Is it really August?
July seemed to fly by really quickly for me, probably because for the last two weeks I was super busy and doing a training for a Wilderness job.
Its been a while since I updated my blog to tell you guys(who ever reads this blog which isn't too many people) about my life recently. There have definitely been ups and downs this last month.
I uprooted myself from RVA and Chapel Hill which are two places I grew really comfortable with to move to Provo, Utah which is a very different place from my two homes in a lot of ways. July was a hard transition for me but it needed to happen and now that the first month is over I'm much more adjusted to living here. There were multiple factors as to why the first month was hard, first of all moving is always just a little hard, although Provo and Utah are very familiar to me I didn't really have any friends here that I talk to on a daily basis/ I don't have anyone to hangout with(UNTIL BYU STARTS THIS MONTH!) But moving somewhere is hard when you don't have people to hangout with who are your own age. It was also hard because I didn't know if I would get the job that I moved out west to get, and thats where the best part of the story starts!
So if you have been following my blog for a while, you most likely know what Wilderness is. If you don't know what Wilderness is a place for troubled teens to find themselves and fix their problems. "There is no better place than in nature to heal, grow and learn. Combined with a community of peers, led by professional guides, therapists, and doctors, our students' immersion in the wilderness makes for an extraordinary setting in which to gain insight into one’s past, learn about oneself, and find hope and motivation for one’s future." A lot of people don't really know what wilderness is, or they are skeptical or think that its one of those crazy places parents send their kids to "rewire" them and somewhere were they get mistreated/abused to conform to a certain way of life. Thats NOT what wilderness therapy is. It is a place of healing and growth and treatment with no outside distractions, great staff, great therapists and a lot of hiking.
I've wanted to be a part of a wilderness program as a Staff for a long time now, I want to give back to the community that helped me overcome my challenges when I was younger. I wasn't actually sure if it was even possible to get this job, which technically you are supposed to be 21 in all of the Wilderness programs that I looked into. But the stars aligned and RCA (Red Cliff Ascent) invited me to training.
I was so excited to be offered training! I was expecting them to just say, oh sorry you are too young to work here, like the other two wilderness programs told me previously. RCA told me that they make exceptions to the age rule, and since I already had previous experience in wilderness I was a good candidate. So training started July 24th and I arrived a day early on the 23rd to sleep in the area the night before since training was at 10am the next morning. I decided to sleep at base since it was free and I didn't feel like spending money on a hotel in Cedar City, so that day I got to meet some of the staff that had just come off of their 7 days shift and sit in on a meeting and talk to all of them which was really cool. I was nervous but also super excited for the training to begin.
So training is 9 days, 7 of those days are out in the field(which means the middle of no where). It was the first 7 days that we spent out in the field. We were treated like a student for 5 of the 7 days in the field to get a feel and appreciation for what the students go through on a daily basis. Honestly I already knew what the students went through since it wasn't all that long ago that I myself was one of those students too. In a way being out there felt like home, it was such a peaceful and familiar feeling to me to be out in the Juniper and Sage covered lands of Utah, to be cooking rice and whatever else was in my food bag, and to smell how I smelled after not showering for a week again. In a way I liked the campfire, sweaty, dirt covered smell that I possessed, because I smelled exactly like all my wilderness gear did when I went to wilderness back in 2011. Everyday we journal ed before dinner and wrote a poem as part of fulfilling our role to be part time students for a week. The first day I wrote this,
Its been a while since I updated my blog to tell you guys(who ever reads this blog which isn't too many people) about my life recently. There have definitely been ups and downs this last month.
I uprooted myself from RVA and Chapel Hill which are two places I grew really comfortable with to move to Provo, Utah which is a very different place from my two homes in a lot of ways. July was a hard transition for me but it needed to happen and now that the first month is over I'm much more adjusted to living here. There were multiple factors as to why the first month was hard, first of all moving is always just a little hard, although Provo and Utah are very familiar to me I didn't really have any friends here that I talk to on a daily basis/ I don't have anyone to hangout with(UNTIL BYU STARTS THIS MONTH!) But moving somewhere is hard when you don't have people to hangout with who are your own age. It was also hard because I didn't know if I would get the job that I moved out west to get, and thats where the best part of the story starts!
