We are in Patagonia right now
there's this quality to it, of that land of fire and ice
this last frontier feeling.
It's been very humbling to stand in such greatness, and such beauty,
and such grandeur and feel very insignificant and yet very part of all of it
We're probably in one of the most beautiful places i've ever been in my life
every corner I turn, it's like
the next most beautiful place I've ever been.
In terms of skills, I didn't know anything about sea kayaking before this
and i came in and was thinking yesterday on the water that I could go lead my own
expedition after this. I would know everything that needs to go into it in terms of safety
and technical skills that go along with it and i think i could teach other people
like my friends, my family how to sea kayak, which is great.
I think the most important thing I've learned is the confidence in being a leader.
I thought I knew a lot about leadership,
I thought I knew a lot about self management and self leadership
but then I came here and I realized that it's not only about yourself
you have to be a good peer leader, you have to work well with others. And that's something before
I didn't really consider much of, and here if you're not a good peer leader
the groups not going to work well as a whole.
It really taught me about
peer leadership and peer following.
To be a good follower is to be a good leader.
i think that we learned so much more and gain so much more wisdom
and knowledge from exposure to experiences that we could never have in a classroom
and there's so much more gain from standing in places like this then there is from only
sitting in a classroom.
You have more possibilities to to get something.
You can touch it, you can smell it, you can feel it
and in the classroom, you are sitting there and you are listening to the teacher.
He can be passionate and everything
but it isn't the same. Here you have different ways to learn something.
I've probably learned more in the last 5 months here
than i've learned in many years of standard education back home.
It's really pushed me out of my comfort zone
to try new things and to
see what I'm capable of
you don't really know what you're capable of until you're pushed to your limits.
a lot of things push you to your limits
Definitely the weather, your environment
depending on the terrain that your in, or the activity you're doing
whether it's kayaking or climbing. If it's something you haven't done before, you're definitely going to be challenged.
This educational system
gives you so much more freedom. In college
you have a curriculum, you have everything set. The difference is NOLS gives you the tools
they teach you how to do everything
and then the next day you're expected to go out and do it yourself.
My experience here has been awesome. There has been
so many great people that I've met, Instructors and students.
The curriculum is really solid.
It's a life changing experience. In an incredible part of the world.
If you're thinking about it, you should probably do it.
but there's an awesome power of the land that were in and if you haven't experienced
that ever, you've got to do it.
Prepare to be a new person when you get back.