No more school, busy hiking mountains

It is now the time when, for most of my life, I would have been preparing for the start of a new school year. Especially once I started college, activities included organizing my schedule in my calendar, hanging out with my friends before the stresses of class took away all the free time, and looking forward to the excitement of the next school year. 

 

But now, life looks a little different. Last week, I slept in, ate breakfast, then proceeded to take a nap on the couch before getting up to actually start my day sometime in the afternoon. I work from home and spend much of my time in the apartment, switching from sitting to standing to do work. 

 

I wondered the other day. though, now that I won’t be going to school and classes and constantly learning new things, will I lose aspects of my intelligence? Will I forget certain things now that I’m not using my brain all the time in the same way? Will I get sucked into routine and forget to learn new things? 

 

I know the thought is a bit irrational, but it’s something I’ve thought about before. Once you stop going to school and learning every day, how much do you retain? Is intelligence something you can lose or is it something you’re just born with (or without)?

 

Either way, I’ve been on some new adventures lately that I’d like to share. 

 

I finally went hiking! Jack and I woke up at 5:30 last Saturday to drive two hours north of Denver to Rocky Mountain National Park so we could get there and park without having to buy a day parking spot. And I had an amazing time.

 

We chose Deer Mountain Trail, a three-mile hike to the summit of one of the mountains. We set off and followed the path as it wound up and up and up. The landscape around us went from being sandy with open areas dotted with trees and views of the surrounding mountains to rocky inclines in the middle of the forest hedged in by tall trees. It was beautiful as the sun’s rays started peaking through the leaves. 

 

It was exactly everything I had hoped and wished for regarding a hike in the mountains, although I know I’m not a true Coloradan yet. I will proudly wear my transplant badge, always thinking of myself as a Minnesotan. 

 

After hiking, we traveled through Estes Park and decided to stop because there was a music festival going on and the town was alive and exciting. We walked around, had an after-hike lunch along the river, and enjoyed that for its scenic beauty as well. The entire area of Colorado is mind-blowingly stunning to me. I remember I used to think the bluffs of southwestern Minnesota were cool (which they definitely still are), but nothing compares to real mountains. 

 

In other adventures, I went to my first-ever arcade bar this past week. Entry was restricted to people 21 and over. Inside were two bars with every other square inch filled with old arcade games. There was one room for pinball games, with the colorful lights flashing all along the wall. I chose the Deadpool and Star Wars pinball games to spend my time. The other part of the building was filled with classics like Tetris, Pac-Man, and Super Mario Bros. I played new games I’ve never seen or heard of before either such as Burger Time and Tapper. It was a lot of fun and I”m glad to have been given the opportunities to experience such cool things lately. 

 

My Determination: “I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.”

― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice