Connection and Growth at the High Desert Center

I didn't realize how much I had growth and change that I underwent on the High Desert Center gap year until I went back four years later. As soon as I stepped into the land and looked around at the buildings, many of which I helped build on my gap year, I realized how much of myself still lives and thrives here. I spent a moment soaking up the warm sun and mountain air, remembering.

It is hard to tell when you are fully immersed, roughing it in the back country through canyons and along rivers. It is hard to see the internal changes that are happening constantly on this program, but when I sat in with this year's students during a check-in, I looked around the circle, listening, and saw within them the self-knowledge, authenticity and dedication to clear, kind communication that this year has helped them realize for themselves. This is what I got from this program as well. It will always be a second home for me, a place that I will come back to to mark my growth as a human.