Where’s Waldo

Where’s Waldo? Waldo embodies the traveling spirit, the soul captured by wanderlust. He’s a ghost, having been everywhere but belonging nowhere. He has humbled himself beneath the shining lights of Aurora Borealis, gazed up at the jubilant angels adorning the Sistine Chapel, seen the ancient temples built for gods, now consigned to oblivion. He has seen humanity, stripped bare, turning in its vicious cycle of life. Our red-and-white wanderer is the ultimate wallflower, the keen-eyed observer. But where does he call home? Where does his heart lie, seeing as home is where the heart is? Waldo’s home isn’t four walls and a roof, a bed and a warm meal. He doesn’t need to call any specific place home because he has fallen deeply in love with humanity and in doing so, has given a part of his heart to every living being on this green earth.

You do not have to look far to find Waldo.

Look around you the next time you go out. Who do you see? Perhaps it’s the quiet girl listening to music on the Metro, staring out the window and turning the landscape outside into the romping place for monstrous beasts borne of her imagination. You might be able to find him with the loveless middle-aged couple, tangled in the fine thread that divides apathy and unhappiness. He is the man behind you in line at the deli, the old woman feeding birds at the park. He is the pair of lovers kissing in a dark alley.

He is right there, the small tendril of hope tugging at your heart, urging you to go, go, go.

Julianne Vu is a freshman at USC studying English Literature. She is passionate about reading and writing, although she seems to do very little of either these days. When she does find the time, she writes flash fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.