The older I get, the more open I am to new experiences.
- When I was younger, I feel like I had a very strict opinions about what I would and wouldn’t try to do.
Unfortunately, many of these opinions were formed based on the accounts of others. I didn’t necessarily make these choices on my own or have the past experiences under my belt to adequately judge what was or wasn’t worthwhile. For instance, my mom always told me that she hated camping. She painted horrific pictures of being trapped in the woods without heat or food as tumultuous rains pummeled her tent. Obviously, we never went camping when I was a kid. My mother refused to even entertain the idea for a second. Now, as an adult, I’m wondering what I missed out on and how I truly feel about the experience. I really love nature and hiking, so it makes sense that I would also enjoy camping if given the opportunity. That being said, everyone has their limits. This past season a few friends of mine invited me out to go camping. I was extremely excited about the idea, until I looked at the weather for the week. The outdoor climate was expected to be 95° and incredibly humid. There wasn’t supposed to be any sort of breeze or a chance for rain. This month, we weren’t going to get any natural relief from the heat and humidity outdoors. When I brought up my air temperature concerns to my friends, they simply laughed at me. Of course it was going to be hot and humid, we were going to be outside and that was part of the experience. Still, I told them I wouldn’t be able to sleep if it was so sticky and miserable outside. Jokingly, they told me I could figure out an air conditioning solution if I wanted. Well, that’s exactly what I did. I dug out my portable air conditioning system and my backup generator. Maybe it wasn’t energy efficient, but my tent was beautifully air conditioned for the entire camping expedition. It turns out, I do enjoy camping.