TTMOAIUS

Mistakes. Everybody makes them at some point. Some of them can be harmless and others can be dangerous. I believe that mistakes are a part of the growing process for us as human beings. They come in an eclectic selection, ranging from simply forgetting a pencil to car accidents and everything in between. Personally, I pride myself on making more entertaining mistakes then the average human.

This talent for finding odd things to mess up with has lead to several exciting scenarios in the past. All throughout my childhood, there are fond memories of incidents involving small fires, electrical surges and ceiling fans sprinkled in with the holidays and elementary school. My most recent French exploit and the feelings that I am about to share does not represent the ACA program or Union College.

“Hiking is an affront to mankind. Whoever decided that hiking is fun should be banned from the rest of humanity.” This is the small thought I had while climbing the literal mountain that rests behind the French ACA campus. I had made a mistake earlier that day and I was paying for it with trials and tribulations on this dumb rock. My sisters had decided, since we have a mountain nearby, we should go to the top on this cloudy day.

My mistake was agreeing to go hiking. I have nothing against people who like hiking. I’m sure that somebody out there thinks it is fun. However, at an elevation of two-high above sea level, air begins getting thin and my will to survive wears even thinner.

The most memorable parts of this whole fiasco were the kind French people who passed my poor heaving walking corpse. Learning a second language is good for communication. But there are some things that don’t need translation. Worried glances exchanged between hiking partners, the gasps of children and the knowing looks of the elderly made it abundantly clear that I was being watched.

Thankfully, my French is good enough that I was able to understand the offers of aid and any possible medical intervention that may be required. In the end, we made it up the mountain and looked around at the scene below. In the end, there was growth. I learned different French phrases questioning sanity and was able to strengthen my lungs in a new exciting way. Mistakes were made, but that doesn't mean that it was a bad thing.

Alexander Nesmith is a sophomore studying communication.