The story of how I got here...

Ok everybody, so Autumn wants to know the story behind each of us finding our way to a future in environmental studies or sustainability or whatever you want to call it. For the first post of this blog, I will describe the way that I was called to environmental service.

When I was a kid, I was in gymnastics. Thats seriously all I did. I was absolutely obsessed, to the point that I was known only as "the gymnast". When my gymnastics career was over at 16, I had a serious identity crisis. I had no idea where I fit into the world anymore. I graduated highschool and on my family vacation out in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, I saw something that shook me to the core. We were driving through the mountains in between Calgary and Canmore, when I saw a huge LaFarge plant on the banks of a lake. I could see the reflections of the trees and the mountains in the lake, with this ugly grey building with huge smokestacks in the way. For some reason, it really hit me hard at that moment. It was as though the fog was finally lifted and from then on, my path slowly evolved toward environmental studies (which I didn't know existed at the time). Although it wasn't a huge moment, it was defining. I've had many more incredible experiences in nature and dealing with environmental and social justice issues, but that was my first, and the first is always special. I hope that satisfies you Aut...