There seems to be more creativity here, an abundance of imagination and expression.

Not only was Steve arranging to get me to Vinalhaven on schedule, he was helping me find someone to fix my tire.

I was suppressing the myriad feelings and thoughts that kept bubbling up. I hadn’t eaten for many hours, but my body didn’t notice. With my eyes closed, I pictured myself back on Chebeague Island.

Being an Island Fellow is pretty awesome. You get to live and serve in one of the most beautiful places in the world, with some of the best people you’ll ever meet. However, like anything in life, there are some rules that must be followed.

It is the solitude and opportunity for reflection that I find myself missing on occasion in the bustle of July and August.

Editor's note: Reflections is a monthly column written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront, and AmeriCorps.

This fall, the Frenchboro School studied island history and ecology. As the makeshift social studies and science teacher at the two-student school, I tried to design lessons that would put the kids into the wildness of their island's past.

I am not a fan of this question. How am I supposed to answer that? If I answer one way, I'm insulting your island. If I answer the other way, I sound like a suck-up.