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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at C Mich chapter.

I exist within many worlds.

The physical world is the easiest to explain, we’ve built our language all around it.

There are endless synonyms for landscape: vista, scene, panorama, terrain.

Endless adjectives and nouns to describe their beauty: luscious foliage, tropic oasis, desert heaven, wooded sanctuary, calm harbor, fertile ground, golden fields.

Here in the 3D everything can be examined, cracked, sampled, savored, felt, and seen. But in this tangible space there is no guarantee of understanding the sense behind the natural happenings. Everyday, I have more and more questions about the purpose of existence, and rarely is there a clear answer.

I often wonder if that’s all getting older is, endless questions and uncertain realities.

Albeit, the earthly realm dazzles me, but it does not contain the impulse I hold to wander through daydreams; to exist in the world within my own creation. This world is not so plain to see, rather it’s a sanctuary formed from thin air, crafted from raw emotion and a lifelike imagination. 

There is this world in my mind, where I keep my secrets.

I think of this inner world as a castle to reside, and I am the Queen.

 

Every Queen can tell you of the castle in her mind.

Some frame their fortress on a hilltop, nestled along steep cliffs, to deter the faint of heart from disturbing her serenity.

Other kingdoms will stand tall on a terrace atop free flowing water with it’s tossing currents; daring outlander’s to surge into the depths before they may step safely onto shore.

In my kingdom, as all others, you may enter at your own risk. Teetering along the worn wooden bridge you are suspended mid air above wide occult moat resembling a canyon, steep cliffs and indigo peaks tower over you. The air smells of fresh rain.

You approach a steel picketed gate at least 10 stories high. At this open gateway you are greeted by the guard with blue eyes. My keep is surrounded by a thick curtain wall, flanking towers, and battlements. But it’s not a frightful enclosure, it provokes a sense of security and an inexplicable need to step inside.

From the entrance you can see a bright garden; tulips, daisies, sunflowers, and lilac bushes. Dahlia’s, roses red and pink, water lilies, and marigolds dance in the sun, their fragrence fondling the wind. Here in my garden I’ve worked and weeded. Planted and reaped, saw and sewn. The butterflies gently glide over petals, alongside me they transform in this lush greenery.

The castle in full view has four round white brick towers that extend well into clouds of thought, with their small white flags waving gracefully above the treetops. In the center is a curved door, closed. The paths along my grounds are worn by my own trekking; I find walking is soothing to the soul. Here I skip freely from one notion to the next,  surrounded by the palpable world of my own mind.

Kind of like a snow globe holds the brilliance inside, here in my pondering I hold my own little fortress. Here, I allow myself freedom to explore endless possibilities and desires. Here, there is no judgement. The walls are high, but they are decorated from top to bottom in bright abstract thought.

 

My name is Elizabeth. ​ I attach weight to serendipity. ​ I am a passionate seeker; a quaint dreamer. ​ I am a 22 year old aspiring multimedia journalist. I was raised in Michigan, but call many places my home. I am studying photojournalism at Central Michigan University, minoring in family studies. My expected graduation date is May 2019. ​ Throughout the learning process and self-discovery I have found curiosity to be my greatest ally. And this is how I see the world; through an open mind and rose colored shades.