Dairies from Lunar 1

These diaries are fiction, based on what I believe a lunar colony should look like.

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Counsellor's Personal Log, January 8, 2074
It's been six months since we landed here on Lunar 1. Although we had all been through extensive training, I don't think any of us were fully prepared for life here. I went up to the gardens today after work. The grass, the flowers, the trees, the birds...It was just like the big blue ball, except for the fact that I could see the planet below (and the Dome). I know the Dome and Grid are there to block the fall of asteroids and shield us from UV rays, but I would love to be back under the South Carolina sun. Even in the summer.
It will be another year before I get to go back to visit the blue planet. I miss my parents, but being a settler does have its appeal. I love the community we've built here. The farmers, doctors, engineers, waste extraction personnel--they're like a family to me. And I can't say I miss lawyers and bankers. Or war. There's no war up here, we live together in peace. The crops are doing well, I've been told; little surprise, we built this environment as much for them as for us; still, it is important, and we all know that. Without them, we would all die. General morale is strong among the settlers. Our daily workouts are keeping us strong; the nutritionists and doctors are keeping us healthy. We've done well, pulling together like this. It has been hard for many crew members to learn second, third, and fourth languages; but it's almost as if we are writing a language of our own, pulling the best words out of the native languages of all the settlers. The robots have almost completed construction at Lunar 2, and the plants and small animals will arrive in three months. We will be overseeing the organization, putting a lot of extra pressure on Engineering.
One of the couples, May and Josh, have separated. May moved to Habitat Level 3. I have scheduled additional time for her, which has pushed back my crew evaluations. Thomas from Engineering has been intermittently neglecting to take his medication; his Teacher has alerted me of abnormal mood swings. I have assigned a Counseling Student from his habitat ring to remind him to take his pills every the morning. The crew has decided that Student Section 4 is most qualified to become Teachers at Lunar 2; although the settlers will not arrive for another 15 months, the other teachers and myself have begun assigning extra responsibilities to our Section 4 students. It's an excellent system we have, so much unlike the blue planet. There, we all had to work and compete to survive. Here, we all work together; there is no leader, no overseer, no CEO. Here, we are simply teachers and students. Every student will become a teacher. We are not greater or lesser than each other; those of us with specialized training from the homeworld share our knowledge freely with our students, for the good of the collective. I feel sorry for my family back on the blue world, struggling against the world to survive, locked in a competition with everyone around them. I wish they could experience the peace we have here. I have to go; it's time for the evening meal. More later.
~Tara