As I sit at my gate in Denver, CO, 3 hours earlier than my plane boards, I find I have a lot of time to reflect! These past 3 weeks have taught me a lot. 11 days in Pittsburgh and 11 days in Laramie, while less than a month, have given me memories I will hold close to my heart for the rest of my life. What stuck out to me the most during my time on this trip has been the people and the land.
New experiences are incredible. What is more incredible is having those experiences with really cool people! I had the pleasure of attending this trip with 5 other wonderful women. Together, we learned, questioned, and took in everything we could. I look up to each of my peers on this trip, as they are bold, fun, and hard-working. Without their encouragement and openness to trying new things, I would have maybe gotten half of what I did out of this experience. This serves as a brilliant reminder to me: everywhere you go, talk to people, learn from them, always be open to having fun. Take the pictures, then put the phone down, and be wherever you are.
The other part of this trip that has changed who I am was the land. Having only lived in New Jersey and Pittsburgh, the vastness of the Wyoming land and the wonder of the mountains put a lot into perspective for me. If I could bottle the feeling of being in the plains, or besides Snowy Mountain Range, I would carry it with me wherever I went. We are so small, and there is so much more to explore in this world. Seeing the Milky Way with my bare eye has to be one of the coolest things I have ever experienced. I predict that if I had to order the best events of my life it would go something like: 1.) Seeing the Milky Way in Wyoming when I was 19, 2.) My wedding day. What a fantastic and strange feeling to see the stars in all their glory. Between the stars and the land, I am reminded to take in every feeling and try every new experience. We are so tiny and only here for a short time. The land also reminds me what I am dedicating my life towards and why. As an environmental studies student, I can see so clearly that there is a lot to protect, and a whole lot of work to be done to protect it.
I am incredibly grateful for my time spent in Wyoming and the people I have spent it with. The past few weeks have changed the way I see things and opened my eyes to a whole lot more.
