Serenity: the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. As we travel through this adventure we call life, we experience a variety of feelings, some favorable and some dreadful. A feeling I consider to be valuable throughout this journey is serenity. It is one that allows me to feel grounded and at ease. In a world where it seems as though the room is constantly spinning with chaotic and unsettling feelings, it is critical to find serenity. It can be found with a person and can just as well be discovered in a place. During these first 16 years of my existence I have found serenity within different places and people, however the place where I truly connected with it the most was the Grand Canyon.

Two and a half years ago, I felt more like myself than I had before. I felt strong and joyful, but even more than that, I had a feeling of confidence in myself. It was nothing like I had ever encountered before. I found this experience, in the bottom of the Grand Canyon surrounded by the essence of nature and the thought of what it means to be alive. Five days of pure happiness, rushing through me like the water of the Colorado River, through the canyon. I pushed myself to the limit and tested my fears as I rafted rapid 232, also known as Killer Fang Falls. At the end of the rapid, stands a large, pointed rock, preventing some rafters from making it out alive. I compare this to my own mind, where there used to be a mental fang, preventing me from moving forward in life and having new experiences. It kept me afraid of the possibilities and what I could achieve. Once I rafted past the fang and knew I was safe, the mental fang in my mind broke down as well. After that, I wasn’t the same.

Most of my life I have been a quiet, shy, and soft spoken person who doesn’t know how to stand up for myself. After the Grand Canyon, some of those barriers came down and I was finally able to open up and feel comfortable with being who I am. However, some of those barriers are still up and I may never be able to bring them all down, but it is a journey that I will have to be on for the rest of my life. When I look at my life, I take the opportunities that come to me and I use them as tools to help make me a better person. Each experience in my life helps shape me and create who I am as a person, so I have started to use that to my advantage. Each day is a journey and I am trying to live them all the best way I can through finding new experiences and enjoying the simple things in life, like the feeling of serenity.