EuropeanSkies

About Ashley...

Hello, I'm Ashley Rae Duval, and the two things that I am certain of are that I’m a dreamer, and that I have a bad case of wanderlust (”There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.”). I have always felt deeply rooted in the West (California especially), but my heart is happiest when I’m on the road – just one of the many contradictions I’m composed of.

I am following my dreams and attending college on the northern California coast (nestled between the redwood forests and the sea) where I'll study English and Spanish (but really I'll be learning quite a few things, and very few of them formally).

In midst of this transition to independence I'm beginning to figure out a bit more about who I am and what's important to me, and in a very Thoreau-esqu manner I'm seeking simplicity in my life. I’m growing increasingly interested in sustainable living and back packing. I value a wealth of experiences over material wealth. I’m not quite sure what I want to do after college (although I’m on path for teaching), but I find 9-5’s stifling and after far too much planning and preparing to get here some uncertainty and openness is nice.

One of my earliest memories is of a sunny day in the foothills playing with my aunt’s old fashioned water pump. I think this may be an indication that I have always been nostalgic for a simpler time. In many ways, I’m an anachronism. Some of my fondest memories are of early mornings on the road, paper maps almost as large as I was, navigating for my dad on our (almost) cross country camping trip. I think the things that I remeber (or chose to remember?) say a fair bit about me.

I spend my days with old yellowing books – the words and ideas of people long past, songs old and new, California stars and skies, the company of my friends and family, trying out a new recipe or chasing after a photograph, with roadmaps wandering off the beaten path. Can you tell I’m quite steeped in romanticism? (but also a bit of cynicism)….

I don’t know… there are so many things I don’t know.

I love to read. See my Shelfari for books I've read and love: http://www.shelfari.com/ashleyrae

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Postcards that will make me smile: Art postcards, especially of artists from your country/area or art you've created yourself. A lighthouse you've been to. Vintage postcards. A postcard showing something local or unique to where you live, and tell me about it! A postcard showing/or telling me what I must see when I visit your country. Tell me about your favorite book, art, why you love where you live, or why you don't love where you live. If you can, I would very much like to hear about literature and poetry from the area where you live (a curious English student I am).

And of course, if you think we'd get on, or if we have common interests, or you just think I'm interesting, please let me know if you'd like to be penpals! I enjoy exchanging letters :)