Monday 22 September 2014

Radio Waves


A couple of months ago a friend sent me a link to an essay titled 'The Opposite of Loneliness', written by a Yale student, Marina Keegan, who was approaching graduation. The essay appeared in the graduation issue of the Yale Daily News back in 2012. In the essay Marina speculated about life after university. She described campus as a place where she felt like she was part of something, and where she felt the 'opposite of loneliness.' In the essay she expressed some fear and uncertainty about what lay beyond the security of university. But her tone was optimistic with lines such as, 'We can't, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it's all we have.'
It wasn't until I'd finished reading the article that I noticed the byline along the top stating that Marina Keegan died in a car accident five days after graduation, at the age of 22. Goosebumps darted up my arms as a line from her essay jumped out at me: 'We're so young. We're so young. We're twenty-two years old. We have so much time.'

Recently I was on holiday on a Riviera cruise for a family celebration. I could easily have lived on the ship. It even had a library. I visited the library the first afternoon I was on the ship but couldn't really find anything. I was determined to find something good, and something which I could finish in the eight days I'd be there. On my second visit I walked straight up to a book titled, 'The Opposite of Loneliness'. Pulling it out of the bookcase I recognised a photo of Marina Keegan on the front. The book was a post-humous collection of her short stories and non fiction articles, named after the aforementioned essay. So of course this became my reading matieral during my holiday.

I was in awe that she had managed to produce so much polished writing whilst studying what had to be an intense academic degree (she was at Yale after all). She approached her writing in a very disciplined manner (which made me think I should become a lot more disciplined with my writing). She talked of her disappointment at not being asked to join some university secret society club and instead of wallowing she decided to dedicate the Thursday night when the group met to writing instead (giving her three solid hours or so). Her fiction was very insightful and mature for a twenty two year old, but it was her non fiction I enjoyed the most, as it revealed more about her inner thoughts and personality.

In some of her works she had a bit of a preoccupation with death, not in a depressive way, more in a philosophical way. I wonder if her family draw comfort from reading some of her musings. In the Introduction her parents write that the car crash occured due to her boyfriend falling asleep at the wheel, on a journey to their house. Her parents refused to let him take any blame and attended court to ensure all charges were dropped because they knew it would have been what Marina wanted. This tells you a lot about Marina I think, and her parents. Through putting together this book it was clear they realised the importance of allowing her voice to be heard, of allowing her words to be read, and creating something positive from a tragic situation.

In a foreward, her tutor talked of her passion for writing and the way in which she challenged an author who was being negative about the future of the industry. Her passion and enthusiam came across in many ways throughout this body of work, and her determination to write fuelled a new determination in me. It's easy to start doubting your work if doors are shut and this flipped a switch in me not to give up. Maybe it's self indulgent to think I was supposed to find her book on this holiday, but I love moments of synchronicity as I believe it's the world's way of saying PAY ATTENTION - someone, somewhere is trying to tell you something. In one of her stories she refers to a poem 'Ode On A Grecian Urn'. This poem features in the book I'm still trying to get published and I took this as another nudge, keep going, get it back out there.

I smiled when I came to the line in her non fiction essay, Song for the Special 'I want what I think and who I am captured in an anthology of indulgence I can comfortingly tuck in some labyrinthine library.' In her closing paragraph the goosebumps returned at her words:
'I read somewhere that radio waves just keep travelling outward, flying into the Universe with eternal vibrations. Sometime before I die I think I'll find a microphone and climb to the top of a radio tower...Hello, I'll say to outer space, this is my card.'







11 comments:

  1. What a fantastic post, Vikki - and such synchronicity was meant to be!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Vikki, this is so moving. It's a beautiful post and it does full justice to the subject area - both Marina Keegan and the concept of synchronicity. Such a positive attitude to her short life is an inspiration to us all. Thank you for sharing your own experience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Joan. Definitely found her positive take on things in life and determination very inspiring

      Delete
  3. Sad that she died so young, but great she achieved so much in her short life. We shouldn't wait for when we have the time to do the things which are important to us, should we?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really sad but yes, she really packed a lot into her 22 years. It definitely made me think about a lot of things and how we shouldn't wait, just do!

      Delete
  4. An absolutely beautiful, inspirational and moving post, Vikki. Thank you so much. It's beautifully written and I gasped at those wonderful synchronised moments. Your words, and Marina's, will stay with me. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Joanna. I think those moments of synchronicity really make you sit up and take notice!

      Delete
  5. I love this post Vikki and was glad I forwarded on the story, tragic though it is. The synchronicity you found with the same poem that you had quoted in your book, and that Marina's wish was to have a collection of her thoughts in a library somewhere are so powerful, and I definitely think the universe surprises us and brings us coincidences and synchronicities like this to nudge us forward. Never give up!

    'Be the lighthouse' is another favourite of mine, from Alexandra Franzen xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Rebecca and thank you for sending me her essay in the first place!! Definitely have been 'nudged' by those moments. Thanks for the recommendation for 'Be the lighthouse' - will need to check it out

      Delete
  6. cheap nike free 3.0 quickly turned and ran nike free 3.0 sale back, suddenly flew into the sale of arms. How they run cheap nike free 3.0 back, go back to it. sale very gentle stroking cheap hair, the sound is cheap nike free 3.0 extremely gentle, not like the increased aid in the fight when the sale. I really go back, I will miss you. nike free 3.0 online cheap cheap nike free 3.0 leave cheap arms, and kissed the cheek sale tomorrow

    ReplyDelete