Totally Awesome

In the summer of 2017, on a whim, I flew from Boston to Chicago and then drove four hours south to Carlyle, IL to chase a total eclipse of the Sun. I had witnessed a partial one as a child, which was fun and interesting enough, but not something that could have justified flying across the country. I would not have travelled were it not for the opportunity to spend a few days with the family that had hosted me as an exchange student twenty years prior. Seeing my host family after two decades and revisiting fond memories from my year abroad was the main point of the trip. The eclipse was supposed to be just the icing on the cake.

It was a beautiful summer day in Southern Illinois. We were all gathered in the backyard where a long stretch of lawn on a gentle hill gave us an uninterrupted view of the cloudless sky. There was barbeque, pool, and games. Then it started. First, an almost imperceptible fading of brightness as the Moon slowly enveloped the Sun. Odd shadows could be seen on the ground all around us, as the crescent-shaped Sun shined through the trees. Then, the sky quickly darkened, stars came out, and the temperature dropped. An eerie silence set in. Where the Sun was supposed to be, there was a black orb encircled by a radiant white crown. For two magical minutes it was like the world had stopped. I felt goosebumps all over and then, out of nowhere — something I was completely unprepared for, — tears started streaming down. It was a celestial spectacle like nothing else I had ever seen, just pure awe and wonder. I was overrun by the knowledge that we are standing on a spinning rock flying through space. That was a special moment in my life.

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