Independence Day

On the fourth of July I celebrated my own independence, my own freedom, overlooking the shimmering banks of the Chena River, caught in an endless summer sunset. I was back where I begun two months ago. I watched the rays of light dance across the surface of the water, a golden path broken only by the wake of occasional passing boats.

I went to Hawaii driven by gut instinct – the same certainty that drove me to Thailand on that other trip of self-discovery that ended so happily, too. I reasoned that, without this Alaskan trip, for all its ups and downs, I would never have been inspired on that spontaneous day to apply for the Cayman Islands job – which waits just beyond the next horizon for my arrival in Autumn.

I went to Alaska in search of something specific: one adventure, one relationship, but instead I experienced many adventures and had the privilege of sharing these moments with a host of new friends.


I looked over at the glowing water, framed against a backdrop of silhouetted spruce trees, and took a moment to consider the journey now behind me – what it all meant, what it had all been for – then I smiled as I thought of what lies ahead. There will be more of these moments, when I will bask, eyes closed, in the warmth of other sunsets, across time and space. I wonder where I will be, who I will be with, and how I will feel.

One thing I am certain of: this life is a gift.