Scotland’s weather is like that of a teenager’s emotions. But unlike most, I find it endearing since I am just barely escaping my teenage years. Very much like home, they say here that if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and maybe you’ll like it better. We woke up to a glorious morning with puffy, white clouds and the sun shining through. But we also got caught in the rain, had to bundle, ended up shedding those layers, re-bundle and roll up our sleeves. All in the same day. I guess it’s fitting: we all feel a lot like teenagers on this trip. Despite being in a different continent from our parents and having to care for ourselves, we do the same stupid things we did when we were kids. We laugh at dumb jokes and have no idea what we’re doing when trying alcohol. We cannot navigate smoothly to save ourselves, so we wander down random avenues and gardens and hope for the best. It’s all worked out so far.
We’re pretty lucky. We have each other. We have our faith. We have growth in our faith through each other. Today we saw a show that had none of those things. I can’t help thinking the whole play would have been different if that were not the case. The play we saw at Pleasance was called A+E. It was based on a true story, which is terrifying, about a girl who had an accident in London and her drunk, high, emotionally unstable friends were the only witnesses. Their friendships were horrible. They were technically there for each other, but on what ground? On the grounds that Georgie had the coke? That Robyn was really fun when drunk? It made me sad for them. But it made me so thankful for my dorky, silly, loud, grounded friends.
After the depressing, yet thought-provoking show, the dorks and I went to Edinburgh castle for some food and exploration. Did you know that there are a lot of stairs to get to the BOTTOM of Edinburgh castle? Yeah, me either. But man, what a view when we got there. Even at the bottom. There’s gotta be a lesson in there somewhere.
It was a fantastic castle. It was massive and solid and just something out of a fairytale. But we were hardly paying attention to architecture. Although we were the ultimate tourists and took a thousand pictures and bought little Scottie dog key chains in the Portcullis Gift Shop, we just talked. We tiptoed through cobblestone hills and too many people distractedly because we were laughing at stories from years ago. I’m sure we didn’t spend our time as wisely as we should have, but I also don’t think any of us will regret it.
These first couple of days in Edinburgh have been anything but ordinary. They have not been seamless or simple. But I have done more thinking and thanking than I’ve ever done before. We have several days left and I am almost nervous to see what will come of me in them. I’ve already changed, hopefully for the better. Even from the bottom of my tiredness and my impatience and my distrust, I am confident that there is beauty and will be beauty. Two weeks ago I would have insisted that this phenomenon would come from the gorgeous scenery and the magnificent architecture and the intriguing accents, but this is not so. The beauty that seeps through is very simply from the beautiful people who I am blessed enough to call my friends.
Ticket to Write 