Islands are filled with random, slightly wacky traditions. Each island has its own unique traditions, but certain traditions happen only because you live on an island.
For instance, I was told it’s an island tradition that on the last day of school students go dock jumping, marking the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. Having moved to Peaks Island in September, a time when the chilly water of Casco Bay isn’t all that appealing, I had never been dock jumping before. As I spent time getting to know the community through attending potlucks, community meetings and concerts, playing games at the Peaks Café, coaching T-ball and enjoying PeaksFest, I realized that dock jumping was yet another island tradition that I was going to need to take part in.
I try to live life with the philosophy that I’m almost always willing to try anything once.
I was in the classroom, working with the fourth and fifth graders on their invasive plant species project, when I made a deal with them: after the fifth grade farewell celebration they could push me off the dock, fully clothed, into Casco Bay, with one constraint—I had to take my phone out of my pocket first.
On Monday, June 17, after the fifth grade farewell celebration, a group of around ten island students took both my hands and dragged me down Island Avenue towards the ferry landing. With one giant push by seven or eight fifth-graders, I went plunging off of the dock and into Casco Bay.
As anyone who has been swimming in Maine knows, the water is literally breathtaking, but as I came to the surface with a big smile on my face, all I could hear and see was everyone celebrating the fact that I had finally joined the dock jumping club. The school year was officially over, and with one giant push, summer began.
For island fellows, one of the keys to a successful fellowship is building strong relationships with islanders. By letting the students push me off of the dock, participating in their tradition, I became slightly cooler in their eyes. Building strong relationships is about being able to walk into Hannigan’s Market and ask someone how ukulele rehearsal was the night before, or sit outside DownFront on a Sunday afternoon eating an ice cream cone and hearing people joke that I’m holding office hours because so many people have stopped to talk to me about different projects I’m working on.
Everyone knows that relationships take time, but it’s important to take that time and sit with people, listen to their stories and learn about them. With each story you hear, you’re able to become more a part of the community. An unexpected surprise during the first year of my fellowship is how much I’ve learned to love this community and its people. When living on an island, it’s important to stop, look and listen.
Maggie Small is an Island Fellow through AmeriCorps and the Island Institute working on Peaks Island on energy and other projects.