Skunk Dreams

"Skunk Dreams" was a wonderful read. Louise Erdrich has a unique voice, and her essay was extremely captivating. Throughout the reading I found myself making about a million connections and one in particular really stuck with me. Erdrich talks about how she acquired and shuffled her beliefs and doubts about life after death. I too have often found myself in a giant web spun with a mess of different afterlife theologies. Since I was raised Lutheran, all through my childhood I held the beliefs my parents and sunday school teachers relayed to me. As I grew up I began formulating my own opinions, and they still constantly change to this day. Honestly, I don't think any one person (myself included) is right or wrong on the topic. I'm sure I will never make up my mind on the matter, and that is alright with me.

Later in the essay Erdrich writes, "I wanted to see." Such a simple sentence, but it really reached out to me. Growing up in such a small town, I've always wanted to see more, and my sense of adventure can hardly be satisfied here. There's so much I want to experience, so I plan to leave as soon as I can. I'd love to move to a different state, preferably coastal. Once I've saved up for a while I'm going to travel around the world. I hope to see parts of Europe, Asia, South America, and possibly Africa.

In "Skunk Dreams" Erdrich focuses on dreams (hence the title). She states, "I had dreamed of this place in St. Thomas, or it had dreamed me. There was affinity here, beyond any explanation I could offer, so I didn't try." Dreaming is such a curious thing. Dreams can be so unexplainable and that's what I find them so fascinating. Even the science behind dreams is fuzzy. She also shares a time where she actually experienced a dream she had. I have heard similar stories where individuals have dreamt something and a version of the those events happened in real life. Personally, I'm not that superstitious but I do believe in the supernatural.