How I came to Colorado with a friend to represent Canada at an environmental youth summit is a rather long story featuring a famous anthropologist. Suffice it to say that it was the opportunity of a lifetime, one I had been told I would have to miss because there was no way I could come up with the necessary funds for the flight in the time I had. Readers of this blog should know by now that the best way to get me to do something is to tell me I can’t. 🙂

This trip happened the fall after I finished high school; I was seventeen. I squirreled away the prize monies I’d won upon graduation, including the $300 award for creative writing that I had no doubt would be mine, and worked all summer. It had been a very difficult September and this trip couldn’t have come at a better time. It was to be the first major life-changing trip of my life.

the Farmer’s Union outside of Bailey, where we spent the first half of our Colorado adventure (http://nfu.org/about/education/education-center)

The five day adventure featured many challenges to surmount, one of which was standing before a crowd of thirty, including my hero, and talking about my accomplishments in the environmental field.

I was so scared; others had surely done bigger and greater things than I had. My accomplishments would seem insignificant when compared to that of the others. Surely, I had nothing to teach and I would be ridiculed for thinking that I had made any difference at all. To my surprise, the response to my speech was positive and I saw my hero glow with pride. She made it clear to me that I had something to give to the world and that I could be an inspiration.

Windy Peak outdoor school, a day’s hike from the Farmer’s Union, where we spent the second half of our trip

Had that moment fallen flat, I might never have had the courage or self-assurance to blog about my life on the road, much less to publish my ebook Sorting It Out.