I sit on the porch of my Miami home thinking about how the last couple months of my life have changed who I am. I am simply sitting, thinking, and writing. I close my eyes and I can hear the cars driving by and my Hispanic neighbors talking to each other as if they were a mile apart. I am sitting in a weird sitting contraption called a Crazy Creek, in my favorite pair of shorteralls (short overalls) thinking about how different my life was a couple weeks ago. You see, a couple weeks ago I was in the uniquely beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina completing my semester at the Outdoor Academy.
I have always been what you would consider an average American teenager; I went to school, got good grades, drove my parents crazy, and did everything a teenager is supposed to do. I can't really explain why I decided to go to this strange school I had barely heard anything about, but the fact is I did, and that decision very well changed my life.
The Outdoor Academy is one out of eight semester schools located in the United States. I spent approximately four months living in very close quarters with twenty-six other students from all over the United States as we tried to build a community while developing a relationship with nature. Since I have been home from my semester at The Outdoor Academy I have been asked countless times how I liked my, "time in the mountains." I always simply answer," It was great. I learned a lot." I've been slightly criticized for such a simple answer but even though my responses are always short they are undeniably honest.
What I learned at my semester at The Outdoor Academy cannot be learned through any textbook or any amount of hours in the classroom. What I learned was the result of a variety of extremely unique experiences that opened my eyes to a new way of life. For the first time in my life I carried everything I needed to survive on my back and went backpacking, I picked up a paddle and went white water canoeing, and I strapped myself in a harness and went rock-climbing. And yes, there were times I was uncomfortable, scared, and even unhappy but what I gained from these experiences was much more than I could ever ask for. I learned about a way of life in which relationships with nature are revered and cherished; where people don't just live their lives, they live them with intention and purpose; where independence is expected just as much as camaraderie. In this unique place I learned the true meaning of friendship and community.
By: Ana Sophia Mifsud, Outdoor Academy Alumni, MAST Academy Student
