More Boston: The Trail to Freedom

{Learning Reflection 4}

When I visited Boston over fall break, I had the opportunity to venture on the Freedom Trail.  It’s a trail marked by red bricks that goes through the historic city and passes famous sites from the times of the American Revolution.  As a true tourist, I dragged my friend Baily and her boyfriend along.  She had lived in Boston for over a year but had yet to see some of these national landmarks, and I was determined to change that.  We had taken AP U.S. History together in high school, but we didn’t’ remember anything from that arduous class.  I figured we could at least appreciate the spots like John Hancock’s grave and where the Boston Massacre happened centuries ago.

The trail began at the Boston Commons, a beautiful park that was made even more splendid with the changing seasons.  There was a family taking a portrait under a tree with bright red leaves.  I was delighted when they set a self timer on a camera that was placed on a tripod then, when the time for the picture, threw a pile of cardinal red leaves into the air. 

I got to see Paul Revere’s house, his grave, and the Old North Church where lanterns were lit; one if by land, two if by sea.  Baily’s boyfriend, a computer science major at MIT, marveled at the simplicity of this code.  It was an effective means of communicating a message without the complexity of zeros and ones that he typically dealt with.  I agreed with him, that simplicity could often be the best solution, although I have no idea how to code a computer program. 

I saw the meetinghouse where Patriots got riled up and went outside to meet British officers.  They hurled insults until a fight and broke out ending in the death of five Bostonians ultimately adding to the already heavy tension.  As someone who has always enjoyed history, I was fascinated at seeing these places made famous by history.  It was like walking through my old American textbooks.

We ended our Adventure Through Time near the Boston Harbor at the Boston Tea Party Museum.  Unfortunately, the Museum had just closed, but the gift shop was still open. The workers in the store were dressed in 18^th century clothes and even spoke with old-fashioned dialects.  It was weird and great at the same time.  While Baily and I walked around the store, I joked that I was going to buy one of the hundreds of small boxes of tea that were on sale and go throw it into the harbor outside.  She told me that alternatively, I could throw five dollars into the water.  I restrained.

Across the street from the gift shop were two art installations.  One had plexi glass of all colors of the rainbow attached to the railings over the harbor.   The intent of the artwork was “to catch the natural and ambient light to create a luminous field of color and alternating hues.”  As each day progresses, the light shining through glass will change so that it never has the same effect twice.  I really enjoyed the ephemeral nature of this artwork, entitled “Shimmer” and am glad that I got to be one of the people to see it before it was removed.

The other art installation was a pyramid floating on the water.  The description on the rail overlooking the water simply says, “Boston cobblestones, floating on water in the shape of a pyramid, marking past and future history.’  What I find most striking about this description is the phrase, “future history.”  I still have no idea what it means.

I realize I learned a lot as I reflect on my trip to Boston.  I learned that sometimes, simplicity is best, sometimes, beautiful things are temporary and meant to shed a different light or a different color on our perspective, and sometimes we aren’t supposed to understand everything in life.  These are probably all big stretches to metaphorically apply my experiences up north to my life, but they are still important lessons to learn.  I’m glad I had the opportunity to travel down the trail to freedom that eventually led to this nation we live in today.  My adventures in Boston offered me insight and new perspectives, which is all I can ask for in my travels.