The Adventure Begins

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It's the first Friday of my first week of summer vacation. I sort of feel like I'm in college again with a few months off in between classes. It's a great feeling. After 2 grueling days of moving out of my apartment, I've spent the last 4 days in South Central Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula. I've seen 2 bears, a moose, caught and cooked my own dinner (pink salmon), hiked up to the Harding Icefield next to Exit glacier and am getting ready for a 2 day overnight kayaking trip to Aialik Bay. I'm doing some reading and writing and learning a bit of harmonica...trying to get back in shape and contemplating nature vs. nurture and what drives my behavior and decisions. One theme that I thought through on one my long hikes was the influence of social (peer, family, religious and pop culture) pressures on behaviour. It came about because I noticed that pop culture has zero influence on people here. It's a great feeling to have pressures offloaded. The fewer pressures you have driving your behaviour, the more freedom you have to do what you want/desire...hence the thought process around nature vs. nurture and what determines the things that one wants or desires.

The other big theme that I discovered in my thought process is the MANY things for which I am thankful. Mostly the people in my life and the things I have learned from them. On Tuesday, I was thankful for my friend Zac, for my parents and my uncle Charlie. With the boots Zac lent me for my trip and the fishing skills I learned from my uncle and father, I was able to wade into the river and catch 3 pink salmon. In 8th grade, I learned how to build a fire on a class trip the Y.O. ranch in Texas. Because of that, i was able to cook my own dinner that night. My parents made a big financial sacrifice to send me to a great school that supported that class trip and ultimately the skills I learned that contributed to such a fun day. Over the past 5-10 years, my uncle Charlie has rediscovered his love for fishing. He has shared that with me on many successful trips south of New Orleans. I have learned much from him about fishing and cleaning fish, and because of that, I was able to have such an awesome experience catching, cleaning and eating my own dinner. Lastly, I'm thankful for my friend Brian whose endless search for new inventions created the Russian Hill Music Club, of which I am a member. The club merely shares new music on a monthly basis in an effort to educate each other on what is out there, but because of that club, not only did I have music to listen to during my workouts and hikes, but I also had some company. Just listening to the music during my workouts reminded me that, although I was out here alone, I belonged and will belong to a interesting group of people with whom I share a common interest.