“I don’t think it was hard work alone that got me here, but it wasn’t just luck either. The reality of it is probably somewhere in between.”

“Before coming to the SLA, I could count on one hand the number of tools I had ever used.”

“When we’re stuck inside for so long, it’s easy to romanticize nature in every facet of our lives. We see how lush our forests are during late spring in photographs on Instagram, watch people jump from precipices into a cold lake on YouTube, and scroll through hundreds of posts on social media, the majority of which only deal with the best things our world has to offer.”

“The first couple of weeks here in the Granite State left me feeling as though I was in a dream. The clear cold lake water, the jagged horizon that encircled Squam Lake, and the eerie cry of the Loon at night all seemed too good to be true.”

“Transitions in life can often be stressful and sometimes downright scary. But when you look at the right angle and place, adventure, and excitement shine through.”

“[R]egardless of the quality of my pictures, I am satisfied after every photography outing I have because of the connection I am able to form with the world surrounding me.”

“The first time I kayaked in Squam Lake, I was in awe. The mountains surrounding me, the water spanning for miles, and the sounds of nature that made me feel at peace, was everything I needed to alleviate the stress of constantly moving without rest. […] The moment I stopped and looked all around me, I just couldn’t help but have a tingly feeling that this is where I needed to be.”

“Before my life living and serving at the SLA I was not into being alone. I did everything I could to be surrounded by people at every moment of the day.”

“I think sometimes we forget that the survival of the human species is deeply connected to access to clean water- we privileged few who never have to think twice about drinking water from our taps take it for granted, until suddenly it’s gone.”

“There are wide varieties of bird species in most regions on Earth, which allows birds to perform many activities that help bring about ecological balance wherever they are. Beyond their environmental impacts, birds directly benefit humans in quite a few ways as well.”