Working in journalism is draining for a lot of reasons. We’re constantly taking meetings and phone calls, trying to produce multiple stories per day, and working overtime and on weekends when breaking news happens. But the most draining part for me is reporting on the things that no one wants to read about. Reporting on war, unrest, and tragedy.

Sometimes it feels hopeless.

But I have to believe there is more beauty than bad in the world. If not, what’s the point?

And Alaska is the perfect place to find the beauty: in the mountains, the sky, and rivers, but also in the culture, the solitude and the people.

Extracting myself from some of the nastier parts of reality by spending time with the people I care about, listening to live music, and walking through the woods has given me hope.

Hope that there can be beauty amid the darkness, and hope that these little pockets of serenity exist in every place and life stage.

Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulalclarion.com.

A cafe in Hope, Alaska, is a commonly photographed building in the historic mining town, as seen here on July 21, 2020. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)