A Day in the Life: 21 April 2023

Woke up. Watched the sun sneak in through my window. Strolled through the University’s campus, passing the surreal gothic architecture of the Quadrangle building, then through Victoria park, to arrive at my grocery store destination. Grocery stores here are quite interesting, and I have a different purpose for each one I go to. Today’s trip was to Cole’s, possibly comparable to a small-scale target (only in terms of the food section), but without any clothes, home goods, or electronics. The item I went for was carrots: they have, hands-down, the best 1.5 kg of “imperfect” farmer’s grown carrots. A super specific haul, but these “quirky carrots,” as they are labeled, are one of my favorite snacks.

Afterwards, I caught the bus with a friend to go to Watson’s Bay. Watson’s Bay is one of my favorite areas, a quiet neighborhood, surrounded by water, with a view of the Harbour bridge and Opera House from the bottom side. It is home to two lovely lighthouses, calm beaches, and great places to take in the ocean’s massive beauty. That is exactly what we did. We headed up a path to go see the Hornby lighthouse where we sat down on a grassy patch of land, journaled, read, and chatted, while we took in a pleasant Friday afternoon.

After we had spent some time at the tip of Watson’s Bay, another one of our friends was heading in to meet us, so we finished our walk and met her at the Ferry wharf. From there, we went further down the Bay, leaving Watson’s and entering Rose Bay. Rose Bay has such a simplistic and artsy downtown. While we were there we got our photo taken to be posted on the wall of a sushi restaurant, found rainbow laneways filled with beauty parlors, hit a grocery store, then made our way to Rose Bay Beach for the remainder of our evening. This was the most perfect part. A homey beach on a chillier night ensured it was not crowded. It was three girls, surrounded by frolicking dogs chasing their balls into the water, families catching up on evening walks, and a surreal orange-toned sunset that got increasingly more beautiful as each second passed.

The sunset felt like it was out of a picture book. In front of us we had a view of downtown Sydney, the peak of the Opera House, the bridge, and the ocean. Falling in the background was the sun, a bountiful sun, with light streaming from all sides. As it began its descent, leaving us in this hemisphere and starting its morning rotation up north, its rays felt like they were kissing our skin, leaving us with a heated reminder of how beautiful life, and nature, is. We ran through the water, pants wet and sandy, sun reflecting on our skin—a moment of bliss, a time you want to press pause on and place in a picture frame forever.

Once the sun disappeared from our view, captured by the skyline, we went back toward home, catching a ferry out of Rose Bay into Circular Quay. We thought we had seen it all that night, but on the ferry, as a lonesome trio, we witnessed the sun’s final goodbye as we entered back into the harbour. It seemed to have gotten brighter, a more vibrant orange, the lower to the ground it reached. It was unreal—each second I spend in Sydney, I seem to experience something breathtaking. These “day’s in my life” are forever changing, every day consisting of a new adventure filled with new memories that I hope stay with me forever.