How to Define a River by Casey Willson 2020 Cohort

According to Wikipedia.com, the Great Miami River is “a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 160 miles (260 km) long, in southwestern Ohio and Indiana in the United States. The Great Miami flows through Dayton, Piqua, Troy, Hamilton, and Sidney”. This definition is rather neat and tidy, not words normally associated with a river. More importantly though, this definition lacks a certain amount of emotion that patrons of the river have come to associate with it. So I’ve decided to create my own definition. One that truly only suits me and my experiences with the Great Miami River and one that I won’t share. I won’t share it because it won’t be useful to you. It’s based in experience and a bit difficult to put into words.

I spend a lot of time thinking about words, what they mean and why they mean it. I’m majoring in French and learning Spanish so words and their meanings take up a lot of space in my head. However, in truth I don’t think that words are the most important part of a language but rather the meaning behind the words are what’s important and rather telling of the culture which they are paired with. In fact, words themselves are only truly useful when attempting to communicate a thought or feeling to another person. They’re incredibly useful for that don’t get me wrong, but that’s not what we’re doing here. What we’re doing is creating a definition that’s just for you. You won’t need to be able to share it with anyone because it won’t apply to them and their experiences. It’s something for you to develop and enjoy for yourself, free of judgement from others.

So where do we find this definition? We go to the river. We sit there on the banks or we go out on a kayak and we close our eyes and we listen and we feel and from that experience we have found our definition. Its personal and its wonderful and it’s not something that can be expressed. Nor can it be replicated. Our definitions are abundant and malleable and in that is their truth. Because rivers are living things that grow and shrink and are constantly changing so why should our definitions of them remain the same?

Now you have all the tools you need so go on and find your definition and enjoy it because it will bring you greater understanding of the river and the world around it. Hold on to it while it lasts but don’t be afraid of the change, it’s inevitable and it’s good and we’re lucky to have it.