- Expedition: May 26-31, 2002
- Rivers
- Detroit Metropolitan Community Center, Atwater, and Owens Valley High School
- Mono Meadow
what is wilderness? are you in wilderness now?
the wilderness to me is freedom to live and survive on your own. the chance to get to see things you never thought you would see. it is also space and opportunity to open up your mind to let the bad things out and the good things in. right now, we're almost in wilderness, but i'm still not my own man. people are still trying to tell me what to do and how to do it. i just wish it was me and other campers who are just like me trying to be free. not having to worry about a problem in the world. even though i'm without my parents it's still like home, i guess. people sometimes should just loosen up and let me breathe. or else this isn't the wilderness. but i need a change. they say change is good for everyone. but i wonder: is that the tone for me? to always have to listen and follow directions...why can't they just let me be me?
Goals and Expectations
My goals are to push myself and my mental thinking as far as i can. to get to know my group better and [to] get to see wildlife that I never get to see in Detroit. Another goal is to change my attitude and personal opinion about myself after I get done hiking. My expectations are to see if I'm the strongest and most fit. To also see who decides to quit before I do. So I can push them on and be a helping friend and maybe get to say goodbye [to] a person that I probably will never see again but at the same time make them a friend for [life]. Another expectation is to impress my mother. She thinks I'm going to quit because I don't have any inner drive, but I'm going to prove her wrong again.
Water
Water is easy to write about because as you can see my name is Rivers. That is a great deal of water. I guess that's why I'm so big. Anyway, I love water. It makes you feel different and wild. No one is there guiding it and telling it what to do. I wish people would do the same for me. Water also sets me free. I love to put my head in it and see how long I can hold my breath. I guess by holding your breath you can lose track of time. That's okay with me because all I have is time. Time & opportunity. I just don't know what my opportunity is.