I am a dynamic figure often seen climbing glaciers and hiking mountains. I am a courageous man kayaking the Pacific Ocean. I am a soldier for nature pitching perfect tents and cooking delectable meals on a portable 10-inch stove. I trek through snow carrying the weight of a young child on my back wearing nothing more than shorts and a t-shirt. I fish for fresh Alaskan salmon, and I am always successful. I cherish natural beauty, and I gaze into the moon. I am a naturalist. I conquer mountains like a kid conquers video games. Yet I am somehow nothing more than a typical teenager from Commerce Township, Michigan.

I arrived at the bus stop bright and early in the morning. My awkwardness was visually introduced to 31 people, most of them I had never met. I had signed up to go on a 46-day teen travel trip to Alaska. The trip was through Tamarack Camps, a Jewish summer camp organization that I had been attending for eight summers. I had signed up with my two best friends, Andy and Matt, and while I knew a few other kids, I was basically thrown onto a bus with 29 strangers. As I walked onto the spacious Blue Lakes charter bus, I felt anxious and worried for what the trip had in store for me. In reality, the first steps I took onto that bus were the first steps of an unforgettable, life-changing journey. Those steps were the first steps of my new life. Continue Reading