Last week was the first of many new things in my life.
It was the first week of a new year.
It was the first time I wore a t-shirt in support of a college football team (RTR, amiright?) and called the Hogs in a public place (Woo Pig, y'all).
It was the first time I was in a car for almost 1,500 miles (and 22 hours) in one day.
It was the first time I decided (and completely under my own power, might I add) to attach two boards to my feet and then proceed to launch myself down a mountain.
And it was the first time I did all of those things with some very good friends.
I've been to Colorado before but in it was almost five years ago when I was a junior in high school — a lot has changed. I guess I just look around to actually see what I'm looking at when I'm traveling now, if that makes any sense at all. I think what I'm trying to say is perfectly said in this meticulously researched and formulated Pinterest quote:
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things”
I am by no means an expert on English analysis, but this is what my friend Henry is telling me. Our goal should never be to simply arrive complacently in a place, but to see where we are and be changed by it in some way.
For me, the last time I was in Colorado I looked up and saw some big piles of rocks, for a lack of a better term. I was young and dumb (or at least younger and dumber than I am now) and just wanted to quickly get from point A to B.
This most recent visit to Colorado, however, mesmerized me. I was completely and utterly caught up in the mountains. Enraptured you might say. They left me speechless by their grandeur. They humbled me and showed me just how big (and amazing) this world really is and just how small I am in comparison.
It's hard for me to put into words but there's just something about being completely surrounded by mountains that never seem to grow smaller, no matter how far away you move from them.
Here are some of the photos I took on my trip. All of the photos were taken on my iPhone 5s. Because I didn't want to take a camera that I might fall on and destroy,
Though I fell down probably upwards of about sixty times across three separate mountains (I dare someone to beat that feat), I had the most amazing time with some of my very best friends.
Any amount of falls, bruises, face plants and cold limbs is worth it to be with those I love.
