By the Lake Anonymous

Standing before me is Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes of North America; a boundary between here and there, or more specifically, the United States and Canada. It is the fourth largest lake in the US by volume, and masks as more of a sea or for a child, an ocean, than it does for a lake. To many these numbers are just facts, but to me, it is reality. I sit here at the beach at the end of my street; a place that I have come to many times. The allure marvels me, yet it has become trivialized by frequent strolls and drives, and the chaos of day to day life.

As a child, I could point out my lake on the map and know where I was. Once my parents allowed me to ride my bicycle around the neighborhood on my own, I found myself drawn there. I travelled along the water's edge, sneaking peeks of the great blue horizon in between houses that seemed the same. In my young mind, it was massive; to me it was an ocean. When I finally got my license, I found myself here by the lake. Life was often stressful, but the lake became my escape. It was my place that I could be alone, a place to reflect. The lake washed away my shortcomings as a student, daughter, athlete, and employee. I’ve been labeled a perfectionist, a title that is often...