“You don’t find out who you are until you lose who you are.” This quote was one of the many that my 19-year-old-self used to see everywhere, but thought was completely ridiculous because I, of course, knew exactly who I was. In the summer of 2014, I headed up to Glacier National Park in Montana to work for the summer and realized I was completely wrong. Wrong about the kind of person I wanted to be, wrong about the kind of people I wanted in my life, and wrong about what was important to me. I attribute most of this to the crazy, bizarre, but incredibly perfect people I have met throughout my past two summers of National Park living.
1. The Optimist
We’ve all encountered the upbeat person who sees the absolute brightest side of any situation, but never until I worked in Glacier National Park had I really seen the true definition of an optimist. While I dragged myself to the morning shift (usually not on time), I was greeted with people who were simply ecstatic to wake up in the United States with a paying job. You quickly forget about being tired when you are working alongside people your age who are working 80 hours a week, sending money home to their families in Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain, etc.
2. The One Who is Here to Start New
Everyone is dealing with a struggle of their own, whether they let you in on the details of their struggle or not. Some people can pretend to continue on with life normally during hard times, but others need a drastic change to figure things out. For those looking for that drastic change, National Parks prove to be the perfect blank slate time and time again. The breathtaking views, lack of technology, and complete change of pace really allow the mind to take a break as you discover who you are.
3. The Complainer (who keeps coming back)
This type of person is usually difficult to relate to for the majority of the staff, but I personally find them hilarious. We spend our summers in a place that most people will only ever see in National Geographic, yet these people are still angry. Angry that they didn’t get that raise, that a customer annoyed them, or best of all…angry that they can’t find the remote to the TV (yes, this one actually happened). I, however, found the complainers to be an interesting group. For many of them, this could be the first time that they’ve found someone who is truly listening to what they are saying. Best of all, this group was usually on their fourth or fifth season of work with the National Park Service, so you knew that deep down, they didn’t think it was so bad after all.
4. The (maybe too) Adventurous One
Working in a National Park, you'll notice some people who would really rather never step foot on a trail, but also others who never stop exploring. These people have taken me on hikes I've cried during, live every day with purpose, and tend to give the best advice you'll ever receive. There is a certain passion in their eyes when they speak about their future plans, and they never worry about how things will work out (even if you're worrying for them). These type of people usually find themselves all over the world, so it's never a question of if you'll see them again or not.
5. The Clueless Sorority Girl (this is me)
This type of person may have the others wondering “Why is she here?” I had absolutely no idea what kind of adventures I was getting myself into, but I was somehow okay with that. Many people have their preconceived ideas of how a college sorority girl should look, talk, and behave. However, these ideas seemed to quickly disappear as I wore the same shirt for days straight, ate 17 pieces of pizza at dinner, and was able to laugh about summersaulting down from a mountain peak. The day I left during my first season, I was hugged by one of my co-workers as he told me “Well you didn't change my opinion on sorority girls... I already knew you guys were cool."
