i can't believe we're almost halfway through this crazy week of guest posts and moving madness. by now i will be living with brent's parents, and my family will be leaving tomorrow morning for kentucky! so crazy, i can't even handle it.
today you get to hear from miss chelsie! remember that one time i did a guest post for her here? yeah me too, that was fun. today she's returning the favor, and i'm oh so glad she is. i go to school with her in rexburg and she's waiting for my friend dusty while he's on his mission (cuuuuute, right?). aaaanyways, she's super passionate about new england, and after reading this... i think know why.
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Whenever I’m asked to describe myself, I usually blurt out that I’m a “hardcore New Englander.” Everyone who knows a little bit of me, knows that I love where I’m from. I could go on and on about how great it is to live in this part of the country, but as I sat down to write this, I tried to figure out why exactly I love New England. And it was a bit harder then I thought.
Maybe I love New England because I get to experience the best of all four seasons. Winter is cold and snowy; with the occasional ice storm that usually wipes out power for about 5-10 days. Spring is rainy and wet, but after the first few weeks, New England starts to come alive with every possible flower, tree and bush coloring the land. Summer is filled with all things green, afternoon thunderstorms and veggie gardens. It has warm rain showers; the kind that you can dance in and pass through the area for ten minutes. And New England is the only place where you can enjoy a full out Autumn. Every tree turns a different color, all so vivid it looks like the hills are on fire; maples turn red, birch turn yellow and oaks turn orange. The autumn sun is warm and gentle and the ground smells like damp decay and the air is crisp and fresh. Every season here is alive and every day is beautiful.
Maybe I love New England because I get to experience the best of all four seasons. Winter is cold and snowy; with the occasional ice storm that usually wipes out power for about 5-10 days. Spring is rainy and wet, but after the first few weeks, New England starts to come alive with every possible flower, tree and bush coloring the land. Summer is filled with all things green, afternoon thunderstorms and veggie gardens. It has warm rain showers; the kind that you can dance in and pass through the area for ten minutes. And New England is the only place where you can enjoy a full out Autumn. Every tree turns a different color, all so vivid it looks like the hills are on fire; maples turn red, birch turn yellow and oaks turn orange. The autumn sun is warm and gentle and the ground smells like damp decay and the air is crisp and fresh. Every season here is alive and every day is beautiful.
Maybe I love New England because of the insane weather; it is constantly changing on a second’s notice. One minute it’ll be sunny, the next a storm will be coming through, and the next, it’ll be cloudy and windy. Watching a storm blow in is so powerful to me; I’m always reminded of how things can change on me without any kind of warning, and that I have to roll with the punches and accept that I cannot control everything. And, like the weather here, I have to remind myself that the sun will always come out tomorrow.
Maybe I love New England because of the coast. New Hampshire specifically has 12 perfect miles of beach that stretches in a crescent shape. Standing on my coast, feeling my toes in the sand and watching the sunrise over the water takes my breath away. It’s funny how the ocean puts everything into perspective; I am reminded of how incredibly small I am in the grand scheme of things, but how I still count for something anyway.
Maybe I love New England because of the mountains. The Appalachians are not prominent, rocky or impressive like the Rockies. They roll into each other, seamless and smooth and when I stand on top of one, I feel like I can see forever and I count the shadows of the clouds in the valley below. I think about all the people below me and I wonder about what they are doing and where they are going and if they could see the world from my view, if their problems would all of a sudden seem smaller like mine do.
Maybe I love New England because of Boston. On a good day, I’m 40 minutes out from a city that is filled with brick buildings, ivy lined gates and bursting to the brim with history. Walking along the Freedom Trail that winds through the city and stops at several cemeteries with stones smoothed away with time and vines draped over the fences, I can’t help but be thankful for the sacrifices made back in the day by the people who came to New England in search of a free country and who obtained that desire and preserved it for people like me.
Maybe I love New England because of the way the air smells, or the sound of the wind blowing the leaves on a summer evening. Maybe I love New England because of the crickets that sing me to sleep or because of the fireflies that light up my window as the sun goes down. Maybe I love New England because of the rock walls that wind through every single town and every single yard. Or maybe I love New England because of the people here-native New Englanders are stubborn and work hard. They take pride in their sports and boast about the seafood. But they are made of good stock and are the most genuine people in the world. Once a New Englander, always a New Englander.
And maybe I love New England for a combination of those reasons. But mostly, I love New England because I feel more alive and in tune with the world when I’m here. I wake up every morning to the sun streaming through the forest in my back yard and I am reminded of how incredibly beautiful my life is and how grateful I am to be living it. New England sets my soul on fire. And my heart will always belong here.
who's ready to pack up and head east?
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