By Kayli Harley, TIWP Student
“Are you afraid of living life in bold?” — Luz Corrigan from the song “Author”
I want to step outside of the lines I have drawn, turn around, and erase them entirely. I want to touch every corner of this earth that I can find, stand on the edge of a cliff in Switzerland, watch the sun rise in the Italian alps, gaze up at the aurora borealis as snowflakes cling to my eyelashes, hike the mountains of Patagonia, follow a trail to an unknown destination in Iceland, and I want to call each experience a piece of my home. I want to wear-in my sneakers and muddy my boots. I want to wake up at 4:00 am and drive to the beach so I can sit in the sand, watch the sunrise, and write every word that has ever taken root in my soul. I want to run through a field during a thunderstorm as the wind pushes through me because I know I will feel alive. I want someone to find a home in me. I want them to feel their heart skip a beat at the sound of my laugh even though I hate it. I want that person to see me split open, so close to having to start over again, and think: man, I love this girl. I want to know that person entirely so I can finally understand the purpose of all the days I had to spend myopic in my idea of love. I want to be a sponge and absorb every experience as a necessary page in my life story; I want to love every word. I want to die knowing that I didn’t waste my light, that even as it burned out it was worth something. I want to suck every possible nutrient out of life, savor every flavor and feeling. This is all that I know for certain: I have a chance, and it doesn’t matter if I get another one in some other life because I have this chance. I don’t want unfinished business. My business is to live, and if I leave that undone, it will be my one regret. So, am I afraid of living life in bold? Absolutely.
