64 Summer 2018 LOCALadk Magazine
LOCALadk
NOLS instructors often say it's not really about camping—
it's about so much more than that. A student from Queens
may never go camping again after her expedition, but she
will always remember what she learned about herself and
how she found her strength. This exposure to wilderness be-
comes part of our students: part of their confidence, judg-
ment, and sense of possibility.
This past summer, as a student was saying goodbye, he
came over to me. He shook my hand and gave me a hug.
"Thank you for believing in me," he said, with tears in his
eyes. When students talk about what they're going to take
away from their experience, their responses are rich with
feelings of accomplishment and gratitude: "I now know I can
accomplish things I wasn't sure I could. "I learned to appreci-
ate the small things in life that before I took for granted." "I
saw who I am as a person in a completely different environ-
ment and knowing myself has made me happy." I can see it,
too, in how they walk: they're slightly taller, more confident,
self-directed. The wilderness has changed them, humbled
them, emboldened them. They'll never be the same.
