Tonight (Alaska)

Tonight was one of those moments.

I’ve had quite a few of them already with this job. Walking home after a crazy night at daylight in Tokyo, witnessing sunset over the water in Alaska, running through the pouring rain with friends in Okinawa, rooftop 4th of July celebrations with strangers in Germany. So on.

Tonight in Alaska I witnessed a meteor shower. After a hectic time in Japan, Alaska is the perfect place to unwind. Josh and I were both craving seeing something other than our hotel rooms or the city center. So we lost our way through short trails along the water and marsh. Little did we know we would a great spot for tonight’s viewing pleasure. Now, I took no photos despite carrying my camera around (hidden, just in case). I was going to… but once I sat down on that bench with Josh and Nathan, who are incredible company themselves, I wanted nothing to distract me from the moment I was anticipating. It took patience. We made jokes as we stared up at the night sky; sunset still slightly visible over the horizon even though it was 12:30 AM. Airplanes filled the sky. “That could be us,” Nathan said. “Uhm, that is us.” We waited and waited- where do we even look? It’s just so vast, you can’t look in only one spot.

Nathan spotted the first one. A literal, excited gasp. “I saw one!” One shooting star. Slowly but surely the three of us each began to spot one… and then another. Some were short and quick, captured luckily by the corner of eyes. Others were more radiant and left a bright small trail behind. I feel genuinely lucky that I got to witness them all. With life’s chaos and time zone changes I often forget to look up and just reflect on how small my worries really are compared to the world’s greatness. Finally, it began to slow down and the temperature continued to drop. My little Japan Airways blanket and beanie I bought in Tokyo could only do so much before I was nice and chilly.

Most importantly I was- am- so happy. These moments are the ones I hold so close to my heart. Even though things can be stressful sometimes: money, distance, trust, what have you, they are also so beautiful in their own way. I will remember this feeling over every single negative one that may occur. So all I can leave you with (since I didn’t take any photos) is embrace the moments in life without distractions. Mentally document, store them deep inside your heart, reflect, and feel.

Live courageously and whole-heartedly.