Ocracoke Trip

Being in Ocracoke for those four days led to some most memorable days of my life! Seeing Uncle Phil, visiting every shop, walking down every street and nature trails with my camera always out, tasting the food, going to every local event/festival made for an action packed journey. With my mom as my traveling buddy, we would go around every day place to place with my clipboard, sketchbook, and note pages ready to write what I heard and saw. This mainly meant mustering up the courage to ask as many locals I could about how long they’ve been here, what they love to do, their experiences, their favorite traditions, places, local events, folklore, and more. Of all the beautiful people I met and had wonderful long conversations on the trip, I want to give a special shoutout to my friend Mira(@mirachibichan on Insta), an extremely talented local young artist who has grown up on the island. I met her outside while she was working on her latest commissioned work for the Ocrafolk festival that was happening the next day. It’s rare for me to say this, but I was honestly stunned and inspired by her amazing work for her age. And being an artist myself, 45 minutes naturally passed by as we both got caught in the unavoidable passionate artist talk, as well as hearing her captivating passion for living in Ocracoke.

Although I was ALWAYS scared to approach locals in the moment, without a doubt my favorite memories of Ocracoke were making unexpected friends with people I just met, hearing their stories, and understanding their unique outlooks on life. My favorite question to ask everyone was “what is one piece of life advice you’d share with the world?” I would write down everyone’s responses to later use as inspiration for writing. Here are a few of them that stick in my mind! First we have Kitty, local professional artist who owns a gallery on the main street, wanted to motivate all those who have far fetched dreams, summing it all up with “Just do it!” She then showed me a quote by Howard Thurman she keeps taped to her desk “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive”. How cool!! Kitty also mentioned in her life she has learned that solely judging yourself based on what others think is dangerous because if you are, you’re easier to manipulate. Mary Vankeich said “Don’t let your job get in the way of pursuing what makes you happy.” The local young man who works at the ice cream place, who loves the salted caramel pretzel flavor told me “There’s no excuse to be kind to someone who is different than you.” Juju, an old retired lady who loves working with kids and used to live in Hawaii said to “just have fun!” In a family owned boutique with locally made goods such as wood carvings and soaps, where cute little stray cats could come to chill out, they all agreed that we all deserve to “Relax and chill out!” Lilian simply encourages us to loosen up and “Don’t take everything so seriously.” –a reminder that we don’t have to be perfect or have everything planned out because life is full of unexpected turns.

From all that I’ve gained from this trip, I don’t think I would’ve got the full experience if I had just kicked backed, relaxed, and played it safe like the average tourist. For Ocracoke isn’t just a place, it’s a people. If you ever visit(even beyond Ocracoke),I urge you talk to the locals. Be curious, stop yapping on about your life and what you want, and start listening to wonders that already exist!

“and thanks for the traveling artist who randomly sketched me from the audience!” then turn or swipe left to the fourth image… that’s my drawing! That day Kelley Shinn, a talented author from Ocracoke, was officially launching her memoir “The Wounds That Bind Us”. To kick things off she read aloud the first chapter outside the Ocracoke library. It’s actually a tradition that if anyone from Ocracoke published a book or someone wrote a book inspired by Ocracoke that they hold an opening ceremony for it outside the library! While I listened I drew her live as she was on stage, what a beautiful moment to capture it was!

It was a pleasure to be there, to see her in full confidence, letting herself be vulnerable in front of a large crowd and sharing with the world for the first time her grueling physical and emotional experiences first hand. Kelley is undoubtedly one of the strongest women I’ve ever met in person. She has endured and overcome the unthinkable. Please check her out and buy her book! She has such a powerful, life-changing and inspiring story to tell. The day after the ceremony we happenstance ran into her as we were in the humble Ocracoke history museum, and we were able to talk for a brief period of time She is such a compassionate person, I wish her the best.