Being born and raised in Alaska, the outdoors have always been important to me and played a large role in my life. I believe that spending time outdoors is not only good for one’s physical health, but also extremely beneficial to one’s mental health. When I have trying periods of my life, spending time in the wilderness is always something I can turn to and feel balance. I feel that growing up in a subsistence state like Alaska has given me a very deep appreciation for the natural world around me and all it does. Whether it is the yearly salmon run, berry picking season, spruce tip season or fireweed season, we in Alaska are surrounded by so much natural abundance. I grew up hunting and fishing with my family, more or less living off of the land. We grew our own produce and built a cabin off the grid, but still, living this natural subsistence life could have some pretty major drawbacks. The lack of emergency health care, the food insecurity that can appear when hunting and fishing dries up, the isolation. The isolation of living off of the grid is what wore on me the most as a child, being out of reach of most of my friends and family for months at a time was something I was quite resentful about at times. While I love being self sufficient and being in nature a majority of the time, it can be difficult to balance my love of being outdoors with the other aspects of my life, I try my best to strike up a good balance of spending plenty of time doing what I love being outdoors, it seems to get harder and harder as the years go on the find the time for outdoor, recreational activities while also contributing enough to work and school.
I want to become better at balance. I want to balance mt work life with my home life and I do not want to get burnt out too much as a social worker. I have for most of my life been an all or nothing kind of person, whether in work or school or relationships, I tend to hurl myself headfirst into whatever I am doing at that current moment in life. I want to be a person that knows when to take time off, instead of someone who is always “on the grind.” I hope to become a well-balanced individual who is not constantly spreading herself thin. I want to become a well adjusted adult who can help others around me to become well adjusted adults through social work. I think in today’s society I have become obsessed with being constantly productive, something that can be detrimental to my mental as well as my physical health. I want to become someone who knows when to take a break and how to take a break without feeling guilty about it. I want to be able to just read a book or go on a hike in a day and for that to feel like it is enough. I want to learn to be a balanced person and to be the best me I can, so that I can help others to become the best they can be. I am generally a blunt person and have a somewhat one size fits all idea of success and I want to move past that since I know what is best for one person may not be right for another person. I am most interested in the micro aspect of social work, the one on one care that I believe is needed in a lot of social work cases can be lifechanging.
This is the first social work class I have taken in my college career so far and I am excited to see what it is all about. I hope to learn more about the different branches of social work and how I can combine social work with my major in justice to contribute the most good to society that I can. I want to make social work feel more accessible and I want social workers in a lot more fields or at least for those in certain fields to have some social work training, especially those responding in emergency situations such as, police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians. In my life, I would love to see a lot of societal change, and I have hope that it will happen. This generation seems so outspoken and so willing to stand up for what they believe is right. I believe by making a few small changes, we can have a major positive effect on society as a whole and perhaps even inspire future generations to continue fighting the good fight for justice and equality for all.
Rayanne Alick
Hi Abbigale, I just want to mention that I can relate to some of what you shared. Such as the outdoors benefitting mental and physical health, but mainly the subsistence part. Going out fishing and hunting with my dad, berry picking or putting away moose meat with my mom, it all became very special to me and I have never realized how it affected me until I moved out of the village and had limited access to those activities. I appreciate your blog and I too, would like to work on creating a balance between my personal life and my work life.
Alaska gal
Hi Abbigale, I share the struggle of trying to become someone who can find a balance between work, school and doing things I enjoy. The hustle culture in America right now is very intimidating, and to me, it always seems like I’m not doing enough to stay afloat. I too feel the need to constantly stay productive, and through social media, I keep finding new ideas that I always want to dive into. However, it’s hard to juggle one’s needs and wants in today’s society. It’s good that you recognize the need to find a balance in your life for your mental health’s sake, but also for the sake of being able to help others. Thanks for sharing your story.
Joshua Escobedo
Hey Abbigale,
I enjoyed reading your blog. I also enjoy being outdoors and have played with some ideas of making a living while getting the much-needed outdoor time. I believe your self-awareness is critical for your desired outcome of creating a balanced lifestyle. From my personal experience, the all-or-nothing lifestyle can be taxing on your psyche. Still, I also believe that if you find something that’s meaningful, the amount of energy that is required has less of an impact on the mind and body. Do you have a specific job that you wish to obtain, and do you plan to work with the justice department in Alaska? The reason I ask is because the lifestyle you have lived thus far could give you a unique perspective that could bring awareness to some of the struggles that you have faced and ways to overcome them.
Joshua Escobedo
Hey Abbigale,
I enjoyed reading your blog. I also enjoy being outdoors and have played with some ideas of making a living while getting the much-needed outdoor time. Your self-awareness is critical for your desired outcome of creating a balanced lifestyle. From my experience, the all-or-nothing lifestyle can tax your psyche. Still, if you find something meaningful, the amount of energy required has less impact on the mind and body. Do you have a specific job that you wish to obtain, and do you plan to work with the justice department in Alaska? I ask because the lifestyle you have lived thus far could give you a unique perspective that could bring awareness to some of the struggles you have faced and ways to overcome them.