Eric Fesmire Student Choice #1 Beauty and the Mountains

I grew about 45 minutes away from the Blue Ridge Mountains.  When I first took this class, if you had asked me about my concepts of beauty I would have told you about times I have spent in the mountains. Going home to visit my parents is now accented by the awesome vistas that the mountains provide. I know I am home when I can watch the sun set behind them.  Many of my mediations on life have occurred with the mountains as a backdrop, and I can't deny the impact they have had on my understanding of nature and the wilderness. I remember camping trips where I genuinely felt afraid of the wilderness and would have rather not been defended by something as flimsy as a tent. But I also remember times of absolute rapture. This gave me a respect and an appreciation for nature, and an understanding that beauty doesn't always mean safe.