Reflections from Durango, Mexico
Life’s Little Parallels
July 31 - August 10, 2021

Last summer, I drove 4 hours in the mountains of Mexico, it was pitch black and slightly raining. The road was a little rough and my high-lights weren’t enough to really capture the clifs that I knew were on the side of me. It was a scary experience because 1. Coming out of the town I did not have GPS or cellphone signal so I had to remember my way out of the mountains before getting to the first major town which was about 30 minutes away and 2. The area where I was driving is known for its cocaine production, and there are stories of things getting violent and cartels blocking the roadways, there is no safe way to do a U turn in those mountains and so if I were to be stopped, driving alone in the night there really would be nothing I could do. So I thought about this and the other very rational fear of accidentally falling off the side of the mountain in the dark (there are many crosses along the way, this is a common occurrence).

I have been somewhat scared of the dark most of my life. It’s not as persistent of a fear as when I was younger, As a child I used to sleep with a night light (and sometimes on the floor, idk why that made me feel safer). This fear definitely hasn’t stopped me from adventuring being the curious person I am. As I drove through the mountains, thinking of moments where I have had to endure fears of the dark, a memory came to mind.

I LOVED school supply shopping as a kid. There was something so thrilling to me about organizing all my supplies and daydreaming about school. So when the list arrived one summer I begged my mom to take me to the store. I don’t remember why but that day the apartment garage where the car was stored was in pitch black darkness, so naturally my mom was like “no”. But being the persistent child I was, I proposed a solution and she accepted. If I could go into the garage and open the door that was at the other deep end (closer to the car) she would take me. She knew I was scared of the dark, so in her mind this was not going to happen.

I grabbed my dad's little handheld flashlight and a rock and went to the garage door opening trying to figure out how I was going to get to the deep end of that garage. A few times I walked in only to realize that it really was super super dark. I’m not sure how long I waited outside of that garage but at some point a car finally went in, so I saw that as my chance to go in with it. Unfortunately, this car was parked at the near end of the garage so they didn’t really provide much help. But I saw this as my chance, something about someone else being in the garage with me made me feel more at ease with the dark, so I just ran with it. Somehow I made it to the other end and propped open the door. My mom kept her end of the deal and I went school supply shopping that day.

The parallels of life are really funny sometimes, and if I pay close attention, I find that in my life there are many parallels I can look back like “hmm, interesting”. But that day, when I arrived from Mexico to my parent’s place, the same garage I had endured in my early years was also in pitch black darkness. This isn’t a common occurrence, so it was kind of like life’s little inside joke with me.