Our World Without Light

Four years ago I visited the beautiful island of Hawaii. Yes the beaches were breath taking but one experience was significantly better. While staying on the Big Island, one evening we traveled on a long road all the way up a mountain. After a couple of hours of non-stop driving in circles we reached the top of this mountain which was actually a volcano. At that time it was around 6 o’clock in the evening and the sun was just setting. It was absolutely perfect. Not only could you see the whole island but it seemed as if you could jump higher than the clouds.

As soon as it was dark, we ventured our way to the site seeing area where the stars looked feet from you. Instead of being on sea level and feeling like a little, puny ant, we felt so big and giant. It was the most breath taking image I had ever seen. Living in Texas does have positives because of our clear skies, but Texas doesn’t have anything on Hawaii.

The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky. You could see for what seemed like miles. I had never experienced the moon looking so huge. It made me feel like I wasn’t even on the planet anymore. Being able to be on such an elevated surface with the weather perfect is magical. Our planet is such a beautiful place.

As talked about in class, at the top of the mountain it had mandated rules for low light pollution so tourists could experience the real deal. That was quite scary being on a mountain thousands of feet higher than civilization and having to watch every step you take because of the fear of falling off the mountain. Even though that terrified me, the view was so worth it. Not having all of the lights on in a city or being so high up on a mountain makes you feel like you’re experiencing a new world.

A similar event made me feel the exact same way. About 3 months ago it rained non-stop for about 3 days and where I live when it rains we normally lose power. Usually it’s only for an hour but this time we lost power around 5 o’clock with the power not turning back on until 5 o’clock the next morning. At first it wasn’t that dark and didn’t seem like an unusual occurrence. Now let me explain, where I live we don’t have any street lights or many homes so at night it is very dark, so our neighborhood was pitch black because everyone was out of power. It wasn’t scary but made me think back to that night when we were on the mountain in Hawaii. This was the first time I had seen where I lived completely light free. 

Normally everyone’s homes are lit up, but this night there was nothing. It was breath taking. Even though I was in my home on a very rainy night, it was a wonderful experience. The thought of people living 200 years ago without power and experiencing that every night was thrilling. It made me thankful for electricity but also thankful that it can go out sometimes. Just like when a hurricane hits our area, people learn how to work together to keep everyone afloat.

I think it would be good for the power to go out more often. Maybe not during the blistering summers we have here in Texas but on a cold, rainy night in December it was quite peaceful. The only noise I could hear as I was falling asleep were the soft sounds of the rain. It made me recognize all the magical things we have around us on this earth that we don’t notice.