Dear Arcadia…

For their final web feature of the semester, the Arcadians of 2022 each wrote a brief letter to Arcadia, expressing their gratitude as they departed from the yurt village for Thanksgiving break. Their letters are below.

Dear Arcadia,

Thank you for the new family I have found here and for reigniting my childhood love for the outdoors, something I didn’t realize I lost. Mama Massawepie has blessed us all with many memories we will carry with us in our lives after this semester. Lots of nights under the stars, games in the kitchen, and beautiful fall hikes. As Robin Wall Kimmerer states in Braiding Sweetgrass, “To our mother, we send thanks, love, and respect. Now our minds are one.” Thank you Mama Massawepie. ~Auti 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Arcadia,

I am so grateful for this space, for these people, for card games and Janis Joplin and root veggies, for watching water, changing leaves, and long walks. Such a beautiful place to learn and grow and just be. The biggest love for the longest time for everything and everyone who made this experience what it was. ~Abby 

 

 

 

Dear Arcadia,

Thank you for letting me call this place home. Thank you for the starry nights spent sleeping outside, the mist on the lake in the morning, the trees overhead, and the moss underfoot. Thank you for the loons at night, the changing colors, and the snowy sendoff. Thank you for the family built and friendships strengthened. ~Finn 

 

 

 

 

Dear Arcadia, 

When I first applied to the semester, I wasn’t looking for anything life-changing, just a time to reconnect with my relationship with nature. Throughout these last few months, I have felt my life change in so many little ways. I have experienced joy in the form of long swims and beautiful hikes with the fall foliage surrounding me. I have felt the most myself among laughter in the kitchen and conversations in the Lurt. I have known peace as the clearest night sky with the moon’s glow shimmering down the front dock. And now I know immense gratitude for these experiences and the people that I have shared them with. Thank you, Arcadia. ~Grace

Dear Arcadia,

Here I have learned more than I have been taught. The people and the space brought me to see the world in a new perspective. I will always be grateful for both, and no matter where I am, I will be in touch with both as well. I will never forget, I will never see the world in the same way, I will never have an experience like this again. A true Blessing. ~Iain

 

 

To Arcadia and its Lovely Inhabitants,

What a time it’s been. They say it’s hard to become naturalized to a place, maybe impossible, depending on the perspective. But this is the closest I’ve felt. My worldviews have undoubtedly expanded, and I’ve learned a lot about nature that I wouldn’t have normally thought about. Not to lay it on thick, but there were some rough moments. Yet here we are, regardless. I have no being to thank; the people and the place know I’m grateful for the experience. As they say, you can either be a fern or a loon in life. But I choose to just be here. Even on the days when you’re convinced you’ve seen a spruce grouse but it was actually a plane. Peace and so much love, or perhaps just toleration. ~Matt

 

 

Dear Arcadia,

I didn’t know what to expect when we paddled across the lake onto the front dock. I would have never guessed I’d set up a tent and live out of it for months either. It’s within the trails of Arcadia that I saw things I never knew existed, heard sounds I thought only came from movies, and tasted food I would’ve never made myself. Some days we loaded the vans after walking in the drenching rain, and other days we spent quietly reading. I’m forever thankful for the good, less good, and least of all good. More importantly, I’m thankful for the uncountable moments I felt extremely self-fulfilled and happy. ~Kimberly

Dear Arcadia,

I could never have anticipated all of the gifts I would receive in this beautiful space. The gifts came wrapped in quiet, smooth packaging here: a hot cup of coffee in the cold mornings, the feeling of water after a sauna, the flip of a Steven King novel (or a horrible, embarrassing Chelsea Handler memoir), the burn on my tongue from a sweet potato. Thank you to every Arcadian director for allowing me to appreciate the slowness here, for being peer pressured into sleeping on the barge, only to wake up covered in frost. I think that image is quite relevant: may we all leave this place able to be warm and appreciate a frosty, blanketed chill. As we rekindle in this warmth, I will always hold the truth that the earth certainly does love us back, just as I have learned to love this space and these people. ~Anni

 

Dear Arcadia,

You brought so much joy into my life, and new perspective, and some beautiful people. I’m forever thankful for the laughs and the cries and the gray jays. I’ll certainly miss the drumming around the table and the new family we’ve formed. ~Alex

 

 

Arcadia,

I have learned so much from you. You teach me something new every day, and I thank you for that. When I walked out on the dock today in the early morning gray, I saw that everything was snowy and beautiful and silent. I have never felt so at peace. I want to stay, but I know it’s time to go, and a part of my heart will forever be in Massawepie. ~Margo

 

 

 

Hello Arcadia,

Thank you for listening, and telling me the things I needed to hear. Thank you for bringing together this random group of individuals I can call my family. Thank you for making space for us, all of us, and every part. We love you. See you down the road. ~Elder Autumn