Hoi Ning
My immediate inspiration was sunshine -- my graduate school friend recently told me that she secretly called me sunshine during graduate school because my sunny disposition helped her get through some challenging times back then. I never knew she called me that, but I remember how she often seemed anxious and sad, so I always tried my best to lift her spirits by letting her know how happy I was to see her. How often do we all gravitate toward the sun -- or sunny people -- when we're anxious and sad? I know I do that a lot. If anything, it helps balance out the sadness and offers hope for better days ahead. It seems like that's what we all needed after the shooting.
When I think of Lewiston, I think of Bates. When I think of Bates, I think of students on the quad. One of my favorite sightings is when students lie on hammocks between trees. I thought that might be too hard to draw. Another one of my favorite sightings though is when students set up tightropes between trees and try to balance and walk on those tightropes. I could never do it, but they seem to delight in it.
When I think of Maine, I think of the Valentine's Day Bandit. I love solo holidays, and before I moved to Maine, I did many solo holidays in Portland. My Maine friends suggested I do a solo holiday during Valentine's Day because, every year, the Valentine's Day Bandit plasters the city of Portland with hearts. I love Valentine's Day. I love hearts. I love the Valentine's Day Bandit. I was so sad when he passed away. I hope we somehow maintain his legacy of plastering the city with hearts, but I know it won't be the same because it won't be him doing the plastering.
When I think of red hearts, I think of blue hearts that represent the Lewiston Strong campaign after the shooting. I recently purchased a blue heart from Portland Leather Goods in Portland, Oregon. I'm not sure if they made the heart in blue to be in solidarity with us, but maybe them being in Portland, Oregon made them think of Portland, Maine which made them think of us in Lewiston.
When I think of the sun in the day, I think of the stars in the night. Even though the sun is itself a star, I think of all the stars in the night that collectively try to match the brightness of the sun in the day. There's something poetic about them striving to keep us hopeful in the darkness of the night.