The original premise of this post was to give an update on farm life in the Berkshires. However, at the same time I was gathering thoughts on what the past six weeks have looked like for me, I realized that it has been a year exactly since I applied for the Assistant Nordic Coach at Williams. With graduation only a week ago, I thought it imperative to include some thoughts on my post-graduation life. Though I think more than just those that recently graduated can relate to my words and experiences. Given the title of this post, I think it only makes sense to preface that these are actual entries in my journal (from summers '13, '14, and '15), and though it would seem that I would put them in chronological order, I didn't. So pay attention. It will all come together in the end.
Sunday, May 31, 2015:
It’s been about a year since I got the phone call from
Jason. I remember it exactly. I was at Metwest High School in Oakland,
California, in the middle of a lesson for my environmental chemistry
class. My phone started ringing. Typically, I would have just ignored it, but
phones were how the teachers communicated when it came to discipline
issues. So naturally, I answered the
phone expecting to hear the Principle tell me he needed to see one of my
students, or discuss an issue with a student.
To my surprise, Jason Lemieux was on the other line asking me if I would
be willing to set up an interview for the Assistant Nordic Coach at Williams
College. I told him I’d call him back
after I finished with my chemistry students.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Two weeks at Kearsarge Gore Farm (KGF). My back and legs still hurt. I've never lived like this before. Hard work, little pay, no rest.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
My interview with Jason is tomorrow. I’m literally in the-middle-of-no-where
Oregon after driving for about eight hours.
I pulled of the highway in Roseburg, and drove down logging roads for
several miles. I found a small campsite
with some trails nearby. With my tent
set up, I ventured around the trails before starting in on cooking home fries
over the fire for dinner. I’m meeting
with Jason at a Starbucks, just outside Portland at 9am.
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| Prepping for my interview. |
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Hot and humid at KGF. It's only going to get worse. My body is feeling better. Not as stiff and sore. Goals for this week:
- Stay positive
- Do at least two or three morning runs.
- Get more money.
- Begin plan for heading west.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
It has been six weeks at Mighty Food Farm in Pownal,
VT. The back of my neck is about as dark
as the chocolate brown couch I’m sitting on.
The soreness in my lower back, glutes, and hamstrings doesn’t seem to go
away after an easy Saturday and Sunday.
Back at it tomorrow - plant, weed, harvest, weed, and repeat! Gotta get tough somehow!
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| Not a bad view! |
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| So many strawberries! |
As I think back to two summers ago, when I was
working at KGF in Warner, NH, the owner, Bob Bower was
right. I told him, as we cleaned and packed
fresh picked veggies, that my plan was to follow my then girlfriend to the west
coast. He told me a couple stories from
his past that involved a similar strategy of following a girl, only for it to
end without the girl. He told me the
same would happen to me. I didn’t
believe him. I was head over heels for
this girl, and ready for anything. The
fact of the matter is that life is about making decisions. I made a decision in the summer of 2013 to
follow the love of my life to California.
I'll never regret this decision given the foreshadowing from Farmer Bob,
and I would make it again in a heartbeat.
I later made the decision to leave the west coast to pursue one of my
passions – coaching collegiate Nordic skiing.
Jason saw something in me at that Starbucks in Oregon, and he gave me an
opportunity. I am forever grateful for
that opportunity. I truly believe I have
the best job in the world. I am more
psyched than ever for ski racing, for next winter, and for helping Williams
skiers achieve their goals.
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| Successions of brassicas. And yes, I do get to weed in between each one of those individual plants...every week. |
I've learned a lot about myself since graduating college. Here a few things I think about on a daily basis, that also serve me when making decisions.
- Stay positive – positivity always trumps
negativity.
- Experience anything – go on adventures, meet new
people, but above all, have fun.
- Build as much character you can – you’ll
appreciate it later in life (so I’m told...).
- Serve others, always – there’s no higher
purpose.
- Share it all with a companion – a best friend.
