Travels From Alaska to Avila
Sometimes life takes you on a strange journey that leads you into places you never thought you'd go. Last year, I was happily attending the University of Alaska, Southeast (UAS) in Juneau as well as holding down full time employment with the US Forest Service. Although the Forest Service job wasn't what I expected as it kept me behind a desk, I did enjoy UAS very much. I was majoring in English with an emphasis on Literature and the Environment. Like many of my fellow students there, I had this dream of becoming another nature writer in Alaska.
Don't think that's an original idea, however. Alaskan outdoors writers are about as common as universities in Kansas City.
Aside from the constant rain in summer in the Alaska's southeast, there was plenty of outdoors to be had. While in Ketchikan, I hiked many trails, did a little camping, and even happened upon some pretty cool picturesque views, such as McConnell Lake (pictured - right). When I moved to Juneau to continue school, I found the campus actually had a view of a glacier in the distance from a pavilion (pictured above). Like Avila, everyone seemed to know each other in a short time. I got to be known as the "pun master" due to a nature paper I wrote about living in Anchorage entitled "Anchored into Place". One class, we even had a weekend field trip in February (in Alaska!!) where we hiked over ice 3 miles to a cabin to spend the time concentrating on "Travels in Alaska" by John Muir, who'd been all over the southeast. We'd discovered we couldn't get the heater going, and much of the weekend was spent just keeping warm. But my fellow classmates were of Alaskan upbringing and took the event as an adventure.
I didn't sleep much that night.
By semesters end, I had a personal issue come up with family in Kansas City, and decided to move here permanently, having to change schools. With my Catholic upbringing, I discovered not only that Avila was a welcome change, but that my decision to go from English to Communications has been extremely satisfying. With English, you study a lot of authors, write papers, and really wait a long time to see the labors of your efforts. With film and journalism, I discovered it was appealing to my creative side enabling me to produce and write things with almost immediate response. I happened upon Avila's baseball team at a time of great successes and celebration, and my short films were fun to create. Avila may not have the pristine lakes, rainforests and abundant wildlife around it, but it has been a place that has been easy to call home.
No comments:
Post a Comment