Date: 2006-12-28
To: Final Thoughts
Miles today: 0.0

Well it has been 4 months since I finished the Appalachian Trail and I feel terrible for not writing this email sooner. I know many of you are curious about what I have been up to since finishing the trail so here is what¢s new in my life. After finishing the trail I went back to Washington, DC and lived with my parents while carrying out a job search. I was able to make it to Columbus, OH quite a few times and got to see several Ohio State football games and had a great time. After two months of job searching I was offered and accepted a job at the University of Denver as the Director of Gifts and Records within the Department of University Advancement. I moved to Denver, CO on November 11th and started my new job on the 13th. So far I love my new job, the challenges it presents and I feel I am learning more and more everyday. As a bonus Denver is a beautiful city and from my apartment I have a 180-degree view of the Front Range and Rocky Mountains. However, leaving Washington was much harder than I thought, in the 2 months I lived there I made lots of friends and was able to find my niche. I am still trying to find my niche in Denver.Almost immediately after finishing the AT the entire hike seemed like one big dream and as time passed more and more of my AT memories seem to fade. Every once and a while, however, I do find myself looking though my pictures, reading my journal or reading my friends journals only to find myself overwhelmed with the thoughts and memories. After finishing the trail I received hundreds of questions concerning my trail experience, so without boring you to death (hopefully) by answering all of them I am going to answer my favorite of all the questions (and in my opinion the most important). What did you learn on your AT thru-hike?To start out with, this is a very broad question and encompasses every aspect of my trail experience. So here we go:-        I learned to have faith in people. Never in my life have I had to depend on the kindness of strangers to perform simple tasks, but I was continually amazed with the generosity shown by my fellow man.-        I learned that everything I really need fits into a 1 12 by 3 foot backpack that weighs less than 25 pounds. Everything else is just for show, comfort or pleasure.-        I learned that a sense of humor is crucial to ones sanity, especially when you are alone in the woods for several days. The ability to laugh at my own stupidity saved me from multiple mid-trail meltdowns.-        I learned that home is a mindset and not a specific place.-        I learned that most things in life have a way of working themselves out if you just keep moving forward. Worrying, however, didn¢t help me accomplish anything.-        I learned that happiness is a well-placed cooler stocked with beer, soda and candy bars. A big juicy bacon cheeseburger after a week of trail food runs a close second to the cooler.-        I learned that life is all about the journey, if you only concentrate on the destination you will miss all the amazing stuff that happens before you get there.-        I learned that just when you think you know everything, you learn that you are a moron and really don¢t know shit. The lesson: there is always more to learn, always!Last I would like to thank all of you for your amazing support while I was hiking the trail, I couldn¢t have done this without you. I hope everyone had a Happy Holidays and wish you a wonderful New Year. ¢Some say life will beat you down, break your heart, steal your crown. So I started out for god knows where, I guess I¢ll know when I get there.¢ ~Tom Petty ¢Learning to Fly¢