Small Girl, Big World

The world is most often learned about in a classroom looking at a map or a globe. Until a few months ago, that is how I had learned about and how I viewed the world. Traveling over 8,000 km this semester to study has changed my perspective. Logically I knew the world was a big place. I knew the statistics on how many continents and countries were on Earth, how many miles around the equator, and how much water is present. The magnitude of this size, however, was difficult for me to wrap my brain around without having experienced it. As a result, I never imagined the world as a formidably large place despite the 7 billion people living on it. My travels this semester have made me realize how much I truly am a small girl with a massive world surrounding me.

I feel as though this realization could scare some people, make them feel inadequate. In reaction to the realization of my minuteness, I felt awed and empowered. Awed by the power of the world that I have been immersed in and empowered in my ability to affect something so large. Size can sometimes be difficult to determine when using yourself as a measurement, but pictures provide an impressive measure that showed me how small I am even when I’m located in the foreground of the image.

The first picture that I saw of myself that really made me feel small was at Mount Ngarahoe on the

Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is quite daunting even as a thought since it’s a 20 km difficult hike through alpine terrain. On that hike is Mount Ngarahoe which is known to many as Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. The mountain is black with volcanic rock, bleak, and unforgiving. Of all the structures of the world to intimidate, this is it. However, in the picture that was taken of me, I have climbed an outcropping of volcanic rock located in the foreground and spread my arms wide in an attempt to show off the landscape behind me. It is clear that the mountain is strong, powerful, and dwarfs me in every way and yet I feel that I look powerful as well. Looking back at the picture after I had left the Alpine Crossing, I thought that I looked like someone who could one day have an effect on the world. I find myself better understanding the scope of the world and quite possibly how I could change it.

I found a similar feeling when I hiked to Rob Roy Glacier. Simply hiking through nature brought me more in touch with the size of the world that I am in. When I saw plants that I recognized from home, I would marvel that I can be 8,000+ km from home and still find familiarity in the vastness of the world. While hiking through the woods, we heard a loud falling and crashing noise. When we ran towards the sound we saw that an avalanche was occurring on the glacier. Such a powerful natural phenomenon left me in awe of the beauty of the world. An avalanche is a raw primeval expression of nature that I had never glimpsed before. The knowledge that standing under that avalanche could have me buried and killed in a matter of seconds was humbling and intimidating.  

On that same hike, I had a second moment of clarity about how I fit into the world. Towards the end of the hike, the terrain flattened out and fields of grass stretched around the trail. I was amazed by how far the grass stretched before it ran into mountains. Entranced, I wandered off the trail into the field. I stood in the middle of the field and stared up at the massive mountains above me. The combination of the grass and mountains made me feel small and alone, but I turned around and could see my friends looking at me from the trail. I found this to be a reminder that no matter how small or lonely I may feel, I always have my friends and family there to support me. I once again felt powerful like I could change something in the world someday. While I may never move mountains or cause an avalanche, I hope to one day change the world in other ways and hope that my education combined with this trip will give me the tools I need to do that.

~S