By Delaney Collins
The fulfillment one receives from being in the outdoor world is a feeling that only a select few can understand. Especially today, in our technocentric society, most humans choose to find happiness and fulfillment within a closed four-wall space, shortening their mental attentiveness on blue light radiant screens. However, those who would choose to surround themselves in the natural greenery of Appalachia, were the people who stood by my side for a week straight in one of Roanoke College’s pre-semester programs, “Journey.”
Journey wasn’t something I initially thought I would be doing. Truthfully, I was finding excuses in my mind to continue working rather than do something that I knew I was going to love. However, after reading Journey’s description for probably the tenth time, I finally emailed the director and secured my spot on the trip.
My perspective now, as a first year student at Roanoke College, has been and will forever be skewed in such a positive way due to Journey. The people involved, the people who quite literally held me steady while walking across a singular wire at Virginia Tech’s Challenge Course, the Journey members and the staff at Roanoke College’s Outdoor Adventure Center, are the reason why I will forever recommend Journey for anyone- and this truly means anyone. Regardless of your outdoor activity background, Journey, and the entire Outdoor Adventure Center as a whole, religiously follow “challenge by choice,” where stepping out of your comfort zone for any of the activities is not required, but if one does, there is a whole community of people waiting for you at the top or watching you from below cheering you on.
I came into Journey excited to see the most photographed place on the Appalachian Trail, McAfee’s Knob, as well as backpacking and camping for three days in the middle of the woods. While I did do those things, plus trying mountain biking for the first time and indoor rock climbing (which I fell in love with), I can honestly say that the people who surrounded me at these astonishing places were the true beauty in my week-long adventure. My advice for anyone looking to participate in Journey is to always take a step back and appreciate those who are around you, because one moment you’re sitting next to them on the highest point in Virginia, and before you know it, they are on their way to class.
