“The Oceans Between Us” by Eugenia Lee from the October 2018 issue was a beautiful writing piece about how humans are one whole species that should not be separated by minor differences that habitually keep us apart. The writer explains that humans naturally separate themselves into groups that they could easily fit into, but that they should step out of their comfort zone and befriend others who are not like them.

I personally agreed with the ideas in this piece. There was one part of the narrative that described the seating arrangements in the narrator’s lunchroom: “Entering the doors of the cafeteria, I noticed that the tables and booths are like little islands where cliques segregate themselves.” I could relate to this, because everywhere a person goes, there will only be one specific group of people that they believe they could fit into. Also, the theme that this essay conveyed was stunning. Eugenia Lee wrote, “While in some ways, teenagers may seem like the finches on the Galapagos Islands, the analogy is false in that we have the choices to fly to other islands. The only obstacle we have is the vast ocean. But it is merely a figment of our imagination.” In other words, the writer wants us to stop thinking of the huge differences that we think we have between ourselves and others, and live life surrounded by people of all cultures and ideas. Overall, this essay and the ideas it holds were spectacular and worth reading about.