On the day before the last day of school I had my final science class. My teacher was a lover of nature. She would tell us stories of her travels in Yosemite, or Yellowstone National Park, or some incredible land form she was able to see. But on that last day she asked us a to write a very simple question and our answers towards it. But it was a question filled with such depth that the only sound heard in the classroom was the tapping and clicking sounds coming from of our pens and pencils. The guy next to me had is brows furrowed and his eyes looking down at the question that we were assigned to write on the paper:
Whats your favorite thing about Earth?
Please, think about this for just a brief moment. I feel like this is a question that the majority of the planet’s population should answer. It just tugs at the strings dangling in your heart. It’s one of those questions that make me bite my nails for a bit of time. I had actually thought about this question for quite a while actually, though I was never asked this question by anyone other then my own conscience.
The sheet of paper I was given to write on wasn’t enough, a stack of pages wouldn’t be enough, an empty book wouldn’t be enough for me to describe the things that I keep so dear in my heart. Here is what I wrote( well at least what I remember writing ): I love rain, the feeling of small portions of water sliding down my face, my hair, my hands. I love clouds, it’s as if they show as much emotion as any other living thing. I love wind. It makes me feel like I’m flying even when my feet are on the ground. I love seeing the stars every night, I like to think of them as each person’s soul. The glow of them all comes from the fire of each heart. I love that we can dream, dream about the most amazing things, and that really makes me feel like the luckiest person alive. Or to be fair it makes us all very very lucky. I know that we were supposed to write just one. But I just can’t do that.
I didn’t have enough time to write more because class was going to end in about fifteen minutes and our teacher wanted to read a few before the bell rang for the end of the period. I signed my paper and handed it in. I noticed that the others sheets showcased only one or two sentences, and yet my classmates looked as if they had just written their thesis for college. What I also noticed was the the majority of the essays( or should I say extremely short paragraph) were about internet, sports, celebrities, architecture, or some innovation that has helped( but I think harmed) the human race. But there was one person who wrote something quite similar to mine. I recognized the name as one of my friends. And he was also a person of science. I remember the first conversation I had ever had with him was related to our dreams, science, and what we thought about the depths of space. In fact he was the one who told me to see the trailer for the movie “The Space Between Us.”( this movie will be mentioned soon in this post) He basically wrote what I wrote at the end of my summary, but he wrote a bit more. To my terror my teacher read my paragraph aloud to the whole class. I was able to feel heat creeping up from my neck and into my cheeks. My friend whispered,
“You look like a little tomato.”
“Yeah thanks a lot.” I hissed.As I have grown, I continuously try to look at the world like I’m seeing it for the first time. I think I have succeeded. I am looking at Earth more closely.I want to really open my eyes to the world. I try my hardest to give my soul, mind, and heart to the world as I watch it. And as it watches me. Because Earth has music for those who will listen.
But I have seen a movie just recently( actually only 24 hours ago) that really reached out to me in this situation.
The Space Between Us is about Gardner Elliot(played by Asa Butterfield), the first human to ever be born on Mars. His mother Sarah Elliot died giving birth to him on the red planet thus because she was on a voyage to Mars so her and a group of five other astronauts can settle there as citizens of the planet of red soil. But Gardner is left with some of her belonging on Mars. Those small items decreasing his knowledge of Earth and his family, but increasing his yearning to thrive in Earth. He has an online friendship with Tulsa( played by Britt Robertson), a teenage girl in Colorado. He soon is able to convince the scientist(s) that raised him to let him go on a maiden voyage to Earth. He is finally able to experience everything on the Earth, and find out what is real and not real. But soon enough scientists realize that his organs won’t be able to withstand the atmosphere of Earth. He and Tulsa are in a race against time as they travel to to unravel the mysteries of his past, how he came to be, and where he belongs in the universe. Director Peter Chelsom, and Screenwriter Allan Loeb crafted an incredible story that really tugged at my heartstrings and as well featured the question that I have written aimlessly in this post. This was a drama/scifi film that had so much meaning and moral to it. And it really did get me thinking about how i lived my life and what I continue to think: What is my favorite thing about Earth?I want you to try to answer this as well. Think very deeply about this. And not just right now, but throughout your life. Trust me, it can change you. So, what’s your favorite thing about Earth?
