TERRA

Terra is a goddess of blissful repose. A being of tranquil beginnings. She listens, waits, and then responds. She loves deeply, quietly. Her silence is her power. Watching, seeing; her eyes peer through you. It takes a brave soul to peer back and see what she sees. She’s a reminder that when everything goes dark, and you’re the only one standing, to question what you see. Touch your reflection and see what happens. Accept the image with blissful repose. Follow the call.

Content Director: Antonia Mason

Content Assistant: Cayce Sherer

Styling: Will Sellers

Beauty: Carly Judenberg, Reagan Cox

Hair: Carly Judengerg

Photography: Emma Fender

Videography: Amanda Bolin

Writing: Ann Harper Covington

Copy Editing: Chanel Gaynor, Shelby Wingate

Layout: Nastasia Rozenberg, Maddie Dalsimer

Models: Aude-Ellen Nangle, Grace-Ann Hawthorne, Kira Carruthers

Painted Eye Button Down by Sunny Hakemy

Flowers by Brett Glenn Floral Design

I’ve always appreciated the time of dusk in my town. When the sun, barely visible as it descends from the sky, is replaced by a sliver of the moon appearing from behind the clouds. Day and night simultaneously exist together, even for just a moment before the midnight sky takes control. My shoes already felt soggy, resting in the damp pine straw. I tilted my head upwards, blinking the mist away from my eyelashes and taking in the dimly lit sky.

Okay, it’s time to begin.

The trail through the forest felt like the ideal trek: not too short, not too far, not too bright, not too dark. Surrounded by a cascade of pine, standing straight and tall among the barriers, it was impossible to not feel like an empress walking with her line of soldiers on each side. Only, an empress wouldn’t be walking alone. An empress wouldn’t have the same ideas constantly swarming in her mind. An empress would never go so far down as to walk two steps in my shoes.

The Kalaloch Tree of Life was the ultimate destination. A giant created by the earth that somehow continues to live and grow, despite its visible roots not seemingly connected to any soil. What would generally lead any plant to expire only seems to make this one relish in its immortality. Somehow, with no visible nutrients, along with the lack of sunlight from Washington’s misty sky, the Tree of Life continues to go on.

I’ve been there.

It’s never a simple task to move forward when your conditions seem to be working against you. When light disappears from all points of view, your body can become a strenuous load you are forced to carry. One leg, one arm, one shoulder, all equaling three bricks weighing you down with each step. Yet, with each day, the bricks seem to feel less heavy. Not because you’re growing stronger, but because all of your energy has seeped away to the point you don’t even notice.

With each step, the trees around me seemed to grow taller and more intimidating. It makes sense, as I am just a miniscule being in the grand scheme of the universe. Walls of evergreen surround me, and the forest around acts as a shield from the rest of the outside world. Even with the night sky seeping in, how could I feel nervous with a nature-given boundary keeping me locked in? Shelter is a hard place to find, but it makes sense that nature would provide one. With its role being the ultimate master of controlling the yin and yang of the world, it’s always providing proof of the light that can come from darkness. Flowers tend to bloom after a rainstorm, and an enclosed cave always has light peaking through the singular entrance.

A flock of birds soared above me in their coordinated formation, making something so structured seem so natural. Not everyone can be so lucky for organization to come simply.

It never seems to happen in my life.

Trying to gain control is like continuously grasping at clouds: no matter how many times you reach, or however much it might seem like you’re successfully holding, you always end up empty-handed. So, you turn to other tactics, not all of them reliable, some even seeming ridiculous, but as long as they make sense in your head, it is enough. But then, you become accustomed and memorize those tactics, until the rational ones are just past memories floating in your subconscious. Not strong enough to reach the forefront of your mind, they sit and wait until you tire from the continuous failure of never being able to hold the cloud you were so focused on gaining in the first place.

A gentle rush from the ocean separated me from my thoughts, the scent of salt wafting through my nose. Picking up my pace, I rushed toward the opening of the beach, substituting the pine straw beneath me to solidified gravel. By the time I stood to catch my breath, I was face to face with the natural masterpiece itself, in all of its glory. Clear water lined the pathway leading up to it, meeting the mixture of gravel and sand that usually prefaces a standard waterfall. Yet, there was nothing standard about this.

The tree rested itself between two hardened dunes, its muscular branches and verdant leaves rising above the entire display, and its roots seemling hanging from the tree, resting in the air with no connection back to the ground. Besides the dunes, the tree is seemingly holding itself up with its own strength. Even with the smallest amount of support, it still stands tall and proud, being the center of attention of the entire area. I stood breathlessly, taking the entire picture into my mind, attempting to memorize every cosmic detail. Like the ocean pulling with the tide, a sense of ease washed over me with my deep inhales and exhales of the sea air.

I want to mirror the Tree of Life. I want to not just survive, or even just live-- I want to flourish. No matter how many bricks may be attempting to hold the tree down, it refuses to succumb to the weight and stands its ground. The bricks may become more manageable as the days move forward, not because the tree is becoming accustomed to it, but because its strength continues to grow with each brick that’s added. It adapts and becomes more powerful with each change.

I remember my life two years ago, trapped in my own mind and feeling stuck in my habits. While trying to learn how to live a better way, a pile of soil was placed in my hand with a diminutive seed buried in the center. Grabbing a watering can, I sprinkled a few drops to surround the seed, giving it the nutrients it needs to grow. And just like that, while standing there, I was playing a part in the cycle of nature. I may be a miniscule part of the world, but it is a working part nonetheless.

The control I feel is so impossible to gain may be just that: impossible. Perhaps that control is not for me to have, but instead is left to the world. If nature can create a place where a tree can grow against the odds, there’s the chance it can do the same for me. After all, nothing manmade could ever produce the same effect that nature has created with the Tree of Life. The universe is a vast and indescribable being, and although it seems overwhelming, maybe that’s exactly where the control needs to go.

Society moves fast, success drives the world. You strive for productivity, ambition and goals. You work hard, you motivate yourself and you love what you do…until you think about what else is out there.

You wake up and are immediately consumed by a never-ending to-do list, longing for time to free your mind. Longing instead for time to create, time to read, time to write, time to love, time to connect.

When you find that time, you thrive in it. Your body fills with passion and contentment, finally getting a break from the never-ending chase toward the top of the pyramid. You love this feeling… until you think about what else is out there.

Letting go is necessary, letting go frees your mind from the endless cycle of stress, but when you let go for too long, your mind finds a new cycle.

When you let go for too long, you feel lost, longing for a purpose, a calling, something you can put your name on.

You are stuck. When you feed into the non-stop push of productive society, you burn out, craving escape from the structure. But when you escape the structure, you find an endless road to nowhere.

All in or all out. There must be an in-between.

Writing: Caroline Kostuch

Copy Editing: Anna Albright, Chanel Gaynor

Layout: Sarah Orji

An in-between where productivity and freedom meet. Where the mind can wander but does not feel lost. Where business thrives and art is made, where goals are met and relationships are built, where success is accomplished and the touch of nature is felt.

But how is it possible to breathe fresh air when you are suffocated by responsibilities? How is it possible to meet deadlines when you are drowning in the lust of life?

How is it possible to find this harmony in-between?

Without the light, darkness will consume you. Without the darkness, the light will blind you. They are inherently necessary and eternally interdependent.

Society moves fast, success drives the world…but success is nothing without a life of your own and a life of your own is nothing without success.

Success is balance, success is grounded, success is found in the harmony in-between.