October 4, 2015 - 19:25
A couple summers ago I read Wild because it was on the list of books that my high school gave us to read. We did not discuss it at all in school at the beginning of the next year which disappointed me. However, this time reading it I am not finding that much different. I still am skeptical of the "safety" of Cheryl Strayed's story; she is a young woman traveling alone, has hitchhiked, and there haven't been any people trying to take advantage of her along the way. Maybe I am just so conditioned by being sheltered at home and somewhat here at Bryn Mawr that I believe something must go wrong for her. That she can't possibly have made it this far and only sustained physical injuries and emotional ones from her past. Overall, the message I have admired both times from reading this book is how she packs her life into "Monster" and still can survive. I attempt to live simply and without too much clutter but it is difficult. Sometimes I'd like to just depend on a large hiking backpack for all my belongings but unless I actually hiked like she did, I probably would never do that. I think there is peace to being outside by oneself without the distraction of others, electronics, and other potentially stressful items. However I think I'd prefer it more in a Walden-type manner than this isolation that Strayed has put herself in (besides meeting fellow hikers and stopping at refill/food sites occassionally).