I applied and got accepted into The Highlights Foundation Nature Writing workshop! It was a pretty simple application; you had to include a writing sample, an essay about what attendence would mean to you, and a resume/bio. Plus a short info form. I put it all together, and sent it off, and then, as with all writing things, waited. And waited. And just last night I got an email confirmation that they accepted me! And approved me for a partial scholarship as well!
So, to take an easy out today, I thought I'd publish the essay I wrote for the application re: what going to this workshop would mean to me. Read on dear friends....
To walk the entire Appalachian Trail takes up to six months and crosses 2180 miles of America’s mountains. The journey is a lengthy one. One that when I was 23, I decided I would accomplish. In my planning, I learned that to get to the starting point I would have to find my way into the Georgia mountains, get dropped off at a state park nowhere near the AT, and traverse a strenuous eight mile approach trail.
The Appalachian Trail officially begins atop Springer Mountain, it is there that you can start counting the miles you have walked towards Katahdin, Maine. The eight miles before that are superfluous, extra, non-existent in terms of mileage count. Yet the day I walked the approach trail was a day I will never forget. It was a day my feet grew into my boots, my body learned the power of tall mountains, and my heart spun like a compass to find north. A day of such growth that I could not imagine it “did not count.” It was a day I realized that all things have a beginning, but sometimes even the beginnings are really damn hard to get to.
I have been journaling, writing stories, and blogging for years. Finally, 4 months ago, with my son starting Kindergarten, I decided I would accomplish a new feat, becoming a published writer. But not unlike getting to the beginning of the Appalachian Trail, in learning about this field, I realized that access to a writing career is often harder than the journey itself. The approach can feel difficult and endless. And the challenges can seem superfluous or pointless. Being able to go to the Highlights Foundation nature writing workshop would mean that these recent months of focused practicing, growing into myself as a writer, exploring my abilities, and expanding my connections with other writers had brought me to somewhere I wanted to be. The beginning.
I was elated to finish the approach trail and reach the summit of Springer on that day almost thirteen years ago. I promptly walked an official .2 AT miles to the first shelter for a rest. I didn’t know what the long trail ahead would bring, but I knew I had made it already. Taking the first step is usually half the battle. I would be excited to attend this workshop because for me it would mean I had accomplished another approach. It would mean that after all this writing, I had arrived at the beginning.
2 comments:
First, Congratulations on getting accepted! That is just awesome.
Second, I really liked your essay.
Congrats! Great essay - I hope you and the boy feel better soon!!!!
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