Afterthoughts and Revolutions

So Long, Farewell Boston,

but lets have a recap of my Beantown Adventure

          As some may know, every year I strive to go to 5 new places every year, and this year I got an early start visiting two new places in one trip.  Since this started as a resolution two years ago now, I've done my best to accomplish it.  2010 was a year of adventuring with friends, 2011 became a year of traveling with romance by my side and so for 2012 I decided it was time to have a journey of solidarity, where I could take time for myself to think and grow.

Year 2010: Charleston SC, Los Angeles CA, Asheville NC, Williamsburg VA, Outer Banks NC
Year 2011:  New York NY, Indianapolis IN, Chicago IL, Grandfather Mountain NC

Year 2012: 1) Boston, Massachusetts
                   2) Brooklyn, New York


Firsts in Boston:  Tried Lobster
                            Been to a Brewry
                            Tried a Cannoli
                            Been to a NBA Game
                            Tried Mochi

Sights I Saw:      Nichols House Museum
                           Harpoon's Brewry Tour
                           JFK Museum
                           Museum of Fine Arts (MFA)
                           Isabelle Gardner Museum


Brooklyn:    Seen the Brooklyn Bridge
                           The Metropolitan Museum of Art


          When I left Greensboro, I was looking for answers.  Or maybe for a path.  And I thought that when those 11 days were over, I'd feel even more anxious then before I left.  But instead I found a calmness I hadn't expected to find in a place where every street is busy and every person has a mission.
          This week was about being able to start making decisions with a perspective so I surrounded myself everyday with amazing art, beautiful food, and positive energy.  It brought a part of my back to life.  Plus, there's just nothing better than spending a Saturday afternoon shopping at Bloomingdales in Soho, with one of your best friends, sipping on mango spritzers in wine glasses and chocolate covered strawberries being passed around.
          Right now I am the best version of myself.  I carry a serenity with me and I have brought back a different kind joy to my life, realizing that distance is only a number of miles, not a number of steps to something else.  When we surround ourselves with ideas and people that inspire us, we tend to let our souls free and let ourselves live in a contentment that encourages creation, happiness and love.  Going home to greensboro, I can feel myself glowing, ready for anything, and letting what may come into my life with no hesitation.

Boston Museum of Fine Arts

         When most people look at a painting they see the scenery, the atmosphere, the figures and the drama they are involved in.  They see the whole picture.  Maybe it has been my years of art history classes, seeing endless masterpieces on larger than life digital screens, but for me seeing an original painting, is like meeting someone for the first time.  Walking through the rooms of the MFA is like catching up with old friends, seeing friendly faces around every corner, and having the honor of making new acquaintances.  

          And like  any group of friends, every painting has its own striking personality.  Its the brushstrokes.  Most people look past them, but I can stare at them for hours, noticing every smooth curve or textured splatter.  I always have the most obtruding desire to run my fingers over the layers of an oil landscape.  Paintings become topographical maps of an artist working through their process. Pieces of art are windows to their creator's soul, who leave a part of themselves in every painting.  But its the brushstrokes that are the connection from the artist to the canvas.  They are what is left as a passage through time to see the artist's perspective, leaving behind a personality for us to analyze and enjoy while comparing Van Gogh's furious and destructive passion to Monet's delicate serenity.  Museums, while inspiring to any artist's heart, are also comforting to mine.  On this trip, I needed to surround myself with beauty and creativity,  to let myself just stare for a while at brushstrokes that have become familiar and soothing.

  

 

Celtics Green

          On my first night in Boston, on our girls night out, the Celtics fans raving at the bar made us all excited for the next one, which as Nina and I found out, was serendipitously against the Charlotte Bobcats.  Now how could two Carolina girls, celebrating new life accomplishments and a long living friendship in Boston, not attend such a perfect pairing, a physical display of our two lives, past and present, colliding in commemoration of how far we have come.  Sharing a festive night, in Celtics Green, with all the amazing Boston people I spent a week with, the TD Garden got to witness a moment of my life in which every part of my own history became just a piece of the puzzle leading me to this night, where I was surrounded with friends and nothing more to worry about than cheering for the home team.  And in the fashion of accomplishment, Paul Pierce also broke Larry Bird's scoring record, becoming the 2nd highest scorer in Celtics history.  So it is officially on the history books, as a night of growing in glory.

History in Stone

 

          Boston has always been a place known for its history.  And walking through the aisles of lives past, in the company of Paul Revere and soldiers of the Revolutionary War, I wonder who they were, and what their world was like.  When Boston was only a few buildings wide, in the 1700's, it was a different time but yet somehow the people feel the same to me, like if i could talk to them I would be able to relate my life to theirs, even in some far stretched way. The memory of their lives are stand decorated with emblems of angels and skeletons to represent symbols of respect from their time.  As the sun shone on their memorial stones, beautifully weathered with years of age, like a spotlight showing me the way through the path these people created.  So as I create my own, I can only be grateful to the heartaches, struggles, and accomplishments that where conquered by those before me.

Nina's Walking Tour

Morning Walk Through Boston

          As Nina and I walk through Boston on a crisp, sunny morning, she quickly became an amazing tour guide, including historical momuments and points of interest.  Here are a few quick snapshots from a walking tour of boston with stops at the Boston Opera House, and lunch in Chinatown.