The Girl in the Red Rubber Boots

Author: Emily Sara Smucker

  • Trapped in the World’s 2nd Largest Library

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    Emily Sara Smucker
    in

    I like to meander through beautiful places alone. I didn’t mind that my brother Matt had to work while I was visiting him in Washington DC, because Washington DC has many beautiful and free things to see. I set off on a muggy morning and meandered up the shady side of the street to the…

  • Dear Atlantic: You’re no Pacific, but You’ll Do

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    The wave rose above me like a yellow wall of death. Time froze, weirdly, as every terrifying tsunami dream I’ve ever had flashed through my mind. “You have to jump into it!” Janessa yelled, and I closed my eyes and jumped into one of my biggest fears. This was a terrible idea. The wave completely…

  • Oh, Hi, Ohio

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    First stop: Ohio. I spent six hours in the Denver airport on a layover, browsing the internet, reading the e-books I borrowed from the library, and trying to overhear people’s conversations. When the older lady next to me declared to her daughter that the grandchildren didn’t need any more gifts because “you already got them…

  • Going Places

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    I get itchy feet if I stay in one place for too long. I’m also trying to get through college debt-free, and I have an income based almost solely on odd jobs. I’m sure you can guess how well that works out. But. I’m a firm believer in the idea that if you pinch your…

  • The Weather is my Real Boss

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    In midsummer, the sun rises in the northeast, shining through my north bedroom window and straight into my eyes. In other words, if I don’t wake up at 5:45 AM, there is enough cloud cover that I might not have to go to work. I used to read old books and wonder why everyone was…

  • Stop Being Spooky, LinkedIn

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    I have a very weird story about LinkedIn that has puzzled me for three years. It actually began six years ago, when I started my very first term of college ever, at Bridgewater College in Virginia. Bridgewater required that every student take a class called “Personal Development Portfolio.” It was kind-of a weird class. We…

  • The River Beckons

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    I love the way the river smells. I love the way it feels to guide the course of a canoe with a small flick of my paddle. I love being on the water, maneuvering around rocky islands thick with birds and wildflowers. As a middle kid in a large-ish family, it was very difficult to…

  • I Am Ready for Summer 

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    After an extremely stressful last-few weeks of term, which was complicated by a weekend trip to Indiana for a cousin’s wedding, I am 100% ready for summer.  I figured I would get a few weeks of blissful nothingness where I would do nothing but read books and have good conversations. Alas, my sister Amy and…

  • The Pain and the Peacefulness

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    I woke up with the worst sore throat I’ve ever had in my life. I felt like I was choking on a pine cone. Swallowing sent brutal pain through my throat, and yet I couldn’t seem to make my mouth stop swallowing. I lay in a cold sweat, my muscles aching. Too sick to get…

  • MOP April 27: A Few Notes

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    Emily Sara Smucker
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    The thing about setting a lofty goal for myself like “I’m gonna post every other weekday in the month of April!” is that sometimes I post things that resonate with a lot of people and get lots of comments, and other times I barely have it in me to post at all. Today is the…