My name is Simon Pappas. I play rugby at Wittenberg and love nature. I've always loved being outside ever since I was young and that feeling was made stronger once I went camping. I became a fan of the quiet and not having to deal with a typical day. Having gone to a summer camp for a long time I have gone on many camping trips but my favorite one by far was when I went to the boundary waters in Minnesota. It was a weeklong canoeing and portaging trip. I was placed in a group with 5 other guys in my age group and we had 2 counselors. It was a tough week we canoed about 10-20 miles a day and portaged about a mile a day. We didn't have too much to eat and at the end of all our traveling we had to set up camp and go to sleep and take down camp and start over. It was great to get to be away from civilization for that long. It allowed me to slow things down. At the end of the trip I was both relieved and sad. I was happy that the trip was over due to how hard it was but I enjoyed not having anything to worry about. I have since gone on more camping trips as a counselor. I have gone on canoe trips, hiking trips, and taken the youngest kids to a place right near camp to set up tents and make smores. It’s very easy to become fond of nature. It’s fascinating because we didn’t make it and it’s a good reminder of what we have come from. I hope to help show kids how to enjoy nature like I was shown because it’s something that you can enjoy for free.