- Ashley

Alaska Is...

       Alaska is a place beyond the hand of man
The forests are dense, and the mountains grand
It is a wild, and for many, an unseen land
From wolves in Denali
To the whales that migrate to Maui
The bald eagles flying overhead
And because of the 1964 earthquake many trees are now dead
There’s many new faces
Who are in awe when they see these places
The wilderness envelopes you
And everything one will do
Is bordered by a glorius view
We come to learn and we come to grow
In leaving let us all remember and know
We went where few get to go
Mount McKinley was finally seen
Along with ocean views so serene
Maybe some will come again
To see these lands so great
Because nothing is this beautiful in the lower forty-eight

Final Reflections

This is my second time coming to Alaska and it’s definitely not going to be my last.  This trip has been one of the best I’ve had so far.  We’ve done so many amazing things with so many incredible people and I can’t believe how fast it went.  At the start of this trip I was very nervous because I didn’t know many of the participants and I didn’t really know my fellow Junior Leaders very well either.  Now I believe I have made a lot of friendships with many people that will last a long time.  I’ve grown a lot here and I feel like I have been able to be myself completely.  I act like I am at home while I am here because Alaska is my second home and the AGLP is my second family.  The people here and the experiences we have shared will be with me for the rest of my life.  I believe I have become more mature and more responsible.  I now know when to be silly and have a good time and when it’s time to be serious and enforce the rules more strictly.  I want to be able to come to Alaska for college and become a photographer.  I would love to live up here.  I fell in love with this amazing land the first time I came and this second trip has let me appreciate the “Last Frontier” so much more.  The older you are the more you appreciate the serene beauty this magnificent state has to offer.  This trip and the people I shared it with will be in my heart forever.