Never Stop Exploring

"Life is an adventure. Sometimes the greatest moments just simply involve you pulling off the road and opening your eyes..."

I had the wonderful opportunity to get away from the hustle of everyday life, and enjoy some fresh air, good company, downtime, and of course....some exploring! There's something to be said about our connection with nature. The ability to fully immerse yourself with your surroundings can elevate your mental in so many ways. The peace, serenity, and tranquility that nature provides can be just the fuel you need to reenergize.

I've realized through this #SciComm journey, that just like any life transition, the road can be incredibly daunting. The time, patience, and energy needed to execute consistently is hard to obtain. Sometimes in order to persist, you must take a step back and really enjoy the things you love that helped get you there. For me, exploring nature has always been by place of peace. My happy place. I had the chance to visit Utah last year and experience some of Zion National Park. I knew immediately that I needed to get back this year and take that much needed mid-year break. Some of the best experiences however during this trip, came from pulling off the side of the road and exploring the things that we often just drive past.

I firmly believe this frame of thinking is the same way we need to live our lives. Taking time to pull over, come to a stop, and just appreciate the moment. We all know pressure can burst pipes, cause tension, and create extremely difficult conditions - I mean that's just simple physics right?! Pulling off the road and seeing my first ever sighting of Bighorn Sheep was further proof of the amazing things that can happen when you just take a second to breathe and refocus. I hope to take these life lessons I've learned over the wknd and continue to apply them in my daily outreach work. Being able to reach the diverse, underprivileged communities that need help is a monumental task - and I hope to have all the energy needed to be able to fully execute. That's the only way we'll be able to set up the next generation of STEM leaders for success!