so people were talking about the solar eclipse pretty much since the start of the year. i didn't really think anything about it and thought i'll just watch a video or something online. but for some reason the day just before i thought to myself, man this is something that's pretty rare so why not experience it? i even live within the path of totality this time so even more reasons to witness it for myself.
so i went on a little adventure the day of, taking a bus to the nearest walmart to see if they still had eclipse glasses. they were completely sold out so i tried going to the kroger less than a mile away and no dice there too. then i remembered the libraries in my city were handing them out for free but i found out the hard way every single branch was closed for the day. on my way home, i told my cousin i was living with where i'd gone and he was like "oh i have extras, i can just give you a pair". it's a pretty bad habit of mine to try doing everything on my own i guess. but just like that, i was ready to watch the eclipse.
so i went on a little adventure the day of, taking a bus to the nearest walmart to see if they still had eclipse glasses. they were completely sold out so i tried going to the kroger less than a mile away and no dice there too. then i remembered the libraries in my city were handing them out for free but i found out the hard way every single branch was closed for the day. on my way home, i told my cousin i was living with where i'd gone and he was like "oh i have extras, i can just give you a pair". it's a pretty bad habit of mine to try doing everything on my own i guess. but just like that, i was ready to watch the eclipse.
3 hours pass and i decide to walk outside while i had been watching the NASA livestream of the event in preparation. i walk out of my house about 5 minutes till the total eclipse was about to start. i put on my glasses and looked up and sure enough saw that the sun was pretty much almost fully covered up by the moon. i sat down on the front porch and looked up at the sky again, preparing my phone to snap some pics once i can take off my glasses.
then it happens, the sky becomes suddenly much darker and i can't see the sun anymore so i took that as my queue to take off my glasses for the 3-4 minutes i could.
and honestly? i was stunned. i let out a weird noise out of shock.
i'd seen pictures of solar eclipses before but for some reason seeing one happening in real time left me speechless, my heart was racing too. something about seeing a real total solar eclipse touched me very deeply, like really shook me to my core on some primal level. i wasn't scared or anything, more so amazed. i don't think i've ever felt like that before.
i remembered i wanted to take a picture but in that moment i was kinda panicking and forgot to put my eclipse glasses over my phone's camera so i took this really crappy picture where you can't even really see the actual eclipse.
then it happens, the sky becomes suddenly much darker and i can't see the sun anymore so i took that as my queue to take off my glasses for the 3-4 minutes i could.
and honestly? i was stunned. i let out a weird noise out of shock.
i'd seen pictures of solar eclipses before but for some reason seeing one happening in real time left me speechless, my heart was racing too. something about seeing a real total solar eclipse touched me very deeply, like really shook me to my core on some primal level. i wasn't scared or anything, more so amazed. i don't think i've ever felt like that before.
i remembered i wanted to take a picture but in that moment i was kinda panicking and forgot to put my eclipse glasses over my phone's camera so i took this really crappy picture where you can't even really see the actual eclipse.
for some reason i really like this pic though. it's not great but it really feels like a trophy yknow? i feel kinda proud of my terrible eclipse picture haha. i think you can still tell it's an eclipse because it's dark and the sun is still out. you can also see what i assume is either jupiter or venus to the right there (the tiny lil star in the sky).
there was also a plane that flew overhead that was apparently following the shadow of the moon all the way from where it touched mexico and up to maine and. i took a picture of that too but personally i like the framing of this one way more.
TRULY, this is something you had to experience in order to understand how i felt. but i'm starting to think because i had just been so depressed and upset all the time and i'd gotten so used to being pessimistic that i think i really needed to see something like this. like, I NEEDED to see this and i just didn't know until i saw it. there was something truly magical about it, seeing a huge glowing ring in the sky where the sun usually is. you had to be there for it because describing it or looking at a picture or video doesn't do it nearly any justice. it was only for about 4 minutes but i don't think i'll really ever forget this.
nothing like a rare cosmic event to make you forget you are diagnosed with depression, huh?
there was also a plane that flew overhead that was apparently following the shadow of the moon all the way from where it touched mexico and up to maine and. i took a picture of that too but personally i like the framing of this one way more.
TRULY, this is something you had to experience in order to understand how i felt. but i'm starting to think because i had just been so depressed and upset all the time and i'd gotten so used to being pessimistic that i think i really needed to see something like this. like, I NEEDED to see this and i just didn't know until i saw it. there was something truly magical about it, seeing a huge glowing ring in the sky where the sun usually is. you had to be there for it because describing it or looking at a picture or video doesn't do it nearly any justice. it was only for about 4 minutes but i don't think i'll really ever forget this.
nothing like a rare cosmic event to make you forget you are diagnosed with depression, huh?