Heather Lees - Walking with Freedom

I didn't understand how appealing it really was to walk for miles every day with pounds of extra weight on your back and limited resources until watching the film Walking with Freedom during class. After seeing the sense of communitas in the film amongst those involved and getting a glimpse of the natural beauty on the Appalachian Trail made me immediately begin planning for my own hike. After class, I explained to a close friend of mine the different activities that were introduced to us in the film and explained the beauty that was shown throughout their walk. It didn't take much convincing and we planned our own hike right then and there that will take place next summer. We see this as our first step, our threshold, our liminal moment. Neither one of us have ever done anything like this. With her being from New York and me being from England, neither one of us have been as in touch as nature as both of us would like. Since we hope to do this the summer prior to graduation, we see this as our way of being able to accomplish something completely on our own. Our goal is not to complete the entire trail, our goal is to be able to get in touch with nature and live a life with no technology for a change. Who knows- maybe we'll even share our experience with other people in Prof. Redick's class next summer. Walking with Freedom gave us our own inspiration and longing to feel the same sense of pride and accomplishment that they felt after completing the entire trail.