For our first blog post of the semester, I would like to keep pursuing the idea of place and its influence on identity and bring in the first chapter of How to Read Literature Like a Professor. I want you to discuss a "quest" of your own, an instance when you gained self-knowledge during some sort of trip. Remember the criteria that Foster establishes for a quest: a quester (ie. you), a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials, the real reason to go there.
For example, this summer, as I mentioned in class, I took my family on a trip through the Pacific Northwest in our orange Volkswagen van. A word of disclaimer: Whenever one goes on a long trip with three kids and a 30-year-old Volkswagen bus, one is guaranteed challenges and trials. That said, the main reason my wife and I wanted to go was to take our children to the ocean, which they had never experienced - quester(s), place to go, stated reason to go there, check. A couple challenges and trials that we faced were living and sleeping in the van for three weeks without much space or "alone time" and finding places to camp/sleep for the night. These, of course, added to the adventure and allowed us to see and experience many places that we otherwise would not have, while contributing to the "real" reason to go there: I realized on the trip that there are few people I would want to be in that close of proximity with for that long, and even fewer who would put up with me. And that is what we call self-knowledge.
Okay, questers, your turn. If you can include a picture of where you went on your trip, that would be a bonus. Here is one of us near Forks and La Push, Washington, where much of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series takes place (neither a stated nor a real reason to go there, but an interesting discovery we made along the way and which should provide a nice segue to chapter 3 on vampires). :)
Over spring break, my family took a trip down the west coast to look at universities. Some of the cities we visited included Seattle, Salem, Los Angeles, and San Diego. We hoped that this trip would help me decide on where I wanted to go after my high school years. I faced many challenges throughout most of the trip. Most of them consisted of budgeting our time between college visits. There are so many things to do in these mega-sized cities yet very little time. Trying to make everyone happy in my family was quite a challenge. Throughout the journey, I realized that I needed to figure out what I wanted to be in the coming years not just where I wanted to go. I had to put an emphasis on what was really important to me when attempting to pick out a university. It was an odd feeling when I realized that everything I do in the coming years will effect the rest of my life. This quest was really all about realizing what I wanted to achieve in my life and what I really wanted in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely difficult to balance what others want from you and what you want from yourself. We are finding that out more and more about what truly matters to us as we look at the possibilities of our futures. You made a good point of figuring out who you wanted to be and not just where you wanted to be. It will make a big difference in where you will end up by learning more about yourself. I think that the most important thing to remember is to do what makes you happy. At the end of the day, you will be the only one living with the choices you have made about your future.
DeleteThis summer I went to Ireland, France, Italy and Switzerland with my family. The trip was 19 days. This is a long time to spend constantly with one's family. We faced may challenges on this trip. We went the wrong way on the subway, took the wrong bus, almost did not have a place to stay on several occasions. Some other challenges we faced was the language barrier and the unfriendliness of the people. All the while trying to get to our destination. Besides all these set backs, the trip was amazing. I learned a lot about the culture and different way people in other places live. This trip really helped me see how much bigger the world is, and how each place is unique. The immense amount of history that these countries have opened my eyes, so to speak, to how young the United States really is.
ReplyDeleteIt is so easy to forget that there is more life outside of our small town. This is what we know and what we have always had surrounding us. It is such a unique experience to actually live and be a part of the world elsewhere. I know from my experience during last year's Travel Club trip, that one's mind can just swell with information and curiosity about the place they are in. I am so glad, Erin, that you had the chance to go discover the origins of your family and culture. When I was in Switzerland, I could just feel my family's roots around me. I have grown up hearing stories about my great grandpa's life when he was still in Switzerland and they have intrigued my thoughts immensely. To actually be in that setting in which one has heard about for as long as they could remember opens up a huge door to learning and, not coincidentally, self-knowledge.
