Tim Woo

Guided by Shells

I was born hundreds of miles from the ocean, landlocked in Minnesota. And yet, I was surrounded by water. Weren’t all the lakes just small pieces of the ocean, estranged by time and distance? When I was small, I could still feel a vastness in those lakes, a sense left over from their greater origins. It went away after awhile, after school had given me a sense of distance and boundaries. I could only see the lakes for what they were. It wouldn’t be until I experienced the real ocean that I would regain that sense.

The first time I saw the ocean was in Taiwan sometime during elementary school. It was halfway around the world, and it certainly felt that way for how different it was from Minnesota. All I could see was just blue with nothing to disturb the horizon, so that I could see the curvature of the Earth. The dimensions and power of the ocean made me feel small, as it does to so many. However, I could see so far that I felt a sense of awareness of the world. I began to understand the difference between my physical size, and the presence and impact I could have.

It is said that pilgrims who embarked on the way of St. James carried scallop shells back with them as proof of their journey to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. I still keep the shells I collected along the coast of Taiwan. To me, they are proof and reminders of my own pilgrimage. It was there that I began to discover what I meant in the world as an individual. Now, I am still working to finish what was started in Taiwan. Everything I do is, in a sense, a way of learning about myself. Through my actions and experiences, I can define who I am to myself. Only when I have an understanding of that can I fully relate myself to the world around me. I use memories of the ocean as reminders of that moment of clarity. It helps me strip away the small unimportant distractions, and let me regain my priorities and balance.

I never noticed the images of shells on the campus here before this class. But, now that I know, I see that I can use those shells much like the pilgrims do on the Way of St. James. They are guideposts for my mental journey, evoking the same memories and emotions as the shells from Taiwan. They will keep me focused as I make my way through college, and define myself and my future.