I think that I have learned a lot about how impactful human experiences can be, and how important learning by doing is. I have found that nature is incredibly powerful and can teach us a lot. I have also learn that how students learn is almost as important as what their learning. This whole experience has taught me a lot about how impressionable the mind is and how much we can learn from nature and apply in our daily lives. I feel strongly that I was able to accomplish my goal and bring up some good reasons why and how nature positively affect our lives. I was also able to learn a lot about many different way in which nature pushes us, teaches us, and how it can be used to influence future generations in new and exciting ways.
Conclusion
I recently watched a film on climbing called Meru. I felt like watching this film was a great close to my Capstone research. I was able to understand the film on a much deeper and more meaningful level. This film told the story of an elite group of professional climbers containing Jimmy Chin, Conrad Anker, Renan Ozturk. This movie told the story of three of the world's most technically confident, intelligent, and physically gifted climbers ever to do the sport. Meru poses some of the most technically challenging terrain ever to be climbed. If Everest is the holy grail of climbing then this is its evil cousin. The films webpage summarized the daunting task of climbing Meru the best when it said, “The layout of the 21,000-foot mountain’s perversely stacked obstacles makes it both a nightmare and an irresistible calling for some of the world’s toughest climbers. Hauling over 200 pounds of gear up 4,000-feet of technical, snowy, mixed ice and rock climbing is actually the simple part of this endeavor. After crossing that gauntlet you reach the Shark’s Fin itself: 1,500 feet of smooth, nearly featureless granite. There are few pre-existing fissures, cracks or footwalls. It is simply a straight sheet of overhanging rock.” The grand prize of making it to the top of the shark's fin is being able to look out at the headwaters of the ganges river in northern India. This is a sight that only three people to date have seen in person.
After watching this film I sat down and thought about why someone would risk their life for a climb and a view. I was confused what drove people like Jimmy Chin, Conrad Anker, and Renan Ozturk to stretch and reach for a hand hold at the top of the shark's fin and the peak of Meru; and that's when I realized I had been typing about it in my Capstone all along. They risked their lives to inspire others to do what they love. They are living examples that show that following your passions is not always a pretty thing. They prove that following your dreams is full of dangers, unknowns, and risks. Professional climber and photographer Jimmy Chin said it best when he said, “Where do you draw the line between following your heart and your responsibility to others?” This is the great moral dilemma that we are all faced with.
What I have learned
Meru
Final Thoughts
