Prescott College

Climbing the crack 

There were tears running down my face as I biked out of Prescott on Tuesday morning. The six days I spent on campus were fantastic, and I made friends I will be sure to keep in touch with even if I don't end up going to college there. I went rock climbing, visited classes, went to a student council meeting, biked around the town, wrote letters and talked to friends and family from home, talked to various different colleges, and generally enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere in Prescott. It is now one of my many homes, Prescott AZ, and I will go back someday, as a student, or a teacher, or to work, I cannot say, but I will go back.

Rationally, it doesn't make sense. Prescott College is smaller than my high school, the student body is lacking in diversity, I can't afford to go there in the fall, and they don't have a music program. But I could start a small ensemble if I wanted to. And their Environmental Science program is awesome. The orientation is a three week backpacking trip, and nearly every class has a field work aspect. The classes are tiny, 14 students max, and the ones I visited were great. They reminded me how much I miss school. Or at least taking classes. I am definitely glad to be biking now, and not at home taking classes, but I am nevertheless looking forward to going back to school soon. Where that will be, I couldn't tell you, but it will all work out one way or another.

My Prescott friends :)

If you're curious, my college choices are: UVM, UC Berkeley, Prescott College, Quest University, Warren-Wilson, Berea College, and Saint Michael's College (I didn't get in to Yale and I was wait listed at Grinnel, Whitman, UChicago, and Colorado College). So decisions did a pretty good job of limiting my options by knocking Colorado College, UChicago and Whitman off the list. And financial aid packages were even better at reducing my choices. Berea is the only college I can go to in the fall without incurring debt, though my debt for UVM would be minimal. With Berkeley, I could likely graduate with no debt if I move to California and go to community college and work for two years while I acquire residency and then apply again as a California resident and a completely financially independent adult. It would be a big commitment to California because I wouldn't even be able to go home for long in the summers in order to prove my residency, but it would definitely give me a sense for what it is like to live in a city and I would learn a lot about how to deal with annoying government policy stuff through applying for residency and filing taxes.

In the end, it's all just my own useless rationalization, and the right decision will come from my heart, not my head. And I can always transfer. The whole college process is thoroughly frustrating and I don't agree with it in a lot of ways because the expense is so limiting. The loan industry is appalling and there are so many young people who have the potential to do amazing things in college but will never be able to because their families can't afford to support them financially or emotionally. It's definitely possible to pay for your own education, but the logistical implications are huge, and it is very difficult to do without some form of guidance and moral support from parents. Nevertheless college level classes do challenge students in ways that high school can never manage to and there is so much more to learn.

But as I have seen, learning is not at all limited to the classroom. Biking has already taught me a lot, and I know it will continue to show me new perspectives and challenge me as I make my way home. I still have a very long ways to go, and I won't be able to leave Phoenix until Sunday, because I am flying to Vancouver tonight to visit Quest University for the weekend. My schedule is starting to get tight, but if my knee continues to improve, and I get stronger, I should be able to bike the whole way home before graduation. I won't be able to take any more long breaks, though I can, of course, take a train for part of the way if I really fall in love with a place I go to or my knee deteriorates.

In some ways, it doesn't feel like this trip has even started. I have biked a very rough estimate of 900 miles and it's true, I have already crossed one state border, but I have been taking so long breaks, it doesn't feel like I am really "on the road" yet. But perhaps that is a good thing. It has challenged my expectations for this journey and that has taught me to become more flexible and settle into the true mindset of travel, living in the moment with no expectations for the future.

The perfect camp site. It was only 2:45 when I spotted this place on the side of the road, but I decided to stop anyway as I didn't have to go far the next day, and I enjoyed a relaxing evening in this beautiful little gully shielded from the road by trees. 

The mountains in Prescott are lovely, and cool! It even snows in the winter. The 5,000 ft. elevation gain from Phoenix is pretty remarkable, you can watch the climate change as you climb or descend, and it is only at 6,000 ft. that the large Ponderosa pines that are so common in Prescott start to show up. 

Wildflowers, they are everywhere at this time of year.