#end reflection

End of the River Reflection - Jessica Lisse , 2024

French , b. 1990 -

Mark Twain once said, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that but the really great people make you feel that you too can become great. When you are seeking to bring big plans to fruition it is important with whom you regularly associate. Hang out with friends who are like minded and who are also designing purpose-filled lives. Similarly be that kind of friend for your friends.” (end quote) 

It feels like just yesterday when MC was telling us, “great moments are born from great opportunities.” That’s what we had there that night boys and girls. But, that’s also what we have here, tonight. Although we are sitting in full circle, let’s not let this end. I know that’s what we’ve earned here tonight. We have earned a new beginning to take with us on future adventures that HMI has opened our eyes to see. I know that when I go back to Boston, all my friends and family are going to make fun of how extreme my opinions have become. For me, being at HMI has really helped me isolate and recognize my opinions and what I believe in. It has made my passions stronger. Passion. 

Passion is so present in each and every individual in a different way. I remember thinking some time in the beginning of the semester, “Everyone is SO cool.” Each and every person brings something crazy and unique to the table. It’s quite incredible how close we’ve gotten in only four months. I think I would credit that to the signing while cooking in the kitchen, the responsibility we feel to our chores, the late nights in the cabin, the crazy dance parties to Die Young, the circles, the mess-ups and the successes expedition, the prom-posals, the personality, the faculty, the bumps in the road, and so much more. 

Thank you for explaining what “crunchy” means and sharing lots of laughs. Thank you for your joy and quest for adventure. Thank you for the feedback. Thank you for asking hard questions and giving hard answers. Thank you for bringing your unique-ness every day and working so hard to keep your chore area clean. Thank you for your commitment to this community through thick and through thin. Thank you for reminding me of my values and helping to form my personality. Thank you for teaching me new things.

I’ve learned so much — how to better manage my time, the value of time, how to knit, how to read more quickly, how to cry, how to let loose a little bit, how to appreciate every person for what they can bring to the community, what I might want to do with the rest of my life, solidified passions, how to winter camp, go backcountry skiing, make a quigloo, find water in the desert, better my backcountry skills, and hold myself accountable. I have learned a love for running. Through looking up to my peers who ran a marathon at 10,000 ft, I am motivated and have set a goal to run the Boston Marathon this upcoming year. 

Initially, I came to HMI both to escape and to explore. I wanted to escape the regularity and predictability of life and friends who just didn’t get it. I wanted to explore new friendships, new ideas, and new places. I have achieved both goals of escaping and exploration, but also, through this experience, I have realized concretely what it is I was trying to escape from and taken a step forward to face fears and frustrations. 

As some may know, a big philosophy of mine is vision and action. Here, I’ve experienced lots more vision than action, and sometimes it drives me crazy. I like to get things DONE and always be productive, but I’ve learned that setting out the time to make the vision and realize the vision is just as important as making a plan for action and following through. One of my favorite quotes by Amiee Dolich seems to work really well with contextualizing this idea: “Go. Yield. Surrender to the magical wilderness of your mind. The splendor of reverie. The lawlessness of imagination where anything is possible.”