Lauri Valerio
This year, I essentially became outdoorsy by faking it. I spent the spring semester exploring Joshua Tree National Park and hiking to local hot springs. I stumbled across unknown Pomona College property, which I promptly trespassed, while hiking in the San Gabriel mountains. Hiking was doable, even fun. So I thought, why not spend the summer doing it? I applied with a friend for a grant to spend the summer hiking and document it with social media and panicked when we got it. We hiked the John Muir Trail, a 21-day hike from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. It was both miserable and amazing. When I came back to school in the fall, I became a leader in the outdoors club and led freshmen on an orientation adventure to a cabin in the woods. Voila, outdoorsy.
Other notable moments in my year: my experience watching Cirque du Soleil in LA and deciding I would drop out and join the circus (I have yet to follow through with this); my first encounter with the nation's capital and Georgetown Cupcakes; my failed attempt to mail a banana, though it is possible, I've heard.
Next semester, I'll be studying abroad in Madrid and researching flamenco and oral storytelling. I plan to immerse myself in the city, travel around Spain and Europe, take flamenco and, perhaps in my spare time, study Spanish, literature and art. When I come back, I expect to have an intense debate with Mando about whose semester abroad was better.
(Link to my hiking blog: lauriandjohn.wordpress.com)
This year, I essentially became outdoorsy by faking it. I spent the spring semester exploring Joshua Tree National Park and hiking to local hot springs. I stumbled across unknown Pomona College property, which I promptly trespassed, while hiking in the San Gabriel mountains. Hiking was doable, even fun. So I thought, why not spend the summer doing it? I applied with a friend for a grant to spend the summer hiking and document it with social media and panicked when we got it. We hiked the John Muir Trail, a 21-day hike from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney. It was both miserable and amazing. When I came back to school in the fall, I became a leader in the outdoors club and led freshmen on an orientation adventure to a cabin in the woods. Voila, outdoorsy.
Other notable moments in my year: my experience watching Cirque du Soleil in LA and deciding I would drop out and join the circus (I have yet to follow through with this); my first encounter with the nation's capital and Georgetown Cupcakes; my failed attempt to mail a banana, though it is possible, I've heard.
Next semester, I'll be studying abroad in Madrid and researching flamenco and oral storytelling. I plan to immerse myself in the city, travel around Spain and Europe, take flamenco and, perhaps in my spare time, study Spanish, literature and art. When I come back, I expect to have an intense debate with Mando about whose semester abroad was better.
(Link to my hiking blog: lauriandjohn.wordpress.com)
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