Life In...

One of the aspects I most enjoy about college is all the opportunities for self-growth.  Whether it be through challenging classes, experiences on sports teams, lessons learned from peers or housemates, outdoor adventures, or pure self-reflection.  I think this time in our lives is full of tests to help us determine who we are.  It is important to be challenged and persevere to see who we are and realize how we have changed once challenge spits us out.  We must struggle in order to weed out the false ideas we might have about ourselves and confirm the true aspects of our person.  

My most current bout with challenge has been a test of my positivity and ability to remain optimistic.  It is so easy to feel sorry for ourselves and let our problems get the most of us.  But we must not live passively, we have to face our challenges and ask why.  Everything happens for a reason, it is just a matter of finding that reason and learning from it.  The most important lesson I have learned is that attitude is a choice and realizing the power of a positive attitude.  Having an optimistic view of both current situations and the future seems to be the only way to achieve happiness throughout difficult times.

Went on a sweet mountain bike ride today!  I have been wanting to get into mountain biking for a long time, but have been rather fearful of the whole situation.  I took my sweet little Specialized Stump Jumper out for a short spin on Sunday and was immediately hooked.  So, got some friends together and went for a longer more involved ride today.  Santa Cruz is an incredible place to mountain bike, it is so beautiful!  I have been kind of against the sport because I've seen a lot of people drive to their trailheads to go for rides and that has always just seemed silly to me.  In Santa Cruz you are surrounded by trails and never have to get in the car to find a sweet route.  There are tons of fire roads that are nice for learning and then a lot of single track through the beautiful redwoods.  I am of course starting out rather cautious, but it is really fun and reminds me a lot of snowboarding off trail.  It is the same constant state of focus and maneuvering at high speeds.  Basically going as fast as you can but still be in control enough to not run into anything or just eat it.  Thus, the constant adrenaline rush.  

Sometimes in college I feel completely overwhelmed with the problems in the world.  Whether it be history, environment, psychology, or social classes it seems impossible to grasp the damage we have done to each other, and our planet.  And, it seems we are being educated in hopes of improving some of these situations.  As we are known for speaking our minds and refusing to conform to society, UCSC students are making a strong stand against the Long Range Development Plan.  The UCSC campus is already huge, but there is a lot of beautiful, untouched property above our campus that the regents are dying to develop.  Us tree-huggers are quite opposed to that idea.  First of all, the majority of our student body enjoys attending one of the smaller UC's so the ideas of building colleges 11, 12, and 13 is absolutely horrifying.  Plus, the property in upper-campus is a very valuable space to runners, bikers, walkers, nature-lovers, as well as a very wonderful resource for environmental and botanical studies.  Not to mention our connection to the meadows for drum circles and a few of our favorite trees; tree nine and the wishing tree.  We want to stay UCSC, not turn into UCLA.  We like to be surrounded by trees, not buildings.  In an effort to show this, there have been students camped up in a few of the redwoods.  Three or four were harnessed in, wearing masks, and refusing to come down.  Of course the police had to get involved and things did get a little violent last week, but that has calmed down.  Students are still camped out and hanging out around the trees at Science Hill at all times.  I admire their commitment and devotion to the cause.  Sometimes I fear how small our voices are as college students or young adults.  But, I am encouraged by how many of my peers are willing to stand up and speak out for our environment.  I hope that population grows and expands so that our generation can have a positive impact on our planet during our time here.

Four of my friends and I took advantage of the long weekend to take a trip on our bikes to Monterey. We headed south on the Pacific Coast Bike Route for about fifty miles on Saturday through strawberry fields and along the beautiful coast. Stormy rain clouds chased us the whole day, but made for nice riding weather and a gorgeous sky. The rain finally caught us right as it was getting dark and right as we were getting into Monterey. We stayed with some wonderful friends who were incredibly hospitable! They fed us amazing food and set us up with beds to sleep in as well as great stories. We woke up late on Sunday to clear sunny skies! We followed the bike path down by the wharf and out to Lover's Point...the Monterey Bay is so mind-boggling! We headed back north into a bit more wind, but rode together and took turns pulling while others enjoyed the draft created by the group. We made it back to Santa Cruz just a little after dark, exhausted but in very high spirits feeling proud of ourselves and bonded together through the experience we shared. We concluded the trip with delicious burritos that were well earned and very satisfying.

I have found a new favorite hang out spot in Santa Cruz.  Seabright is a part of Santa Cruz that has its own chill, beach-side feel to it and has quite a bit to offer.  I never really ventured over there last year because it is a bit further from campus than I was willing to wander as freshman.  But, a lot of my friends live in the neighborhood this year and I keep finding myself really enjoying times in the Seabright area.  The rock climbing gym is there, the best bread store in town is there, and the famous Seabright brewery.  Friday nights are in my opinion the most fun at the brewery.  There is a live band every week and a rather eclectic crowd filling the dance floor.  Most of the college students sit outside on the patio enjoying a variety of delicious beers brewed locally.  You don't have to be 21 do get in so there are always young kids running around the dance floor, little girls dancing with their dads.  Tonight we saw a whole family grooving to the band and dancing.  Then, there are the older couples who are just an endless source of live entertainment.  It is always so encouraging and wonderful for me to see older couples so excited about life and so in love with their partners and with their lives.  Often, some of the homeless dudes wander in to show their moves and groove to a few beats.  There are always a few complete lone rangers just dancing the night away and completely content with their state of mind and solitary state of being.  There are the regulars you see every friday, relief for the end of the week and excitement for the weekend written all over their faces.  There are the new-comers, sometimes awkwardly trying to find their place in such a diverse setting.  And lots of good beer!  Overall, the energy is very upbeat, positive, open, and loving.  I hope to spend many more hours dancing to live music at Seabright Brewery throughout the course of my time in Santa Cruz. 

So, I finally tried surf kayaking today!  And it was a success! Trying new things always brings up so many interesting thoughts for me.  Where is it that we find confidence to tackle new challenges? Is it from the support of our peers, or the knowledge of our abilities and natural talents?  Or is it just pure determination that pushes us to jump out of our comfort zone and into a new environment and possibly danger?  Standing on the beach in my wetsuit, orange life-jacket, yellow helmet that didn't really fit, a paddle heavy and foreign in one hand and a sea-bearing craft they call a kayak in the other hand I saw the ocean through totally different eyes.  How am I going to get out there?  And how am I possibly going to surf this thing?  I was scared.  And then frustrated for myself for being scared.  Surf kayaking is something that I have been wanting to try for so long and yet I felt so eager to just back out and grab my surfboard instead.  On my surfboard I would feel confident and comfortable.  Strapped into this kayak I was in a totally new place.  I knew I would feel good about myself and my abilities on a surfboard, but I had no idea what the emotional results of trying to surf kayak would be.  We so often fall back on what we know we are good at to avoid the risk of failure or defeat.  But, that is the excitement and importance of trying new things.  The challenge of attempting new things or exiting our comfort zones are true tests of one's self.  The more I do it, the less I fear failure and simultaneously gain an understanding that it is okay to fail sometimes.  Although trying something new and failing can be a rather large emotional let-down and a slash to the ego, it is so much better to try something and not succeed then to have never even given yourself a chance.  Leaving the beach I felt very proud of myself.  Interestingly enough,  it is not even the awesome rides I got that make me feel the most glorious, it is the fact that I made the initial decision to paddle out into my fears that make me feel like I succeeded.