Why I Want To Be Significant

Depression placed a dark brooding shadow over my mind. I was weighed down, oppressed by the burden of having to carry on with life. In my mind, there was a crushing sense of hopelessness that I have never felt before. The only therapy I found was taking that beautiful, freshly sharpened razor to my left arm. A sigh of relief departed me as I watched the bright red blood drip from my vein. The only burden I had was going to school and hiding my war scars. Each day, the darkness spread through me like cancer. My body withering away, I needed an escape route from this crucial disease. This all continued until the day I saw a light and the darkness began to fade

If you ever get a chance to visit Chaco Canyon National Monument in New Mexico, you should take the time to just stand in the desert and listen. The silence in this place is physical; you can feel it surround you. This is a silence with depth and layers that are unbroken even by the wind, which moves through emptiness and speaks only in occasional sighs through the canyons. The air itself is very clear—the lack of humidity gives the cliffs and buttes sharp lines, and the colors of the earth, though muted, stand in stark relief to the blueness of the sky. Night comes gradually to this place. The height and dryness of the air allows the stars to appear before the sun has set—creating an odd

There are many alluring opportunities to witness nature, such as local trails and protected woods, but even a peaceful park or a backyard pond can produce such a feeling. As for me, I enjoy hiking the Appalachian Trail, the longest national park and a 2,200 mile stretch of elegant woodlands. From the summer of 2013, my father and I have established a tradition of taking two or three days to hike twenty mile sections of the trail. Though hiking the whole trail is unrealistic, the trips are most significant to me as a chance to hike, forgetting about homework, extracurricular activities, and other stressors. Admittedly, I am always reluctant to believe that climbing up rocky mountains with a twenty-five pound backpack will is a form of relief, but somehow, it always is. We typically sleep in hammocks, which allows

We went to southwestern Colorado to learn more about the history of the Anasazi Indians. The amalgamation of tribes which lived thousands of years ago in the American Southwest. We had brought along a minimum amount of cash (approximately $150.00 each). Because we were going to spend only one night in a motel and camp during the rest of the trip. We hiked many miles. Covering closes to twenty miles a day. Our entire club began to get tired and irritated on the third day. But the rewards were worth the effort. Although our trek was long and arduous. I will never forget the sight of the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings in the early morning sunlight on June

Life can be pretty stressful, and at times I feel the need to escape. When life’s pressures build to a critical mass my favorite place to go is Collier Township’s Panhandle trail, with its long hiking, and bike riding path, the more secluded hiking trails set deep in the woods, and fossil cliff it’s the ideal place to escape this mad mad world. I begin my journey at the start of the trail that stretches from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. The sound of tiny stones crunch under my feet as I walk, birds fly through a vibrant blue sky, and come to rest perched high in the trees that frame the walking, and bike trail. I continue down the trail for a quarter of a mile reading the small signs placed on the edge of the path set there to inform you of

This dire struggle that had driven away Dr. Tussell's manners was our climbing out of the Grand Canyon. We, a band of thirteen students and two teachers, had undertaken a treacherous descent into the company of revered, painted walls and beautiful, unseen cultures. In spite of the season, our February trek was accompanied by a torpid heat much like falling asleep on a tanning bed––not quite

So we packed our bags and embarked on an unforgettable road trip. The first leg of this journey was through familiar California towns, palms trees and windmills. But once we entered Arizona, the landscape started to change into stark rock formations and rare lonely bushes here and there. And to complete our desert experience, we encountered a ferocious sand storm.

I just came back from a camping trip all the ways from Yosemite Nation Park at central California’s, feral Nevada, the mountain range in the US. It was an amazing trip and I had learned a lot from it. Mostly, I had been awarded that Mother Nature had created us amazing scenery and left us only one mission, which is to watch over her creation, in order for it to be last forever.

For seven of our ten days, we hiked through the mountains of Philmont Scout Ranch, where any signal strength was rare. The fact that I wouldn’t be able to communicate with my family for much of the trip had me nervous to go. When I was there, I still couldn’t shake my anxiety. After a few days, I realized that dwelling on my homesickness was doing nothing but hurting me.

For my sophomore project I did a three week course that consisted of river rafting ninety miles down the Deschutes and backpacking the Three Sister’s wilderness. The first week was spent mostly on boats, rafting through the summer sun twelve miles a day with tarps supported by paddles to sleep under at night. As physically and mentally straining as was, it only got more difficult in the next two weeks. We moved to our starting point miles away from the Sisters Mountains. I spent the next fourteen days hiking long distances with a fifty pound backpack on, very limited food, and bleached water. The most impactful part of this trip was the forty-eight hour solo. Two days with no food or company is a very interesting experience that most people

When I was a little girl I had never imagined flying or even becoming famous. I was just minding my own business until one year something had changed.

The exhaustion hit so hard that even attempting to remain with my eyes open turned into a struggle. My whole body felt achy after a hard day’s of school work, constantly staring at a computer screen and typing away, just to complete an essay. My pale white hands, frozen by the air conditioning blasting on high, were holding on to the steering wheel like a person gripping the edge of a cliff, hoping not to fall into a dark abyss. My brain wanted to surrender and finally remain in the sleep that I kept dangerously drifting in and out of. I took a glance outside, the road seeming meek. I felt maybe I should slow down so I do not lose control of the wheel. I glanced at the clock as it lit up my face in a blue kind of color, it read 10:01 pm. My

One night I was getting ready for bed I looked up into the sky, and along with the moon, the stars could be seen clearly right above my head. That was my last clear visual of this world before my euphoric life was shattered into pieces. I then awoke in a dark, icy-cold hospital room; the only light was coming from the corner of my which was from the room’s restroom. I was very

I just set out on my great Alaskan adventure. This may not be my first day in Alaska but this definitely the start of my true adventure. I am alone out here. The only other living creatures here are the animals. I have prepared for this. I know I am ready. After leaving the last man who I hitchhiked with I set out on the trail. He offered me a sandwich that I am currently eating while sitting here and contemplating my surroundings. The land is vast and the stampede trail seems almost never ending. It is cold but not unbearable so. I plan to forage for dinner using my guides to find edible plants and berries. This may be my last big adventure I take on. The reason for that may be my own choice or the choice of nature. Things look good at the moment and I do not see a reason for that to change. I don’t get lonely easily and I don’t particular seek out human companionship, but I do feel as if I may start to miss some of the people who I have come to be attached to

After racing down the mountain for a couple of hours I stayed to see the sunset. What I had missed all these years. The sunset to me was like paradise. As if I had jumped a portal and landed on the other side of the world. A place that I belonged. After years of isolation, of feeling without anything to do, with my life like a void, not having anything, I finally felt everything. I could feel the emotion in that place. All the memories, all the things I did. Those were good times, and I will never forget them, but then I came back to reality, and it 's that they will never come back. However I was there for a reason, I needed to complete my mission and my promise. Then, off into the distance, I saw two people. From the top of my lungs I shouted.