Seagull Diary Entry — A Note From July, Revisited

Back in July, one gull was floating in circles on the tide, feeling nothing but the drag of the current. The gull wondered: is feeling absolutely nothing even normal? Maybe I’m just lazy… maybe I should flap harder… but I don’t want to. The waves can take me anywhere, and I’d still just drift.

That gull perched on the same rock each day — eat, sit, sleep, repeat — while other gulls squawked cheerfully around them. They laughed, they joined in, they told jokes. But inside, the gull just sat quiet, asking, am I dramatic? Am I broken? Am I fine and just pretending otherwise?

They never said it out loud. Because who wants to weigh down the flock with silence? So they just floated, practiced smiles, and tucked the questions under their wing.

Now, present-day me is rereading that entry. And though it feels heavy, I don’t want it to sink. Because today I know there are gulls I truly appreciate.

Like Bystander-Gull, Woe-Gull, spectrum gull, and clingy wingy — all circling close, all making the shore a little brighter. Even when my own wings feel weak, their presence makes the air easier to breathe.

Maybe the gull in July felt like they’d drift forever. But today’s gull sees the tide shifting, even if it’s just a little. And maybe — just maybe — drifting doesn’t have to mean being alone.