College is the epitome of a beautiful conundrum. It is failing to learn and learning to fail, figuring everything out only to realize you know nothing, interacting with the best (and sometimes the worst) people and realizing that every moment of life is flying by and you might as well enjoy it to the maximum because none of us know the future. No class inside or outside the classroom can teach that. Embrace now.
Lately in life I have been lost in the world (as opposed to school). I have been far too distracted and interested in the world (and less in my reading) and can’t seem to stop moving; its as though I have an endless adventurous twitch in my body that won’t let me sit still. I had an amazing weekend and went on countless adventures, mostly by myself which was kind of perfect. I think a lot of people have a huge fear of being by themselves, solo and alone. I think there’s no better way than to be my yourself; we all are stuck with ourselves our entire lives, so you might as well learn to enjoy it.
(If you want to find the video link to our road trip adventure, scroll to the bottom of the article. However…if you do you will miss out on the best part: storytelling!)
There comes a point during an given amount of time in life where it is required to pack a small bag of clothes, grab your nearest friend, a family member, some kale chips, chocolate and hop in the car and hit the road for a good ole’ American road trip adventure. It doesn’t matter the distance or destination, but the open road calls us all at some point. As humans, I believe we all have an innate need and desire to explore and go somewhere beyond the current environment we know.
Wheel pose at the top of Mt. Bierstadt
I started doing yoga when I was fifteen for the reason that 99% of people start, for the physical component; it can’t be denied that many types of yoga are a great workout. Over the past five years, my yoga practice has evolved as I have come back to it, taken a break and come back once again. This past spring I found myself getting significantly more into the practice of yoga, exploring the bounds beyond just the physical practice and experiencing the more mental component that is so powerful. After a month long break this summer due to traveling throughout Southeast Asia, I came back to the practice in full force that was fueled further by the return to school and Boulder. This past month I have tried to practice yoga five to six times a week, only skipping a day when my schedule prohibited me from attending a class. This last month I have become hooked on yoga and have seen the biggest transformation within myself. I attribute this to own evolution in yoga; the realization that I now practice yoga not just for the physical dance, but for the spiritual, emotional and mental as well.
Simply said, life is about pushing yourself. It is. We are only able to on this earth for so long and while we are all here, we might as well push ourselves mentally, physically, spiritually and in every other facet to never stop changing, learning and evolving. I had an extraordinary weekend starting with dinner and Pearl Street with my friend Amy on Friday, taking first year students on a sunrise hike on Saturday morning (which is my job…amazing that I get paid to do what I love), getting a ticket to see the Dalai Lama and an amazing evening in Macky Auditorium at the Tedx Talk Boulder. The Ted Talk was one of the most inspiring events I have ever been to and one day here’s hoping that I will be giving one! Big shoutout to Trace Bundy who performed at the event and absolutely blew me away. Youtube him. He is a musical genius and I felt so emotionally connected to his performance; nothing short of earth shattering.
It is far too easy to get cynical about education; the questions of its potential, purpose and possibilities of impact often going down the cynical rabbit hole. Sometimes if can feel as though a never ending cycle of read and repeat, homework, sleep.
It’s hard to believe that we are already in the midst of September, finished our third week of school and fall is (almost) descending on us. Where did the time go? It seems like it was just yesterday when I moved back to Boulder, completed RA training, helped all the students move in and sat down in class for the first day of school. Time can move so fast, particularly back in the city and in the frenzy of life at school. After concluding that we all needed a break, a group of friends and myself decided to leave Boulder for twenty-four hours, camp and summit a fourteener. As great as it is to be back at school, we were all getting restless and needed to getaway! And, what better place to getaway then at the top of a 14,000 foot mountain?
You never know when you are going to make a great friend, where it will be and how it will happen. I often think about the moment you know you’re friends with someone, the exact moment in time where you think and feel like you and another individual are friends. I met Glenn, 84, in Thailand and proceeded to spend the next three weeks with him traveling through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. I’m not precisely sure when our friendship was solidified; it could have been day one when he told me the word of the day was scrotum, day two when I fell asleep on his shoulder on a car ride, or the very last night before we went back to the states when he only gave me half a hug goodbye so he could give me the other half when we reunited. Whenever we became friends, I’m glad we did because he is someone I will never forget; a person of incredible influence and impact and not to mention, great eyebrows and a uncanny resemblance to the man from the movie Up. I had the privilege to share a more formal conversational interview with him about his life over the air on the way from Cambodia to Vietnam.
Excerpts from our chat…
The concept of escaping, leaving, getting away has always interested me as travel is often another synonym that is associated with the word “escape.” What are we trying to leave behind? What are we looking for? Why do we have a desire to leave? For me, it’s a restlessness that I often find myself in; a desire to find something new and that often leaves me blending into the crowd and standing out at the same time. Escaping can often have a negative connotation, but I lately think its inherently a part of being human, the need to move and discover. Last year I took a fascinating class about drug policy from an anthropological perspective and studied the theory of a fourth drive, a human thirst to discover different forms of reality. I think escaping might be the fifth drive, and for some of us, it is more potent or has been exposed more at specific points of our lives.
It is a fascinating experience to wake up when the micro-world around you is still asleep; a combination of adrenaline, wonder and restlessness all in silence set to the musical noises of nothing but a typing keyboard and empty house. I wish I could explain my inconsistent circadian sleep rhythm as a result from the delicious Indian food I had last night jazzing my system up, but it’s realistically more likely due to the fact life is terrifyingly wonderful now.
Kaila in the World 