Memories...oh, Memories

By Jennifer Currier

          I’ve always believed that with any destination, over half of the experience is getting there. This kind of destination can refer to an actual location on this earth, or it can refer to some kind of ultimate dream. Most of the time, when I think about journeys and where they lead, I’m talking about the latter. But for today’s purpose, I’m going to talk about the physical destination. This destination is the kind where you have to use your own two feet to take you somewhere. To my surprise, I’ve gained a lot more memories by actually going somewhere than just thinking about where I want to go. One of my favorite destinations to go to make journey memories is Boston.

          These two pictures are of me, my sister and my four cousins on a statue of a donkey in the summer of 2005. You may not know it, but this statue is just behind the King’s Chapel on School Street downtown. It’s off of the Freedom Trail and just around the corner from the Faneuil Hall marketplace.

            The markets were “the place” to go when I was younger. Being from southern New Hampshire, the city is close enough for a day trip but far enough to feel like you’re on an adventure. The area surrounding the markets is the perfect place to get a little taste of everything. On this particular day, we walked the entire Freedom Trail, seeing everything there was to possibly see. It was the first time I really experienced Boston and started to love everything it has to offer. This picture was completely impromptu, but it turned into much more than that over the next several years.

            This picture is me on the same donkey in the fall of 2011. The day this picture was taken was a designated college tour day. I visited Emerson College and Suffolk University (don’t hate me) with my mom, and I was scared out of my mind. When I saw the donkey, though, I couldn’t help but take this picture because it just made me smile. And I was hoping it would make my cousins smile, too.

            This last picture features me, my sister and my cousins sitting on the same donkey walking the same Freedom Trail this past summer, three weeks before I moved into my dorm room at Emerson, to be exact. This is the last time I visited Boston before I started my life here and started calling it my home. I can’t describe exactly what I felt on that day…besides hot, because it was at least ninety degrees outside.

            What I do remember, though, is not believing that silly donkey had become a tradition for the six of us. I remember being excited to visit Faneuil Hall for the last time as a tourist. I remember being nervous about leaving my family behind, but at the same time I was excited to open this new chapter in my life.

            So even though it might not involve a donkey, look for the things that create memories on every journey you take. You never know: the journey could be more important to you than actually reaching your destination.