Field Program

It’s a uniquely beautiful feeling to meet people who, without even addressing it, manage to assure you that you’re in the right place. Taking the leap and uprooting yourself from everything and everyone you’ve ever known is more than daunting, but for the chance to simply speak to new people, I can’t recommend it enough. Good company and a lovely conversation can find you anywhere, anytime, so long as you are open to it. Whether you’re sitting around a campfire, hammering through bedrock, packed into a truck, or lying under the open sky in your sleeping bag, good company can make it all feel like home.

I had many fears when I left home a month ago. First and foremost, what had me in a cold sweat in the airport, clutching my carry-on, was that I’d end up feeling lost and alone. I worried that, as I curled up in my sleeping bag each night, I’d find myself thinking of home. Each night, however, I can’t help but smile at the roof of my tent, and think back on the day with all its jokes, discourse, and feelings of unity. As I lie there, as I sit by the fire, as I hammer that stone, sit in that truck, and curl up under the stars, I know I’m where I should be. So if you’re thinking of taking that leap, my advice is to jump and don’t look back.