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ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to be able to travel to Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Costa Rica this summer. I was gone for a month and a half. The first half was spent in the states with the family. I visited Colorado State University and worked on my senior project. The second half was spent with my half-brother and his family. It was challenging for me to be away from home for such a long period of time. Needless to say, I am now great at living out of a suitcase. We had quarrels and disputes that we had to work through as a family. But, at the end of my journey, I had a fantastic time. I realized that this trip wasn't just about spending quality time with the family I rarely see; it was about me learning how to be an independent person that is ready to go on after high school. I feel more prepared than ever to complete my goals and dreams because of this trip of a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of being many miles away from our parents is sort of scary yet thrilling. Knowing that you are in charge of what you want to do is a great feeling. I think that all of us need some experiences away from our parents to really help us prepare for our lives after high school. Becoming an independent person is a must for becoming successful in our society. We all need to be able to make our own decisions so we can thrive in the real world.
DeleteOver the summer, I was blessed to be surrounded by the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains around the camp that I worked at. This happens to give a person many hiking and backpacking possibilities. One Saturday morning, I set out to hike Cabin Creek Trail with eight fellow staff members. I made a goal, before I went to camp, to hike at least one time. I was confident that I was going to endure this 8.5 mile roundtrip hike, despite my lack of hiking trips recently. My group was keen on making it all the way to the top of the mountain, past the end of the trail. So place to go, the top and my stated reason, I had to fulfill my summer goal. As we hiked, my body tried to fight, as it was out of shape and not conditioned for intense hikes. My weakness was my struggle because my mind tried to tell me that I could not keep going. I didn't want to slow up my group and I did not want to give up, so I had to keep pushing myself. We made a stop at a mountain lake for lunch and it was so beautiful. This was the first hint at seeing hard work pay off. After this lake, we did not have much longer until the trail ended. As we came to the slope to the top, we all saw what was ahead of us. We would have to rock climb our way up. This was something I had never done before, but I was still ready to take on the challenge. I just took each grab at a time and eventually made it to that summit. The feeling was indescribable. I was beyond proud of myself for making it all that way, from the cardio hike to the rock climbing. I could see so many mountains and lakes all around from that view. I knew that I had to work to get to that point and that made it even more genuine. It was the coolest experience in my life. I learned that perseverance and endurance always pay off and the end product is more than one could imagine.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy being able to push myself to my limits, provided there is something to make it worthwhile. I did a 13 mile run over the Continental Divide with a few teammates this summer and when we were done, we could see into the mountains of Montana and look over everything we could see. I always feel that something, no matter how hard, always brings some type of reward. For you, accomplishing your goal and climbing to the top of a mountain. I grew closer to my teammates through my experience. Perseverance, as you said, does always bring a reward.
DeleteMoriah, I think that you were able to accomplish this goal is a huge step. I agree that perseverance and endurance is huge when trying to to achieve a goal. You now know that you are stronger that you originally thought, and are able to accomplish goals if you put your mind to it. Accomplishing goals is imperative to our growth as people. We use these accomplishments to learn, by this we now are aware of our own strenghts.
DeleteLast spring break I went on the school trip to Switzerland, Italy, and France. The trip, to me, was to enlighten our lives and broaden our horizons and knowledge of the world outside of little Salmon, Idaho. Throughout the trip we were guided in many of the well-known areas of the cities, but we also got a lot of free time in between tours and dinner and other activities to go find lunch and explore the city by ourselves (provided we were with at least two other people, of course). We got to see the cities without having the tour guide breathing down our necks, and I appreciated that. I enjoyed being able to walk around and explore to my heart's content in the time given. Of course, walking around in a foreign country had it's own challenges. Being allergic to gluten, it was hard to find very many places where I could get a substantial amount of food and, occasionally, trying to find myself something to eat that wasn't gelato or fruit took up more time than I liked. Even the hotels we ate at for dinners usually managed to make a dish that had a tie to the country's culture, sometimes only making a salad instead, but for most desserts didn't prepare anything else but some fruit, and more than once it was just an apple on a plate. But even though I didn't get to experience the culture to the fullest extent possible through my inability to try all of the food, I still made the most I could out of the trip. I feel that I had more appreciation for the sights and buildings because I focused upon them and got from them all of the culture I could, while hoping that there would be something I could eat later. There was also the matter of rooming. The chaperones tried to group most students with people they wouldn't normally socialize with, and this led to some interesting combinations. Most had positive outcomes, but a few were less than ideal. The actual reason to go, for me, was to see places and try new things that I had only previously seen in photos or videos. I wanted to experience the world for myself, and I did just that.