So if you have been following my blog for a while, you most likely know what Wilderness is. If you don't know what Wilderness is a place for troubled teens to find themselves and fix their problems. "There is no better place than in nature to heal, grow and learn. Combined with a community of peers, led by professional guides, therapists, and doctors, our students' immersion in the wilderness makes for an extraordinary setting in which to gain insight into one’s past, learn about oneself, and find hope and motivation for one’s future." A lot of people don't really know what wilderness is, or they are skeptical or think that its one of those crazy places parents send their kids to "rewire" them and somewhere were they get mistreated/abused to conform to a certain way of life. Thats NOT what wilderness therapy is. It is a place of healing and growth and treatment with no outside distractions, great staff, great therapists and a lot of hiking.
I've wanted to be a part of a wilderness program as a Staff for a long time now, I want to give back to the community that helped me overcome my challenges when I was younger. I wasn't actually sure if it was even possible to get this job, which technically you are supposed to be 21 in all of the Wilderness programs that I looked into. But the stars aligned and RCA (Red Cliff Ascent) invited me to training.
I was so excited to be offered training! I was expecting them to just say, oh sorry you are too young to work here, like the other two wilderness programs told me previously. RCA told me that they make exceptions to the age rule, and since I already had previous experience in wilderness I was a good candidate. So training started July 24th and I arrived a day early on the 23rd to sleep in the area the night before since training was at 10am the next morning. I decided to sleep at base since it was free and I didn't feel like spending money on a hotel in Cedar City, so that day I got to meet some of the staff that had just come off of their 7 days shift and sit in on a meeting and talk to all of them which was really cool. I was nervous but also super excited for the training to begin.
So training is 9 days, 7 of those days are out in the field(which means the middle of no where). It was the first 7 days that we spent out in the field. We were treated like a student for 5 of the 7 days in the field to get a feel and appreciation for what the students go through on a daily basis. Honestly I already knew what the students went through since it wasn't all that long ago that I myself was one of those students too. In a way being out there felt like home, it was such a peaceful and familiar feeling to me to be out in the Juniper and Sage covered lands of Utah, to be cooking rice and whatever else was in my food bag, and to smell how I smelled after not showering for a week again. In a way I liked the campfire, sweaty, dirt covered smell that I possessed, because I smelled exactly like all my wilderness gear did when I went to wilderness back in 2011. Everyday we journal ed before dinner and wrote a poem as part of fulfilling our role to be part time students for a week. The first day I wrote this,
Out in the Desert,
There is peace and quite.
Where we hike for miles
and make spindles out of sage to light fires.
Out here is my home away from the world.
Where my soul is free
and my mind is at ease.
The sunsets light up the sky with vibrant colors,
and the stars are magnificent and brighter then ever before.
As the wind blows softly against my skin,
I smile and breath in that familiar smell,
and I think to myself of my past, present and future.
Out here there is beauty,
beyond any other that I have ever known.
Because its not just the beauty of the earth,
its the beauty of our souls being set free.
Out here we find ourselves,
we discover the light within us,
we become more then we ever thought was possible.
There is something special about the wilderness,
something no one knows until they experience it
something I can not tell you in words,
something you have to live yourself
Out here in the wilderness.
During the last 2 days of training we were treated like staff instead of like students, and could go to the bathroom(Water a bush as it called out here) without calling our number and we could eat what ever we wanted instead of the required amount of rice. Then on the last day before we left we got sent off to hangout with different groups for 24 hours. I was taken to be with the Antelope group, and it was a lot of fun to interact with the students and hear their stories. That last day confirmed that this is what I want to be doing with my life for the next 6 months because I know I can be a good staff and I will be a positive influence in these kids lives. I know what they are going through more then they know(I won't be telling any of them that I went to wilderness) because they don't need to know, I am there to show them the way, and be a light of hope and trust and respect.
So after the last day out in the field we took a 90 question test, did a GPS/map test/compass test, and had an interview where the guy told us whether or not we got the job and so on! AND I GOT THE JOB!!! The next two days we did PCS training which as a lot of fun, and now I am waiting to have my first official shift which will be on the 13th of August!!
Since I have 8 days until I start my first shift I am planning on visiting Montana!! Which will be amazing since I haven't been back to MT since I graduated high-school there! I must say life is pretty dang fantastic right now!
with love,
Arianna
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