went by, my appetite for adventure helped me cut through the binding roots of anxiety.
I can’t remember the first time I snapped a photo from an airplane window seat, or when I felt drawn to aerial views and patterns in topography. I don’t even remember when my fear of flying disappeared. But I do know without a doubt that every single time I stepped out my comfort zone — whether it was trying a new food, visiting another country, or navigating the NYC subway system on my own — another bit of bravery was added to the neural connections in my brain.
My collection of real-life positive experiences started outnumbering negative thoughts and associations.
AERIAL VIEWS IN MY ART REPRESENT BRAVERY.
Today lines, shapes, and marks resembling aerial views and topography repeatedly show up in my work. They’re not always planned, but they’re often there. Little bits of bravery that add up to big things.
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