I've been feeling a little, well, unsure of my future. The prospect of so many options and so many outcomes and whether or not I can live up to my own expectations has been kinda stressing me out. My classes are intimidating, I'm behind as far as credits go, and I have very little/zero actual job experience in my area of study. But I've recently come to terms with it all, and this is why.
Yesterday I hiked Mt. Naomi, the highest point in the Bear River Mountain Range at about 10,000 feet. Getting up to the top was HARD. A combination of not being in the best shape, plus insane elevation, made it quite a struggle. We gained about 2,000 feet in elevation over about 3.5 miles. But as they say, "there is beauty all around," so even the journey was fun.
We made it to top at the same time as two other groups, and chatted with them as we took in the extreme view. This was really the most spectacular view I had ever seen in person. I'll let you see for yourself, but just know that the distance you can see in any direction from the highest point in an entire mountain range is mind boggling. You can see Cache Valley in the distance in the first two pictures.
Now, here comes the point of the story. The people at the top included a married couple, and a group of three people, two of which we noticed were only speaking German to each other. We all ended up descending the mountain together, and as we did, we discovered that the married couple was from Portland, and the husband was looking at different colleges (including Utah State) for the Recreation Resource Management masters degree (the same major as me, except I'm obviously an undergrad.) He was a team leader for the SCA (Student Conservation Association), which I've been looking into for summer 2012. The American guy in the group of three hikers had gotten an internship with the Forest Service straight out of high school, and had worked with UCC (Utah Conservation Corps), which I've also been looking into.
This is the second time this has happened to me. Once before, when I was doubting my major and future career choice, I talked with this girl who was in my same major, ready to graduate, about what she was going to do after graduation. It totally re-converted me to rec resource management. Yesterday, though, was like this huge massive sign that I'm going down the right track, and to keep going. Sometimes it's hard to think about the future when you know there's not a lot you can do about it right here, right now. Applications for SCA and UCC aren't reviewed until around March for the summer season, and I don't know of anything I can do around here during the school year. But for now, my future's looking bright and I couldn't be more excited.