leave no trace - a college application essay

10. Jot a note to your future college roommate relating a personal experience that reveals something about you. (1400 character limit)

Dear roomie: I've been moving in all day and making a mess, but I think I have it picked up pretty well- I'm accustomed to "leaving no trace." As a 16-year-old I went on a rafting trip down the Salmon River, and was exposed to a completely new idea of camping called "Leave No Trace." Everything our party brought with us- food, gear, soap, toilet paper- we had to take with us when we left a campsite. Even our ahem, bodily excrements came away with us in a locking box called a "groover."

I tried to put myself in this frame of mind as I packed for the trip, but there are certain bits of experience that are impossible to stuff inside a drybag. I wasn't prepared for setting up my tent every night, many times in the rain. No one told me there would be stretches of river so ravaged by forest fire we had to wear bandannas around our faces so we wouldn't burn our throats with the smoke and hot air. I certainly wasn't ready for having to load up my own boat every single morning, knowing that if I didn't do it, it wouldn't be done. It is impossible to prepare for everything, but being open-minded, flexible, able to make decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions can go a long way when you have to learn as you go, like I did. If you're as outdoorsy as I am, roomie, we can get a group together and raft down the Salmon again. Don't worry- I'll help you set up your tent.