So exactly one year ago, roughly this time of day, I stood on top of Mt. Katahdin after finishing my 2174 mile thru-hike. I have spent a lot of this morning looking back and asking myself whether or not (now one year later) I am happy with where I have ended up. So much has changed from the life I had years ago, and I have taken a lot of risks. It is sometimes hard to confidently say that I made the right decisions...but when I think of the alternative had I not taken any risks, I know that I chose wisely. I think overall it has been a great year. I have enjoyed my first year of graduate school (although math modeling was a royal pain), and I even got to do some work at the Ice Core Lab in Denver. If everything pans out, I'll get to make my way to Antarctica this December! All in all, I find that I'm surrounded by good people, and a good atmosphere. The decision to go out and walk over 2000 miles now seems like a completely crazy and/or idiotic thing to do....but I know that last year it was a necessary thing for me to do, to get to where I am now. It is not in the Fegy blood to take risks and to "live for the moment". Even though I was raised to "plan for the future" and think cautiously, I have come to realize that a part of me is meant to "roam" and be that risk taker.
Hopefully the years will only get better, and I will always embrace that "carpe diem" side of myself so that I'll have many more adventures.
Whenever I doubt the decisions that I have made to get here, I will always think of the quote from a good friend and fellow hiker,
"I cannot imagine having the gift of mobility, five senses, and awareness in this amazing universe and simply sitting in a cubicle whiling away the precious hours until the moment when that gift is irrevocably revoked."
-j
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