Update/Novel of my Recent Life

Since I posted last, my life has had several new developments and twists that I didn't expect. I'll give a quick overview and then go into depth a bit .I successfully completed my student teaching in Arizona, officially graduated, spent some time in Utah and Idaho, and started a new job (back in Arizona)...in the mountains.

These past 6 months have flown by! I came down to Mesa at the beginning of January with my mom (at the last second we decided she should make the road trip with me and it was so much better to have a navigator/driving buddy!). I showed up at Summit Academy (a middle school that takes part in the International Baccalaureate Programme) where I would work with about 150 8th graders. I had a great mentor teacher, excellent student teaching supervisor and a wonderful experience. So much so that I was reconsidering my grad school plans and thinking that I might actually want to be in the classroom for a few years. This probably seems obvious for an education major, but as I finished my time at BYUI I began thinking that a traditional classroom was not right for me and that - as soon as I paid my time, made the field services office happy, and graduated - I wouldn't set foot in a classroom again. However, I loved my teaching time and started reconsidering this plan. Maybe grad school could wait.

However, my time in Mesa also brought another option to the surface. Fall semester, I lived with a fantastic friend named Alex. Alex spent last summer working for a wilderness therapy program in Mesa and spent the semester trying to get me to do it. When I got to Mesa, I discovered that the program's office was right near my student teaching friends' house, thus I passed it every time I would visit them (which was quite a lot) and each time it reminded me of all the wonderful things Alex had to say about this program and what a great experience I could have there.

As the semester came to an end, real choices were coming. I decided to put all my feelers out there and let the Lord help me decide. I sent resumes or applications to at least a dozen schools, I filled out the Anasazi application and I followed up on a few of these. My top choices were either Anasazi or a school district in northern Utah. In the end, it was Anasazi that contacted me and asked me to come to their May training. I told them yes, but still wasn't sure if that was what I wanted most.

After student teaching ended, I went up to Utah and Idaho to spend some time with family and get things figured out. This "figuring things out" proved to be harder than I wanted (although, just as hard as I'd expected :P ). I spent a lot of time pondering, praying and fasting about where I was supposed to go. I felt like Anasazi was right. By this time though, I was getting a little...no, a lot nervous about doing Anasazi. I started realizing just how intense this program was and was scared that I was not up to the challenge. Thanks to some guidance and help from my wonderful parents though I decided to give it a shot and see what happens.

That was almost two months ago. I now find myself heading out on the trail for 8 days at a time and meeting the most wonderful people I could imagine. Alex was right, this is the closest thing to going on a mission that you will find. I get to help those who have lost their way and are seeking the right path, I get to testify of eternal truths like the creator that knows and loves them and I get to do it all in the beautiful wilderness of Arizona's Tonto National Forest. Can life get any better. I actually find myself yearning for the wilderness and sad when it's time to come back to the real world. Life is so much better on the trail. It's simple and clear. Right and wrong are marked in black and white/pain v. not pain. And the trail is where we can really come to know ourselves and what we are capable of.

So that's what I am doing now. I don't know how long the creator will keep me here but I hope it's about a year. We have lots of adventures and can't take cameras so this will be the place that I come to tell about them and hopefully we can all learn something from my experiences.

Sure Love Ya