Why this Experience?

Surely this challenge ahead is a tad crazy; perhaps off the deep-end to some, but to us, this is the challenge we've been preparing for in life. Through our formative years in K-12 we are taught to memorize and grow and become independent. This gain in self is most certainly tested in our college years (should we choose that route). For those of us that didn't figure it out in college, our mid to late 20s is a time when we continue to try different things and see what sticks and what slides. For me, this has been graduate school at Appalachian State studying College Student Development, concentrating in College Outdoor Program Administration.

In my time so far, with 1 semester remaining till freedom, I glean my excitement for the light at the end of the tunnel. While I have gained much in the form of education and a vast array of new and different experiences, I have felt commonplace and reduced. I, in ways, have had to relinquish my desires to be outside, to follow non-existent policies about wearing shoes while on-campus, and to complete tasks assigned to me by supervisors that do not share my passion in life: self-discovery and growth. In this, I have learned patience and appreciation for the subtle, sometimes long and challenging, process known as life.

To me, my schooling has been an incubation period. Not knowing exactly what I wanted to do with my life ate at me until I realized a few short years ago that life isn't about me. With that, an idea began forming under the surface. This idea was quite basic and hard to interpret at the time - even to me; but, it was the only thing I had to go on. The notion that life leads us where we need to be brings me to a place of acceptance and appreciation for the incubation period. As I near the implementation of an idea still forming, I grow anxious. To remain focused and on-task I write, talk with Maura about it, and prepare myself  for the journey ahead. In this, there exists many elements that I am used to: patience and appreciation for things out of my control.

So, as we near the end of 2011, I focus my attention on the here and now to complete what it is that I enlisted for; yet, I have my golden egg nearing its break-the-shell moment. This brings me to a place beyond excitement. To take our idea and put it into play is going to require a lot of help, but in this, we will discover a better, truer sense of self. Much like learning to ride a bicycle, once you learn and discover this truer sense of self, and what you are capable of,  you never forget. From this position anything ahead in life seems possible! This is what I love most about life. To see the obstacles of my formative years through a different lens reminds me that as I grow, I become a better human being - not for myself, but for the better of all sharing this space, this planet.

Looking forward to the help of many on this experience.

Much love,
Al