Look at the photo. Beautiful view isn’t it. The Grand Canyon. The picture really doesn’t do it justice, probably because the Canyon is around 270 miles long and the photo isn’t.
That’s me in the yonder, facing the camera and I rather like this shot. It was taken in 1997 and if you’re looking closely, that isn’t a Flock of Seagulls inspired haircut, it’s simply the result of windy conditions and not enough sticky hair product. Most of it melted in my rucksack in the Arizona heat. I’m also not keen on the t-shirt. I can’t quite remember what it said on it, but it seems to be a random selection of large letters placed in a haphazard fashion. Radical. The guy in white was odd. And he fancied me. I didn’t shag him.
But apart from that, I like the way I look. Firstly because I’m skinnier than I am now. Not necessarily healthier, given that my diet at that time was largely a combination of anorexia and bulimia, but certainly more slender in the leg. We’d also done a lot of hiking, biking and other rhyming pursuits over the course of my 2 week Trek America trip and that trimmed a bit more fat off the calf. That line is from the Bible -Leviticus I believe- and is not meant to suggest that I have fatty lower limbs.
I also like the fact that I’m quite a long way from the camera, but the only one facing it. This mirrors my general life, where I like to keep my distance and feel generally out of step with everyone else. And finally, I like it because it reminds me of my attitude at that time. It was my first time travelling alone, I’d just quit my job and left my boyfriend of 9 years. I had a sense of wonder and the world seemed open to all kinds of possibilities. And that evening, the Grand Canyon felt like the perfect place to be.