Every year of high school I
remember watching the five-minute presentations of the seniors before me and I
also remember hearing every single one of them talking about how happy they
were that they did a senior project. I remember thinking that this was sort of
a forced gesture because nobody ever said that they didn’t have fun while
doing their project. Well now that I have done me own senior project I see why
nobody ever has anything bad to say about them. This year I will be the one on
stage telling the grades below me to pounce on this awesome opportunity and the
seniors that didn’t do a senior project that they missed out big time. This is
because while Ford Coleman and I spent 11 days in the woods alone, I grew as an
individual in so many ways and had an amazing time doing so. I knew that taking
a trip like this would teach me a lot of valuable lessens but not nearly to the
extent that it did.
Being out in the woods alone with just one other person for
that long makes you look at life completely differently than I did before.
First off, to say that I took a lot of things for granted previously, is an
understatement. Ford and I survived for a week and a half with out so many
things that I had in my life everyday before I left and we didn’t have any
problems and had an amazing time. Now there are definitely things that we
missed, but going without them for that long just makes you realize how great
they really are and how grateful I really am for those things. A few quick
examples are, hot showers, bountiful amounts of food, clean clothes, and warm
beds. Now I definitely took these things for granted before my trip and am now
extremely more thankful for the things I have, but something else more
important that I learned in the woods is that many of the things that we
surround ourselves with in society today aren’t necessary. Being in the woods I
realized that living a simple life, for example waking up, walking, eating and
then going back to bed, and not having all of the extravagant things we are all
so used to, is just as if not more desirable than our lives at Lovett. I think
this is why so many people get hooked on hiking long distances like we did
because by living such a simple life, you don’t have to worry about all of the
problems that you encounter in society every day. All you have to worry about
is walking and essentially just surviving while meeting brand new people whom
are all doing the same exact thing. One thing that Sir Packs-A lot, the owner
of a hostel we went to, told us was that a lot of people get hooked because
they can truly be the person that they are on the trail because there are no
worries on the trail. There is no one to tell you what to do, no one that you
have to impress and no one to satisfy. All that anyone has to worry about is
simply living amongst nature and reaching your goal for that day whatever it
may be. There were many nights on this trip when I would be falling asleep in
my ENO while watching the stars, so satisfied with myself after a long hard day
of walking and at complete peace with myself and the world around me because I
had nothing to worry about besides walking how ever far I needed to the next
day.
Overall I had an amazing experience
on the Appalachian Trail. After hearing concerning things about the trail
ranging from bear attacks to rapist and murders, I was both surprised and
grateful that we had as close to a problem free trip as a trip on the AT can
get. Over 11 days I learned so much about myself, the wilderness, and life in
general all while having a ton of fun with one of my best friends and a bunch
of really cool people I met along the way.
I would like to give a special
thanks to Mrs. Morgan, Mr. Silverman, our sponsor Mr. Reynolds, my parents and
Ford’s parents for the help and support that we needed to have such a perfect
and amazing trip. None of it would have been possible without their valuable advice and support.
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