Space, the final frontier or something like that
I used to love space as a kid, so much so that I wanted to be an astronomer for years. I had so many space books, and loved watching shows like Cosmos and The Universe. There were so many topics that fascinated me about the universe; the boundaries of space, the origins of life, the existence of extraterrestrial life, and of course the possibility of space travel. This interest led to a love and hate relationship with science as a whole, because while I was fascinated with science (especially science related to space) I struggled with the subject in school. Luckily, YouTube videos and certain science creators, helped me stay interested in the topic. Additionally, projects like the Scale of the Universe scratched the space itch for me as well. Learning so much about space also led me down a rabbit hole of existential thought but that is a story for another day.
As time went on I eventually found myself drifting towards history as my primary interest. This led to my love of space waning as I grew older. Nowadays I don’t even get close to the same amount of fulfillment from learning about space. With that being said I have found some small renewed interest in space recently due to bewildering concepts such as false vacuum decay, Dyson swarms, galactic voids, and the death of the universe, but this interest is nowhere near the same level. I’ve accepted this, because many obsessions of mine that have disappeared as I got older. Though, as of late I had been looking to feel that same excitement and sense of awe again. Fortunately for me I got to witness the Solar Eclipse in my part of the world this year and man… It made me feel those feelings once again.
It wasn’t like any other experience I have ever had. As the days approached for the event I was nervous that it was going to be overblown, but I have never been happier to be proven wrong in my life.As the moon approached and it slowly engrossed the sun, my partner and I felt this weird sensation. Our bodies weren’t sure what to do as the saturation left our eyes, the birds were chirping up a storm, and the bugs were going wild. Once totality fully occurred I felt like a confused animal who was ready to start to stampeding, but simultaneously I felt completely overwhelmed with happiness. You could here all of the people in a mile radius shouting, as we all just witnessed an epic once in a life time event. It was also then that I understood the event’s significance and realized why it would caused ancient humans to react. Not to sound too flowery but I felt connected to humanity, the Earth, and the universe all at once. I felt so small yet also like I was a part of something larger. It felt nice to feel that type of excitement and awe once again.
