Something New
I used to dread the small talk question: "so how's your semester going?" This was for two reasons. The first being that I've always hated the practice of small talk to begin with and the second is that I am a rather impatient person who dislikes having to explain oneself one million times. I will admit that I am working on that latter quality so for those of you haven't heard, here is more or less the full story...
One cold winter day in the middle of my freshman year at North Central University, I was at my friend Jozee's house. I was sitting on the couch bragging to her friend Micah about a recent camping trip I had done in the BWCA. Then out of nowhere Micah totally one-upped me and told me how he had spent the past semester mountaineering in Patagonia (yes, it's a real place). Instantly he had my attention and to make a long story short, we spent the rest of the afternoon talking about his adventures through the National Outdoor Leadership School.
I have always loved exploring; whether it was canoeing through the BWCA or Appalachian, or even spelunking under the ruins of Pillsbury Park in downtown Minneapolis. If there was a place where no one else had been; if there was something new to discover, I had to go there. I felt this urge to push myself into the unknown. I saw uncertainty as something to be conquered, risks as challenges to be accepted. I still do to this day.
As my first year of college came to an end I found myself thinking more and more about the wilderness school that Micah had told me about. I began to research NOLS and similar schools, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses. I decided on NOLS because of its primary focus on teaching practical wilderness skills. Another strength of NOLS is that it offers academic credit through the University of Utah (which helps when you try to convince your parents that dropping out of college and going into the wilderness is a good idea). Last but not least, NOLS is a well known school among outdoorsmen and recognized as a leader in wilderness leadership education around the world.
backpacking on the Appalachian, or even spelunking under the ruins of Pillsbury Park in downtown Minneapolis. If there was a place where no one else had been; if there was something new to discover, I had to go there. I felt this urge to push myself into the unknown. I saw uncertainty as something to be conquered, risks as challenges to be accepted. I still do to this day.
As my first year of college came to an end I found myself thinking more and more about the wilderness school that Micah had told me about. I began to research NOLS and similar schools, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses. I decided on NOLS because of its primary focus on teaching practical wilderness skills. Another strength of NOLS is that it offers academic credit through the University of Utah (which helps when you try to convince your parents that dropping out of college and going into the wilderness is a good idea). Last but not least, NOLS is a well known school among outdoorsmen and recognized as a leader in wilderness leadership education around the world.