Maidentrip- A Review At 14 years, I was still dreaming and learning how the earth runs miles and miles, past the horizons, and curves into a sphere. Not stopping, or cutting into the edges of free fall. But a mass of force, keeping everything on the surface afloat. The earth, a palm, rolled into a tight fist holds everything it owns. At 14 years of age, I was still fighting for a shelf in the cupboard, pushing for the freedom of liking the things I like, and buying the things I want. Finding a space in the universe, a purpose, an idea, to be something new, to make something new. And if I have anything to say about the ‘Maidentrip’, it’s to learn from Laura and the fact, that it’s not our job to invent something new, it’s not our purpose to match the gravitational force of the earth, to march into life fist forward, but perhaps to listen to what the universe is showing us. Nature has already written the metaphors, the poems, the stories we were planning on writing. The cloud in the sky forms a house of a shield above mountains among the skies to indicate instability. Like a soft touch of a loved one to remind you to come back to life- to protect yourself, to take care. Lenticular clouds stand mid-air, adrift to remind the sailors and pilots of the rough ride ahead. A way for nature to cocoon us into protection, without shielding us from the possibilities, the consequences. The universe has already written the metaphors, the poems, the stories you were planning on writing, And that’s okay. 14-year-old Laura Dekker remains the youngest person to set out, camera in hand, on a two- year voyage in pursuit of her dream to sail around the world alone. With no crew on board or a follow boat, she sails out to explore the world in search of freedom, adventure, and distant dreams of her early youth at sea. At a time when so many young people are tethered to texts and social media, Laura’s desire to find solace and solitude in nature is extremely encouraging. “Maidentrip,” directed by Jillian Schlesinger, is mostly filmed by Laura herself. It is a record of that meandering 17-month voyage, of finding oneself and belonging to quick futile moments of life on the ocean. “After 30 days, time just didn’t exist anymore. It didn’t really matter, which I’d never felt before, and it was the best feeling. I was just there. I was with nature.” -LD Mike, whose cancer made him realize he wanted to see the world on his boat, set out in the world with his partner. Bernard Moitessier, started participating in boat races to earn money for his family. On the race around the globe, leaving behind fame and money, he decided to continue his voyage on the Pacific Ocean- simply because he loved doing it. Laura Dekker, who had 10 months of legal wrangling with officials’ intent on stopping her, custody battles, and unwanted attention and hate from media; continues choosing the 27,000 miles of beckoning ocean ahead of her. To have a dream is to look past the open fire and want the sky; to be determined to achieve your dream- is to decide to walk through life, and touch the sky with your bare hands, even if it burns. After struggling with days of bobbing on the still waves, there was no way to move forward. Difficult routes and colossal storms. Battling with loneliness and craving solitude at the same time. Laura talks about how life is never easy, and I feel that is something we have to make our peace with. Her passion for sailing, though strong, didn’t exempt her from facing difficulties. Her story takes a dive into how even if you relish something, your dreams, your desires, your journey is always going to be difficult. For every step, you take towards your dream, and every day you feel like giving up. We have to remind ourselves, this is what we were put on earth to do. Laura, in an interview, was asked how she feels about her trip, her name being written down in history. And she simply reminded that she wasn’t doing this, so people know her name, so she leaves a trace, a legacy behind. But to see if she could do it, to challenge herself. Because there’s nothing more she enjoys than being on the ocean, to hear the sky, the water, and her boat all scream in synchronicity with her heart beating. One can try to satisfy themselves with superficial awards and fame. But in the end, the only thing that keeps you going is the joy and satisfaction of doing what you love. We insist that our being alive is beautiful enough to be worthy of replication. And we go to lengths to leave behind a legacy, to find that replication. So is it okay if all you ever made of your life was more of it? One of nature’s great magic is that dead things are broken down into smaller and smaller pieces of dead- until the soil indistinguishable from dead; sprout’s beautiful flowers. “I don’t really have a home...freedom is when you’re not attached to anything... and home to me is Guppy, and the ocean” -LD (Guppy- her boat) As a teenager, a lot of people will tell you off. Try to convince you, and strip you of finding your freedom and independence. There will be high walls of people, excuses, and doubts that will grow rapidly, inch by inch like giant kelp; covering everything in sight as far as the eye can see- until the ocean becomes one giant pool of algae, fostering algae within algae. Laura, like hundreds of teenagers, like I, will fall in the face of doubt. Will be told our dreams are unreasonable, “crazy”- try to change our minds. Despite that, it’s important to keep going. Perhaps, the most difficult way of living your life is to chase your dreams. Find the thing you’re passionate about, wake up every day, and choose to be deliberate and free. And while you can always go back and find new dreams, to give up because life’s tough, is simply not an option. “I look back on it, I wanted the storms, I wanted the calms, I wanted to feel loneliness, I wanted to feel what it felt like to be in the sea.”- LD Viewed as an unconventional portrait of maturing adolescence, however, “Maidentrip” presents an isolating, yet calmative narrative to the squalls of puberty. Before our eyes, Laura’s lengthening limbs and deepening introspection become the point of a movie that begins with a child and ends with a young woman. “It was the end of the dream that I had as a kid, and it’s the beginning of my life, as a sailor.” -LD Like Laura and her fierce state of finding freedom, I wish we were never easily defined. That we float above clouds and woods. To not be here or there, drifting from our true selves, but find solitude in nature, and peace in nothingness. To be untouchable and eternal.