This is the Life

Today I woke up a little sore from our climb yesterday. The soreness felt good though because it meant I worked my muscles.

For most of the day I read and studied for my courses. For my break, I decided to go for my run. On my run I ran up this huge hill to the start of some trail heads. At first the uphill running felt fine, but I soon became out of breath. Fargo is flat so of course I’m not used to running with hills.

After conquering the hill I reached the trail heads. This is where Olga, Callie, and I went mushroom hunting so I thought it would be a good place to run. The trails were absolutely gorgeous. From the main trail there were mini trails that I followed.

The trails are for the most part in the middle of the island and follow the shores of a couple lakes. On the first lake I came across, there was a group of people standing by the shore and on the docks. They were watching the people in the water who were learning how to canoe. This reminded me of when I first learned how to canoe, expect my first time involved someone yelling at me to get to shore while waves were hitting the canoe. I have definitely improved since then and now I love canoeing in the BWCA.

People learning how to canoe on the lake

On my run I loved the opportunity to explore the wilderness. At one point I stopped at a section that overlooked the second lake. I carefully walked down the slope to the edge of the water. At the edge I sat on a rock and just started thinking about everything I had experienced and was going to experience. It was at this moment that I realized this is the life. This was the life, I felt carefree and young and wild. I was surrounded by nature and the only thing that mattered was the present moment.

During the school year back home I often become too caught up with school and work that I forget to set aside time for me to reflect. Thinking about this while sitting on the rock motivated me to take more time for me. It also reminded me that I am young and I have so much to explore and do in this lifetime.



Gorgeous view of one of the lakes on the island



 My run through the woods opened my eyes to everything around me. Norway is a gorgeous place, and I have fallen in love with the mountains and nearby shore. As much as I love North Dakota, for at least the immediate future I can see myself living in a place where I have easy access to the outdoors. Since I am pursuing graduate school after my bachelor’s, I am going to look at schools located by mountains. I want to live in a place where I can easily go hiking, mountain biking, swimming, camping, or just exploring for the day. I hope to find a school with a great program in epidemiology located in an area like this.