So I do recall promising Becky a good number of posts ago that I would post a poem. I've yet to do that, and I don't really have a poem to post about No Fog West so I guess I'll just say a few things about this amazing summer. (Mind you, my writing style can be a bit incoherent so maybe we all should pretend that this is a poem in which anything goes.)

We all stood on a black stage and recited lines that blurred the lines between us vs. them. We displayed the ambiguity of humanity. We were the waves that washed away the fragile but firm lines in the sand. A lot of lines were blurred this summer.

Sitting in the house of someone I barely knew, I talked until a stranger transformed into a friend. On the front lawn of a hotel, I cried until I forgot who I was and someone was there to remind me. In the seclusion of an non-air conditioned car, we sang to the Killers until I was convinced I was already home. On the stage of a warm theater, I remembered things that had never happened to me and mourned over moments I never shared.

Having spent six weeks in the company of former strangers, I am more confused about my life and being than I have ever been. Because of this, I also find myself in the happiest state I have ever experienced.

There is something to be said about the beauty that can be found in confusion. I'm in the process of finding myself and losing myself all at the same time.


I think maybe this experience was a great thing.
an unforgettable thing.
a beautiful thing.
I think maybe I am the better because of it.

I've been thinking a lot lately.



In process of these 6 and some-odd weeks, I only managed to finish reading one book. In comparison to the numerous books everyone else read, I should probably be ashamed. But lately, I have been thinking that maybe it was the one book I NEEDED to read for this experience. It was the only book I needed to read. All because of one simple statement.


I feel infinite.




I think the author described it best when he said this.


This play has made me all the more aware of my mortality, of my flaws, of my misconceptions, and of my differences with others. Yet, seeing these things in me and in others have showed a humanity that is common in everyone. Whether it be a child rebel soldier, an Irish bomber, a Bethlehem school girl, or a victim of terrorism. This humanity is ever-present in everyone and it never dies. It is infinite.

Because I am apart of this humanity. Because I can see myself in everyone. I feel infinite.

I think thats all I could really ask for.




I'm rambling. But I guess this is my first and final post for No Fog West.

Thank you for such an amazing experience. Every single moment, and every single person has changed me.



Nijae Draine