Never Truly Lost - Kendal Chang

In class, we had a guest speaker, Shalya, more known as Kiddo, who talked about her journey as she went on numerous hikes throughout the world. She originally thought she was going to be an actress, but soon realized she wanted to be one with nature. Kiddo hiked over 2,000 miles just in 2011 alone, and I thought that was really impressive. What really stood out to me was how she said being lost is a state of mind and that we are never really truly lost. When we go on a journey, we already have the intention of being in the woods. We do not really have a set path, so to Kiddo, there is no such thing as being lost. One of the key points I took away was that we need to be brave and trust ourselves. It is important to have faith and keep pushing through even when you have nothing left. Kiddo said that when we put trust into the world, trust will come back to us because humanity can be beautiful when we are our raw selves. Part of the journey to understanding ourselves is to step out of our comfort zone.

While listening to her, I started reflecting on my own experiences where I have felt lost. Looking back on those times when I thought I was “lost”, I realized I was mentally lost rather than actually lost. It made me question how much of that feeling came from internal pressure instead of the actual circumstances I was in. Her talking points were what sparked my essay topic. I thought the concept of being lost was really interesting, and I wanted to dive deeper into what it means to really be lost. Kiddo’s entire experience was the physical long hikes, but what stood out to her the most was who she became along the way. I expanded on this thought in my essay by saying we get the most meaning out of a journey through the process rather than the outcomes or successes. In class, we talked about personal narratives and the internal transformations that occur. Kiddo’s story was a great example of this because her hikes became both a literal and symbolic path towards understanding herself.


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