Well, today is my birthday. Another year passed by. I think about all that has happened since this time last year and I can hardly believe it's only been a year. It was one of those years where when looking back you realize that it was both more of a struggle and more of a joy than you would have ever expected. It was one of those years that tests your mental and emotional resolve and where definite changes have become noticeable in your personality and place in life, even if it is not apparent to others. In short, last year was a heavy one, and I'm expecting this year to be the same but full of opportunities. I turn 23 today.
I start school tomorrow. Finally, my last semester at The University of Rock County. I'm taking four classes, and tutoring three more, so it will be a heavy semester. I'm also going to be working on some personal projects through the University. I'm going to be trying to get the school to start a Terracycle collection, as I mentioned in the previous blog, and I'm going to be working with one of the philosophy professors on doing research and writing a philosophical essay on Veganism. If anyone reading isn't familiar with philosophical essays, they are not like the essays you would write in an English class. They are very in depth, use the form of a logical argument aimed to deliver a point of view and defending it against critique. So in short, it will be a lot of work. After this semester, I will be transferring up to The University of Wisconsin-Madison. From everything I hear, it's a great school with fantastic opportunities, great groups of people, great classes and great growth potential. So, I'm looking forward to it, very much so. I'm just finishing up my application and will be sending it off in the next couple days.
Now, onto what I really wanted to write about. When I look back on this summer, although I've been productive in light of some difficult situations, I didn't get to do the one thing I really wanted to do which was travel. I wanted to go somewhere and go backpacking and/or camping for awhile but because of financial limitations I didn't get to do so. It brought me down a lot. There are so many great places I'd like to see, especially on the west coast. I've been reading "My First Summer in the Sierra" by John Muir, and the way he describes his treks through the mountains around Yosemite Valley is really inspiring. Then the other day, I read an article about a man who set a new record for the fastest time hiking the entirety of The Pacific Crest trail, a trail that runs through the Sierra Nevada, a trail that John Muir himself once frequented. The person who set the record was another Vegan too! Doing the entire trail in about two months. And then it happened, it hit me all at once that this is what I was supposed to do. Hike this trail. It would get me out in nature, REAL nature for months at a time, I would be able to see beautiful places that would probably amount to 50 or more normal vacation trips, I'd be able to push myself much, much farther than I ever have before, and really find the truth of who I am. So, I'm starting to plan for the trip next summer. I'm going to leave immediately when school gets out and try to hike the entire thing before school starts again in the fall. I'm starting to collect funds for it now. I'm going to look around and see if there is anyone or any company that might sponsor my trip. The Vegan that did it in record time was sponsored by an energy bar company and raised money for an animal rights group. So, I'm going to look into seeing if I can find something like that to do as well to help me out.
To give a little information about the trail, it starts at the Californian/Mexican border and goes all the way up through California, through Oregon and to the Washington/Canadian border. It starts off through arid, desert like mountains, goes into the Sierra mountains, through the Sequoia forests and Redwood forests, (and a bunch of other lesser known but amazing forests and state parks) right along lake Tahoe, through the wooded country of Oregon, over the Columbia river, and past Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier in Washington and then into some amazing mountains near the border at the end of the trek. So, it's ambitious to say the least, but I can't think of anything else more deserving to work hard for than to spend a few months in such beautiful places. To walk amongst the world's largest trees, to sleep on mountain tops, to swim in the ocean and in beautiful lakes like Crater and Tahoe, and know that I did something really great...that's what I'm striving for. It would be one of those things that if I have to sell everything I own to fund it, I will.
So, there is the post for today. Might be a few before I post again because of school starting but I'll try and hop back on. I think the next post is going to be something more philosophy related again, instead of just updates. So, take care until next time.
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