Culture: Summering
Or, Silk Blouses to Combat Boots—A Bohème Éclat Beginning
Welcome!
I love stories, so it’s only fitting to begin my Substack with a story that’s a snapshot of my ironic and eclectic journey to get here.
Imagine a sorority coed with an obsessive love of fashion, who—in an arguably impulsive, Private Benjamin moment—signs up for Army ROTC. My friends were amused. My parents were perplexed. My mother, ever the pragmatist, sat me down and said “You realize, darling, that the Army largely operates in the Out Of Doors environment.”
Gentle reader, let me assure you: the Army not only operates in the Out of Doors environment—it opperates in the does-anyone-realize-it-is-the-middle-of-the-night environment, the freezing-your-a—off environment, the are-those-guys-shooting-at-us environment, the I-have-walked-so-far-I-can-no-longer-feel-my-feet environment, the be-mindful-of-water-snakes environment, and, most harrowing of all—the really, really bad coffee environment.
A friend once confided he’d always wanted to join the Army.
“Unfortunately, I can’t,” he said.
“Why not?”
“I don’t like being hot and sweaty.”
“But you love summer!”
“I like summer when it involves a pool.”
“The Army has pools.”
“Yes, if you enjoy swimming fully clothed, with a 120-pound rucksack and a crew-served weapon.”
Touché.
After years in camouflage and combat boots, these days I reach for perfume instead of 100% DEET. Some evolutions definitely smell sweeter—though, admittedly, they do attract more mosquitos.
The Army turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made. These days though, you’ll find me painting or writing books in a sunlit studio rather than sprawled on the ground at zero dark thirty, map in hand, red-lens flashlight clenched between my teeth, head tucked under a poncho liner.
My friends still can’t wrap their heads around the evolutionary potpourri of my life. But it just goes to show: you can be a bad-ass, even if you look (a lot) like a cream puff.
Either way, we are works of art in progress. Like great art, interesting lives are filled with epic contrasts and contradictions: elegance × ease, grit × grace, wildness × refinement. Embrace all of your wonderful contradictions.
Welcome to Nina Gates, Author. Here, you’ll not only find entire paragraphs without a single acronym; you’ll find a celebration of who you are now (no matter how you got here) and who you want to be. Every chapter, and every environment (even the snake-filled ones), is an opportunity to follow your curiosity and create an extraordinary life. Thank you for being here.
With delight,
Nina
P.S. I’d love to hear about the unexpected twists in your story that make you, you.