Written Waves: Your freelance article portfolio
Welcome to my collection of Written Waves entries, a portfolio showcasing my unique perspectives and storytelling abilities. Here, you'll find articles that reflect my approach to writing, designed to captivate and engage audiences across various platforms.
My writing perspective: A spatial journey
I bring a fresh perspective to every topic, viewing life and subjects through the lens of Spatial Geography. This unique approach allows me to educate readers by weaving different visual ideas and connections into my narratives, offering a multi-dimensional understanding. My goal is to transport your audience, creating adventure and encouraging non-linear thought.
Crafting content for a diverse audience
I am seeking opportunities to contribute engaging content to magazines, advertisements, business products, and consulting firms. My expertise lies in crafting compelling stories that resonate with readers, offering them new avenues of thought and broadening their perspectives. If you're looking for content that goes beyond the ordinary, you've come to the right place.
Unveiling the secret to captivating narratives
My secret sauce lies in my ability to look at life from a Spatial Geography perspective. This allows me to craft narratives that are not only informative but also visually stimulating, presenting ideas from multiple angles. Clients can expect storytelling that creates adventure, encourages non-linear thinking, and educates the viewer through different visual ideas.
WRITTEN WAVES
OUTDOOR LIVING
It Depends on Where You're Standing
I was looking through an email about freelance writing opportunities when I came across a challenge.
OUTDOOR LIVING.
I read the rules. I read what the magazine wanted.
They wanted a story about outdoor living.
Duh!
Then my tangled-fishing-line mind did what it does best.
It got caught on one simple question:
What exactly is outdoor living?
I decided to ask four different people.
The first was my Uncle Cramer. We were playing golf when I asked him:
“Uncle Cramer, when you think about outdoor living, what do you visualize?”
He didn't hesitate.
“Campfires. Camping. Nature. Trees. Colors.”
Okay.
That made sense.
Outdoor living.
Nature.
Maybe the fishing line was starting to untangle.
Then I asked my cousin Gordan the same question.
His answer?
“Golf. Snow skiing. Water skiing. Rafting. Kayaking. Surfing...”
Wait a minute.
Same question.
Completely different answer.
Even more interesting, Gordan's perspective was different from his own father's.
My fishing line had another knot.
The next day at work, I asked a co-worker.
“What does outdoor living mean to you?”
She started listing things.
“Hiking. Climbing. Bicycling. Tennis. Canoeing. Roasting marshmallows over a campfire with Hershey bars. Weenies. Burgers...”
Then she stopped.
“Oh—and bugs. Ants. Snakes. Critters.”
I laughed.
Now I had three people.
Three definitions.
And somehow I was more confused than when I started.
So I decided to ask one more person.
Maybe number four could finally help me loosen this tangled fishing-line knot in my head.
Outside the building was a bus stop.
There was a gentleman there, so I walked over and asked him the same question I had asked everyone else.
“What is outdoor living to you?”
His answer blew my mind.
He didn't talk about camping.
He didn't mention skiing.
No kayaks.
No golf.
No marshmallows.
No beautiful lake surrounded by trees.
He looked at me and said:
“IT'S MY WHOLE LIFE, 24/7, MAN.”
I just stood there.
What?
I asked him what he meant.
At first, his movements made me uncomfortable. He bent his head down, scratched it with both hands, moved awkwardly and jumped around.
I didn't know what to make of him.
And, almost immediately, my mind started making assumptions.
Then suddenly he stopped.
He stood straight.
Still.
His entire demeanor changed.
He looked directly at me.
“Sir, let me tell you what outdoor living actually is in the city.”
Then he said something I wasn't prepared to hear.
“I sleep on a bench at Swope Park. You know, near the zoo.”
And just like that...
the fishing line stopped moving.
Campfires.
Golf.
Skiing.
Kayaking.
Marshmallows.
Trees.
Colors.
We had all described outdoor living as something we chose to experience.
He was describing something he couldn't simply leave when the weekend was over.
For us, outdoor living had an ending.
Pack the tent.
Put the golf clubs in the trunk.
Pull the kayak out of the water.
Put out the campfire.
Drive home.
Take a shower.
Climb into bed.
For him?
There was no drive home.
The outdoors was home.
And suddenly I realized something.
Maybe none of the four answers were wrong.
Maybe perspective works like waves.
We can stand beside the same body of water and experience completely different waves.
One person sees recreation.
Another sees adventure.
Another sees relaxation.
And another sees survival.
Same outdoors.
Different lives.
Different perspectives.
Different waves.
I started this little experiment trying to untangle the definition of Outdoor Living.
Instead, one man sitting at a bus stop tangled it even tighter.
Maybe that was the lesson.
Sometimes we become so comfortable with our own definition of something that we forget somebody else may be standing on the opposite shoreline.
Before that conversation, if someone said outdoor living, I pictured nature.
After that conversation?
I pictured a park bench.
And I wondered how many times I had walked past someone's entire world...
thinking I was simply walking through mine.
WRITTEN WAVES
The waves eventually settle. ✌️
WRITTEN WAVES
OUTDOOR LIVING — IT DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU’RE STANDING
When we hear the words “outdoor living,” what do we picture?
A lake.
A stream.
A campsite.
A patio overlooking the water.
Maybe a comfortable chair, a fire, and the sound of waves reaching the shoreline.
We call it outdoor living because we chose to go outside.
But what happens when there is no choice?
A person experiencing homelessness may look at that same outdoors completely differently.
The rain we listen to from a covered porch may mean wet clothes and nowhere to dry them.
The summer sun we enjoy beside the lake may mean hours searching for shade.
The cool autumn night that makes us light a fire may mean wondering where to sleep when the temperature drops.
Same outdoors. Different perspective.
And maybe life works a little like waves.
Two people can stand beside the same body of water and experience completely different waves.
One sees recreation.
Another sees survival.
One hears peaceful rain.
Another hears a coming storm.
One watches the sunset because it's beautiful.
Another watches it because darkness means another day without a safe place to sleep.
The water didn't change.
Their position in the water did.
Perhaps perspective is understanding that we don't all experience the same wave from the same shoreline.
Before judging how someone handles the waves hitting them, maybe we should ask ourselves one question:
Where are they standing?
Because what feels like OUTDOOR LIVING to one person may simply feel like LIVING OUTDOORS to another. ✌️
WRITTEN WAVES
The waves eventually settle.
By Bert Russell
9-2-2026