My first post is a repost, which seems appropriate because it's a flashback to the first time I realized I had a real point of view to share. This comes from the Tumblr I started when I was living in Singapore more than four years ago:
April 20, 2010
The most remarkable, breath-taking, smile-and-giddy-laughter-inducing thing happened to me today!
I had just gotten a package from home (yes, Mom and Dad, you will be happy to hear that “home” is still Orange, CA). I was lounging in bed, snacking on girl scout cookies and loosing myself in the latest issue of National Geographic when I turned the page to scene that immediately grabbed me and pulled me in with its jarring familiarity. April 20, 2010
The most remarkable, breath-taking, smile-and-giddy-laughter-inducing thing happened to me today!
Really, it was suddenly like I was there, in the photo. The strange blue-green color, the delicately lacy pattern of falling water, the rope knotted at remarkably regular intervals - I knew all these things. In my mind, I could fill in the off-camera surrounds. I could see the boy’s swing reach its apex. I could hear the splash that was sure to come.
Then it hit me: I had been here before, just a few months ago.