ReplyDeleteI love what you had to say, Andrew. Definitely a trip of that sort is a great eye opener; that trip definitely helped me grow as a person and come to know the world in a new way. As we go through our lives, we will see that our own experiences will always be completely different than everyone else's, even if they are on the same route that we are. Because we are all different, we face our own challenges, and this, I feel, is one way that makes each individual exactly who we are and who we will become.
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DeleteThis summer I took a quest across America to the south, where sweet tea is water and dry heat isn’t in the vocabulary. During my stay in the south, South Carolina to be more specific, I visited friends and family, and enjoyed my time with them immensely. I did experience a few learning curves too along with the great memories. One curve in particular takes place at the beach with my dear friend, Alicia. The past few years that I have visited Alicia at her beach house, we have longed ever so greatly to get a golf cart to roam around in. I mean, anyone that was cool staying in that community had a golf cart. This year was the best year; the year we finally would get one! We were extremely excited. The evening we arrived at the beach, after settling in at the house, we decided to take a drive around the neighborhood in our golf cart. It was the time of our lives. Alicia offered to let me drive, and full of excitement, I took the offer. We drove around some more, waving at the other golf carts as they passed by. Now, here is where it got rough. I was driving around a corner and while I was turning, a golf cart was coming toward us in the opposite direction. I swore that I had enough room to pass this cart, yet, as we crossed paths, our carts scraped right up against each other, screeching and providing one bumpy ride for both. I immediately stop the cart, hop out and go to this lady driving the other cart to ask if she is alright and if her cart had any damage. This lady threw a full tantrum in front of Alicia and me for at least 20 minutes before calling security to report us. Security came, and she yelled at them while yelling at us for another 20 minutes. Eventually, she and her undamaged golf cart drove off in a huff, and the two security men that came had decided to write us a warning. Alicia and I felt absolutely mortified. I swore I would never drive a golf cart again. Luckily for us the security guards were very understanding and told us to be more careful, and enjoy our evening. One of the men said to us that “some old people forget how to have fun.” After all of this huff and puff and mortification, I learned a number of things; a.) I need more practice driving a golf cart before I go in public, b.) being naive is easy to do and extremely unrewarding, and c.) sometimes old people forget how to have fun. My quest to South Carolina and my week at the beach with Alicia gave me not only memories I won’t forget, but also some important lessons which I learned to the maximum degree.
ReplyDeleteLife is full of experiences Virginia and you sure had one! You and Alisa had wanted to drive around in a golf cart for a long time, you wanted to experience it first hand. When you were finally able to try it for yourself you became lost in the experience with reckless abandonment. Because you had this experience you were able to create a memory that can be shared between you and your friend for years to come. Also Virginia, when you're older and driving around in your golf cart just remember that the kids that run into you are only having fun.
DeleteIn the beginning of the summer I traveled to Missoula to attend MisCon. MisCon, or Missoula Convention, has a writer's work shop to help future writers. I traveled to Missoula after submitting my work of fiction to be critiqued by published authors. When I arrived I had two goals in mind; First I wanted to get as much information and critiquing I could from the authors to help my writing. Second I wanted to be able to step outside my comfort zone and talk to people I didn't know. I wanted to be able to make new friends. My goals worked hand in hand because if I wanted to have help with my story then I would have to talk to the authors. When I received my critiques I was happy with the information they had provided for me. Later when I decided to approach the authors I was able to talk to them and have them explain their critiques in better detail. After discussing my work I was able to have a conversation with some of the authors and I was even able to ask one of them to be my mentor. I discovered that I was willing to listen to any person that wanted to help, and that stepping out side my comfort zone was painless and enjoyable.
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