To Do the Things I've Never Dared

On our way to Harrisonburg, VA on Saturday, speeding towards my next WWOOFing stay, my mom and I listened to The Sound of Music soundtrack. I know all the songs, of course, having watched the movie many times, but this time the lyrics of one particular song stuck out to me. In "I Have Confidence", Julie Andrews sings,

"What will this day be like?

I wonder

What will my future be?

I wonder

It could be so exciting

To be out in the world

To be free

My heart should be wildly rejoicing

Oh, what's the matter with me?

I've always longed for adventure

To do the things I've never dared

Now here I'm facing adventure

Then why am I so scared?

...

Oh, I must stop these doubts

All these worries

If I don't I just know I'll turn back

I must dream of the things I am seeking

I am seeking the courage I lack."

Another quote I found recently is from Barbara Kingsolver's book The Poisonwood Bible: "She tears through her life like she plans on living out the whole thing before she hits twenty." (This is referring to a five-year-old.)

I don't exactly tear through my life, but I am reminded often by those around me that "You're only eighteen." I'm so restless and I want everything right now. On the other hand, whenever I actually do things that bring me closer to the life I think I want–like WWOOFing–I'm terrified, and wish I could go back to my comfortable, known routine at home.

I'm enjoying my stay at Edale Farm so far! David, my host, has taken me for a couple walks in the woods already, and right after I got here he and his wife, Joanne, took me to a co-op downtown that I absolutely loved. I think we might go to the farmer's market on Tuesday as well. They've made me feel so welcome and comfortable, although I'm still working up to the comfort level of puttering around in the kitchen to get my meals whenever I feel like it. After the two other farms I've stayed at, the complete freedom of "Just eat whatever, whenever! Raid the cabinets, the fridge! We don't care!" is startling and disorienting. I'm sure I'll get used to it, though.

David and Joanne are an engineer and a nurse from England; now they are farmers and roller skating rink owners in the U.S. They have three large, lackadaisical pigs, a flock of chickens, two geese, and nine sheep, five of which are lambs. And two dogs, Mia and Timber.

Yesterday David and I planted a bunch of tomato, cucumber, pepper, and kohlrabi transplants into the polytunnel. 

Last week I bought an online herbalism course. If I complete it satisfactorily–all the projects, lessons, and quizzes–in two and a half years, I will get a certification, although there's technically no approved certification process for herbalism in the U.S. I think it's amusing that for all my protests against school, I've re-enrolled. I'm still not doing it the conventional way, though. 😏

So anyway, that's the life update! Thanks for checking in!