A Hike In The Woods

For the past two summers I've had the amazing opportunity to go adventure Glacier National Park. Can you believe this view is only a short 6 hour drive away from Bozeman? This photo almost didn't happen. Why? Because I was too scared to go hiking in the bear infested woods. After hearing story after story of how someone would surprise a bear with her cubs it did not sound fun at all. I was terrified when the idea was suggested. However, bear spray in hand and survival instincts driving my adrenaline, I went on this 2 mile hike. 

When I finally turned the corner and saw what lie ahead my jaw dropped. Look at the return I had just received in doing something I was not comfortable with at all! I enjoyed the most rewarding ham and cheese sandwich and snapped some of my best photography.

This story reminded me of how it felt being introduced to the ZMET  technique. (This technique is patented, so we did a variation) The process sounded really interesting at first. We were asked to collect a series of photos that related to life after graduating college from magazines. Simple enough. However, after collecting the pictures we were asked to describe what the represented to us. It gets emotionally deep very quickly. I went from a picture of a someone climbing stairs symbolizing " entry level" to Drake's " Started From The Bottom Now We Here" all due to having to describe sounds- with a little bit of humor. I was amazed when I received the nod of approval from not only my peers, but professor as well. 

That moment defined to me that A) it is okay to not make sense sometimes and B) understanding someone's notions tied to an image, product, celebration, and anything, is incredibly difficult to understand and beautiful. 

Dang Daum- Irrationally rational

When I was little, I was obsessed with movies. From a young age I made a deep connection with the characters no matter the part. One movie in particular stood out to me at the tender age of 12. That was The Devil Wears Prada. To watch a movie were a women was this power house boss who's breathe was law was inspiring and motivating to me. I wanted to be both Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. I by no means wanted to go into the fashion industry. I wanted to move to New York City to become a broker. Growing up when someone asked me what I wanted to be I would reply " a New Yorker".

The time came to apply for university's, my life path changed directions and now I am attending Montana State University. When I first started college I hadn't lost sight on my goal of moving to the city that never sleeps in pursuit of a job. However, every semester I grew more and more attached to the Bozeman area and Yellowstone National Park. Now I am going to continue life in the mountains for little while longer, but I still reminisce what my life could be like if I were to move. The biggest thing that has held me back is the expense of living.

Many of my friends have either moved to a big city, or moved and then moved back home due to expenses. The sole reason I decided to stay in-state for college was due to the outrageous out of state tuition fees and scholarship offers that wouldn't cover enough. Growing up I was taught to only have water at restaurants, not to ask for change for the gum ball machine, and to watch a movie at home. So from there I felt that my dream of moving to a big city was crushed.

Although now I realize that I can achieve anything I want, reading My Misspent Youth gave me the perspective of what I might have experienced moving to NYC. My Misspent Youth is about the author, Meghan Daum, and her life experiences of debt.

During class we were asked to write two papers, one about Daum and her actions of money being irrational, and the same but rational. We first started with being irrational, and I really digged in on Daum's financial choices. Daum acquired thousands of dollars in debt. Most being student loans, which isn't unheard of regardless of where you attend. And she faced a medical bill. However, it can be easy to read between the lines of her essay to detect little effort of her trying to leave the city.

 I thought the city was the cause for all of this debt. She had always had roommates, however, decided to live alone which wouldn't help her financial situation. When she was seeking sympathy about how much her rent was, the result was " that's cheaper than what we pay".

The tables turned when asked if her choices were rational. For me, all I saw was the dollar signs on everything throughout her essay. It was difficult for me to justify her situation that she had ended up in. What I ended up saying was how you can never put a price on experiences you have gained, especially during college. However, I came up short on what else to say.

We later had a class discussion and I felt really guilty on my thoughts about how Daum was irrational. Only a few hands rose when asked if she was rational. My classmates responses about the matter were really enlighting. Daum became famous for this essay on her financial troubles. And in her conclusion, she decided to move to Lincoln, Nebraska.

Some of the responses were that if she had not gone to Columbia for her masters, she would have never made connections for other jobs. In the beginning of her essay she made it clear that she wanted to live in NYC after running an errand for her dad when she was 17-years-old. Her story is an example of how experiences and dreams should never have a price tag on them. She was well aware of her financial situation and never let that sway her away from her dreams.

It is always easy to identify why someone is irrational with their choices. Being able to see past the problems, can help us understand why consumers make choices they do. Example being, I spend money on an annual pass for Yellowstone National Park. Being a college student, there are so many other things I can put this towards, and I can leave those ideas up to you.