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Essay
Celebrating More than Sturgis
When I think back to those long, summer days spent at Overman
Park during the Sturgis Falls Celebration, I am filled with lazy,
hazy, sun-kissed memories. I think of all the talent shows I have
seen, the stands, booths, and displays I have strolled by, and the
wonderful atmosphere of a united community. There is not a summer
that has gone by in my time in Cedar Falls that I have not spent at
least one full day in Old Downtown during the celebration.
Years from now, when I am probably far away floating around an
ocean looking at fish, I might remember the time I "caught" a fish
in a little plastic pool for a prize. I might smile through my SCUBA
mask, thinking back to when I was still a growing girl, full of
curiosity that I was just now satiating. Or perhaps when I am
sailing to my next research location I might remember the time I saw
all of the wonderful, moving lawn ornaments of all shapes and sizes
whirling away in the wind.
I plan to become a marine biologist. Ever since I was in the
second grade (and unexplainably became almost obsessed with sharks)
I have wanted to have a career in the ocean. Iowa is about as far
away from the ocean as possible in the United States, which does
seem to make a lot of people look at me with curiosity when I tell
them what I want to do with my life. "But there’s no ocean in Iowa!"
they say to me. Or, "Where will you learn to do that around here?"
they’ll ask. I then tell these people that yes, I will have to move
to a coast if I want to have a successful career as a marine
biologist, and yes, I am aware that Iowa is one of the safest places
to live in the United States, and yes, I will definitely miss my
family and friends. But I have already accepted the fact that I
cannot have the best of both worlds.
I am sure that when Mr. Sturgis decided to come in and settle the
northeastern part of Iowa that he left someone (or perhaps many
people) dear to him behind. But if he hadn’t, there would be no
Cedar Falls today. Celebrating the founding of Cedar Falls is also
celebrating the courage and drive of a man who had a vision of
starting a community in a prosperous land, and it is also
celebrating the spirit that held everything and everyone together.
When I leave for the ocean in a few years (whichever coast it may
be), I will take with me parts of Cedar Falls: the classic downtown
area that I love perusing, the wonderfully old houses, the
four-trunk tree on the corner of 18th and Tremont, the
scenic bicycle trails that meander around the town, Cup of Joe, the
public library, the community spirit of support and unity, and my
joyous summer days of the Sturgis Falls Celebration. These aren’t
tangible things; these are things that cannot be held in anything
but a heart. These are things that may drift through the air on a
humid summer day, and gently brush smiling faces as they pass by.
These are things that I will take with me, and hold in my heart so I
will never forget where I came from.
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