I have been with the club for a while, and even though I don't go on every single hike anymore, it's still an important part of my life.
I started hiking because I wanted to get closer to Diana and to make some friends. Her responses in my class journal made me feel like I finally met someone who understood me, and genuinely took me seriously. She cared, and I needed that. My mom and I weren't exactly seeing eye to eye, and being new to the country and to the school wasn't helping the matters either. Diana gave me the family I was lacking at home through the Hiking Club and the Acting Studio. She exposed me to the parts of this country I never imagined existed, and made me prove to myself that anything could happen if I wanted it badly enough.
Hiking became a series escapes, social events, and beautiful journeys to the seemingly surreal parts of this world. But it didn't stop there. It taught me to value moments of solitude and silence, to use them to think and reflect.The most romantic moments of my life have, so far, been connected with parks, creeks, islands, mountains, sunsets and beaches.
Things change. I'm not able to jump at every offer and pack for an overnight at a moment's notice, like I used to. But that's a good sign. It means that my interests, options and responsibilities are expanding. It means that my need to escape into fairy-tale land is decreasing, because my reality is looking pretty good right now, even though I'm still trying to figure out my place in this world. It doesn't mean, however, that I'm going to stop hiking or that I don't need the family I acquired anymore. We have all changed over the past years; we have gone down our separate paths, but on those rare occasions when we get together and remember the good old days - we are a family again. I hope we have a chance to make new memories, together with some new members, and to keep that special connection that we share.