Flotsam

by David Wiesner

There’s this picture book I used to spend hours looking through called Flotsam. In it, a boy walks along the shore and finds a washed up old camera. He develops the film and discovers pictures of incredible scenes captured as it floated through the ocean—of islands on the backs of enormous starfish and schools hiding curious mechanical fish.

I think about the camera whenever I look at my life so far. I’ve spent most of my time floating from place to place, not at all sure where I’m supposed to be going. Somehow along the way—no matter where I go—I still manage to discover all these amazing people and experience these unreal moments of pure joy and sadness. I keep them as memories and share them as stories, hoping other people also see the world the way I see it.