The Tranquility of Solitude
[Based on the prompt: “Do you like being alone?”]
How you wish to make yourself known.
As an only child, I have gotten accustomed to being alone in a home full of complete silence, cut off from the rest of the world, sometimes for days at a time. I experience this every summer when I travel back to St. Louis to visit family in my childhood home. During those visits, I end up spending a lot of time by myself, sitting in front of the living room window. That view has become permanently engrained in my mind. The window overlooks a downward slope, with trees and houses cascading into the distance under the vast sky. (Unlike Illinois, Missouri actually has trees and meaningful changes in elevation.) On clear days, I can marvel at the vibrant colors of the sky and sunlit forest-scape. But despite being miles and miles away from my usual life, in those moments I feel anything but alone.
I am at my purest in the absence of
other people. These moments of solitude are a chance for me to briefly free
myself from the web of interpersonal bonds that pervades my normal life. I
don’t need to worry about anyone else. I can be fully absent and present at the
same time. The hardships of the world boil away, and my existence is reduced to
the rays of sunlight reflecting off the trees and houses outside, the puffy
clouds drifting across the calm sky, the birds chirping and fluttering through
the branches, and the comfort of knowing that I can be happy with so little. I
know that I still have obligations; I will never be able to completely shut
them out. But what better way is there to de-stress than getting rid of as much
mental weight as possible for just a little bit?
But you’ll never have to share it.
Imagine a still pond of water in a
clearing at dusk. Fireflies dash and flicker through the evening air. The sun
is nearly below the horizon, its orange light dimly reflecting across the
surface of the water.
This pond is your mind: cool, clear, and peaceful at the best of
times but quite prone to disruption.
Suddenly the sky darkens, and raindrops begin falling on the pond.
Ripples spread across the surface of the water, radiating out and crashing into
one another. These ripples are your thoughts, the troubles of life and the
pressure of other people cluttering your mind like flies swarming on a dropped
ice cream cone.
It would be virtually impossible to keep any part of the pond still
during this storm. The ripples will spread to every single corner. The only way
to keep the pond still is to get rid of the rain, to exit the chaos of normal
life. By spending time alone, you clear your mind, open up new perspectives,
and take the time to listen to your own voice before the voices of others.
Writing about this has been a struggle for me, since I’ve never
thought of how to express my perspective of the tranquility of solitude to
other people. After all, the whole idea is that I’m not thinking about others
while I bask in the quiet of my alone time. My loneliness is personal.
Emotional. Carefree. That’s what makes it so rejuvenating. Only through
spending time alone can I truly enjoy the time I spend with others.
You ought to be alone instead.
Well this was cool. I feel like I've seen this format before, but I can't remember where (all that's coming to mind is comparing it to some mash between genius lyrics and woolf's the waves). I think it is an interesting way to go about a personal essay, and pretty effective the way you have it now, with each stanza as some local launching point but providing a slightly-off tonal contrast that has this air of suspense at times. I kinda wish I thought of this first lol.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the content, the essay is a pretty darn engaging, mainly cause you do a good job of setting these scenes (childhood home living room window view, rays of sunlight, the pond imagination). I am a sucker for descriptive and slightly flowery language and setting, so this works well for me and I don't think you lose anything by adding these (words well spent).
Also, the bite sized journey you take us through with this essay is just very well-paced and smooth-feeling. Only comment might be that the pond kind of comes out of nowhere (but you pull it off, so i cant judge).
Hi Michael! I just want to say that I love your poetic writing style; you weave vivid imagery and serene reflection seamlessly. Your struggle to express your tranquility sort of reminds me of Ha Jin’s “Missed Time” poem; you don’t try to scour meaning through writing when you are in a state of simple joy. This masterpiece is really hard to criticize. What could I say? Maybe avoid stand-alone “this”s that refer to some not-so-clear thing. Like, instead of saying “Writing about this,” you could say, “Writing this piece.” Everything feels so well thought out, from the placement of your stanzas to each metaphor to the disruptive pond story describing a disruption to the peace. Overall, nice job!
ReplyDeleteHey Michael, I just want to say this is a fabulous work of art. The poetic imagery is breathtaking, I feel as if I have become one with your eyes. The structure of your writing is quite unique, but I believe this fits perfectly with the assignment. It feels as if you have truly opened your mind for the world to see, granting us a view into your inner workings. Your reflection is short, but I believe it is truly deep. You convey tremendously strong emotion, such that I expect this piece to be written for a contest. The poem you chose to incorporate was also quite cool. Fantastic job!!!
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