Its funny where you find yourself sometimes. Usually this thought comes out of nowhere and instantly puts you into that deep personal thought mode. Its one of those moments when you can feel absolutely apart from everyone and everything in the room. It makes you think about the course of events that got you there and how it ties into the rest of your life. It makes you go back and find out where that fork in the path was.
I had one of these moments today.
If you told me a year ago that I would be where I am today, I wouldn’t believe it for a second. But you would also be talking to a guy that was finishing up his senior year of art school, putting together his thesis show, writing his statement for the review panel and thinking of nothing but what it would feel like to have that diploma in his hand. My life was very different a year ago. The plan after graduation was to jump into the world of photography and be a photographers assistant in some hip studio in some big city making a name for myself, or maybe freelance for some small magazine until I got my big break with TIME. Nowhere did the thought of Montana or the Montana Conservation Corps ever cross my mind.
After graduation, nothing went to plan. No photographers needed any help and the magazines weren’t answering. I felt lost and without direction. To help pass the time, my mom suggested that I start volunteering. Before I knew it I was spending three days a week at a local food pantry. Even though I loved the work, I still didn’t feel satisfied with it, I felt like I was in the same ol’ drag. Maybe it was that I felt trapped by still being at home, or maybe because it wasn’t challenging enough. That was when I found the MCC.
One night while searching for job postings online, I decided to check out the Americorps website to see what they had. It only took a few minutes until I found a posting for a Crew Leader for the Montana Conservation Corps. I read up on it and decided to send in the application. After a phone interview and about a month of waiting for a response, I got a call telling me that I got the job.
So when I found myself today in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness on the Lake Fork Trail in south central Montana, I thought about how much things have changed and how different my life has become. I thought about how I would of never of pictured myself here year ago. I thought about how far apart sharpening a Pulaski is from processing RAW files are(nerdy photo reference). I thought about how much better a summer in Rockies is than working a menial job anywhere else. I thought about the 2300 mile drive from Auburn, New Hampshire to Billings, Montana. I thought about different my life has become and how much better it has become. And I also thought about how great the view is right in front of me.
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