Chasing the Northern Lights

This week, I went on a journey to find beauty in nature. I know it’s not actually that difficult to find, especially in Michigan, but I was looking for a new kind of beauty I’d never seen before. The kind of beauty that only comes in the darkest of nights under just the right conditions. You see, the sun was flaring up, and that meant there was an increased chance of seeing the aurora borealis across southeastern Michigan. And I was dying to see it.

I’ve wanted to see the northern lights for as long as I can remember. In pictures, they always look like someone found a giant paintbrush and made big sweeping brush strokes of blues and greens, and sometimes reds, across the black night sky canvas. I’ve never actually been fortunate enough to find the lights in person, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t tried. Repeatedly. And Monday night was no different.

So late that night, I piled into my friend’s car with three other girls and we headed north to chase the lights (our second official attempt as a group). Last time we drove until morning only to be severely disappointed by the lack of color in the sky, so this time we decided to cut ourselves off. We drove until one in the morning and spent our hours in the car wishing, praying, and hoping to see the lights. And I really thought we’d see them this time. The sky was crystal clear and even from the highway we could see light streaks of something we hadn’t seen before, which, of course, we assumed were the lights. We drove and drove, and yet, no aurora borealis. In fact, we hit clouds the further north we got. Discouraged, we turned around and drove back towards Ann Arbor.

But then, something magical happened. The clouds cleared and brilliant stars filled the night sky. A great big orange ball of a moon hung low on the horizon, covered by just enough clouds to create a mysteriously spooky masterpiece. Shooting stars skidded into view and out again. The sky was beautiful, just like that painting I had imagined, even without the northern lights. And even though we didn’t find the lights like I hoped we would, and even though my heart still aches for the moment when I can call my family and say I did, I am so happy for that journey. I got to see something just as beautiful and magnificent. I got to see the kind of pure night sky some people in big cities have only dreamed of. And I know I’ll find the lights one day. But for now, I’ll take the nights filled with surprising skies instead, because they’re just as good, if not better.