Into the Woods

I was 10 when my Aunt first came to me to me and asked if I’d like to go camping with her and my uncle that summer. Although I was a country girl, and had an appreciation for the outdoors, I had never gone camping before. Sure, I had been to nature preserves and gone on walks, but never camp. But since liked the woods, going on nature walks and learning about local flora and fauna, I agreed to the proposition.

And so, one sunny Saturday morning, about a month later, my parents drove me up to World’s End State Park to stay the weekend with my aunt and uncle, who had moved into the cabin the day before. As we entered the park grounds, we drove past the local swimming hole, up past the ranger’s station, and down a twisting turning road that ran along the Loyalsock Creek.

When we finally got to cabin 1 where my aunt and uncle were staying, we unpacked the car, had dinner, and my parents drove off, leaving me in the capable hands of my aunt and uncle.

Now, I wasn't the most active child ever. In fact, I could often be found glued to the TV during the days. So when my aunt asked if I wanted to hike up to the ranger’s office to see if her ranger friend was there, I probably looked at her like she was growing antennas out of the top of her head. But nevertheless, about 5 minutes later I found myself hiking up to the station. (Which to be honest, really wasn’t that bad.)

Despite the fact that during that weekend I got hardly any sleep, got many various bug bites and quite a few bumps bruises and scratches too, I truly enjoyed camp. And I’ve gone back every year since. This wouldn’t seem like a big deal, until you find out that there is absolutely no cell phone service on any carrier within god-only-knows-how-many miles. No TV. No internet. No cell phone. And I still love it.

Eventually my parents decided to give this camping thing a try. But they made one crucial mistake one year. They brought a hammock. My days that week consisted of waking up, eating breakfast, hammock and a book, lunch, hammock and a book, dinner, hammock and a book, bed. I wasn't very social that year, but I still loved it.

Camping has truly showed me that we don’t really need all of this technology to be happy. Happiness is found in the little things, like crushing red creek rocks into powder, adding water, and then using it as paint all over your sister. Or maybe a hike into the woods, or climbing on rocks in the middle of a creek like a monkey. Maybe it could be found around a campfire with friends, where everyone goes home smelling of smoke, but with marshmallow and smiles smeared across their faces.

I think that everyone should take some time, even if it’s just for a day, and turn off your electronic devices, get outside and do something. Too often do we forget to slow down, look around, and appreciate what is around us; our friends, our family, and the beauty of our world. So while on the path that is life, if you get the chance to take a second, slow down, and smell the proverbial roses, I highly suggest it. And who knows what fun adventures it could lead to. 

Roots

This entry, if you couldn't tell, is about roots. Metaphorical roots that is. Everyone has them. “Roots” are what keep or connect us to a place. Just over two months ago, I “uprooted” myself from my childhood hometown, my close friends and relatives. 

My entire life had been spent in a small town central PA called Danville, which is most famous for the home Geisinger Medical Center (a hospital so big that it literally has its own ZIP code). Other than that, Danville Pa is just pretty much just another town, simply one of the many tiny freckles on the map of Pennsylvania.

However small my hometown is, I love it dearly. After all, it is my hometown, the place where I began. I was born there. I went to preschool, Kindergarten, and first through twelfth grade there. It was the place that started me on my journey, which has lead me to where I am now.

Back when I was about two, and still growing my vocabulary, I made a slip of the tongue that would forever change my life. While watching my parents do yard work outside of our house and being a normal two year old, I stumbled upon a little black snake. I was so excited about my find that I went to grab my mother to show her what I had discovered.

“Mommy, mommy!” I said pulling her over to the spot where I had seen the serpent. “Look! Worm!”

My mother, realizing of course that this was not a worm and being a mother yelled “No! SNAKE!” scooped me up and brought me back into the house.

My mom is a therapist. I realizing that what she had just done could possibly scar her young child for life started taking me to a local reptile zoo about 30 minutes from our house.

That was over 16 years ago. To this day I still go back there on a regular basis, but not as a guest. I intern there, and get to work with some of the nonvenomous animals. Volunteering there helped me to realize that I want to be a zoo keeper. That is how I ended up here in Huntingdon.

So two months ago, my parents, my sister and I packed all of my things into our two cars and made the 2 ½ hour trip from Danville to Huntingdon. Since I got here, I've had to start the process of planting my roots here. I've made some pretty awesome friends who are some of the funniest people I've ever met and always keep me on my toes and never fail to make me smile. I've planted some roots in the local synagogue and Jewish community. And of course, I've planted roots as a Juniata student. I've been woken up at the ungodly hour of 4 am to horns announcing Mountain Day. I've watched my classmates storm the arch. I've been to Standing Stone, the Cliffs, and survived eating predominately at Baker. Since I've been here, I've even already changed my POE from Biology/ Zoology to Environmental Sciences/Wildlife.  

All in all, I’m more than happy to set down roots here in Huntingdon Pa. Over the next four years, these roots will cause me to grow and change in ways that not I can even predict. Just as transplanting a plant to a bigger pot can help it flourish, I hope that being here will have the same effect on me.