Qeqetarsuaq

Chills run up my leg, 

As if I stepped into a steaming shower,

After a long day in the frigid air.

I feel the crisp, whirling air tickle the back of my neck;

See the gigantic towers of the sea looming,

Smooth as a rock warn down by ages of decay; 

Hear serenity in each breath she breathes,

In and out pushing the grains against my feet.

Time has slowed to a crawl,

I concentrate on the stark beauty of the landscape behind me;

Picture  life before the living;

Imagine being part of the unknown.

"How can you stay there?" someone asks,

And I snap back to reality.

ZODIAC BUDDDDDDYYYY

It's August 2013 and I am stepping off of a plane into an airport much like the one in Toronto or Vancouver. The only difference is this airport resides in Copenhagen, Denmark. I walk through the terminal and head to pick up my luggage. Just outside the luggage belts I spot a young Greenlandic girl searching for a recognizable face in the crowd. It is my friend Ivalu who I met last summer. She turns towards me as she realizes who I am. All of a sudden my bags are forgotten and I run at her yelling out "ZODIAC BUDDDDDDYYYY" at the top of my lungs not caring who hears me. We both meet in the middle engulfing each other in a hug strong enough to crush another person. She helps me with my bag and we exit the terminal. At least that is how I imagine it will go when I see her again.

Ivalu and I met on one of the most unusual expeditions available to high school students. Students on Ice Arctic Expedition 2012 allowed two young girls from two totally different countries to become best friends for life. It was an experience that changed my view of everything I know and see around me. This is a trip that took me to the utmost bounds of human thought and challenged how I imagined the world. It allowed me to explore who I am and who I will be in the future. Students on Ice Arctic Expedition 2012 was an indescribable and unforgettable experience in the Canadian and Greenlandic north.

Each year since the summer between Grade 9 and Grade 10 I travelled to some of the most unusual places on earth and met some of the most sensational people. First it was Ecuador where I helped build a school, explored the cloud forest and visited the capital, Quito. Next year I travelled to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It was here that I met a wide array of genius students from across Canada and Saudi Arabia. This past year I spent two weeks on a boat in Northern Canada and Greenland exploring the effects of climate change on our country and our world. Each opportunity has brought new friends, a new view on life and a new appreciation of the world just outside my door. It was through four incredible organisations that I was able to experience these adventures, Me to We, Girl Guides of Canada, Shad Valley and Students on Ice. Go out into the world and explore what it has to offer, you will find your own experiences of a lifetime.