Siarl

I was just a young boy in my late teens, graduating from highschool, grew up in the Appalachians, shy, different. I didn't know anything from nothing. But something pushed me out the door and I was terrified. I was terrified of the change, of failing, of possibly saying the wrong things, and afraid that every one seemed to have the answers but me. Somewhere along the way, it appeared that everyone had known where and had been by the buffet table where all the answers were being given out. Except me. I was still flailing about. Still trying to figure it all out. Fate is not a bad or a good thing. But one day fate came a callin'. Pretty soon I was on a plane. I had never been on a plane before. I thought I would be terrified. Well, I still was terrified about the unknown. But at the moment I was above it all. Above all that I had ever learned to love, which was the Appalachians. I could see them from the air and it was the first time I recall thinking that it all looked wonderful. Like a crumpled piece of paper in school that someone had discovered and they flattened it out as best they could. It was at that time that I knew I loved flying.

And so there I was speeding toward some place that I had never been before. I didn't even speak their language. And two years later I was a changed person. I lived, for eighteen months in Honduras, Central America. Before I left the Appalachians I had only ever spoken English. Afterwards, I was speaking two languages. Knew people that I had never dreamed of knowing before and my world was a little bigger. I was eighteen then. Now I'm 51 and I have lived in three countries and six states and my world is much larger than it ever was than if I had remained living in the Appalachians. Know a little of the field of medicine as I was a Medical Specialist in the U.S. Air Force. Flew as a medical crew member on a medivac plane while stationed in the Philippines for two years. Worked with Victims of Crime as an Victim Witness Advocate for the DA's Office. I've done a lot of things and changed my life in ways that I could never have imagined. None of that would have happened if I had allowed my fear to keep me in the easy place, the one place that I called home.

And here I am. About to take the leap into the void once more in March of 2015 and take the journey full circle with a thru hike on the Appalachian Trail. I will once again be visiting the mountains where I grew up and where my ancestors landed in the 1600's from Germany and Wales. Those mountains and paths are not just full of nature but also of history. Native American history and others that have walked through those same hills and valleys. Drank from the same streams. And knew of the trees, and plants around them and what they could do medicinally and food wise as well. I can hardly wait for the adventure to begin. I'm a little nervous and so will you be. But the nervousness will change into excitement as your time approaches.

Sometimes it's normal to feel fear. A little fear of what may happen if we don't, propels us forward but too much fear can keep us from moving at all. Don't allow that to be the case for those wanting to hike the Appalachians. Take a deep breath, envision yourself on the path, will it to happen, and embrace your own adventure.

Enjoy.[/QUOTE]