Alive, Afraid, and Awake

Liam Cardenas Ferguson ‘27

Fear. It is the singular most powerful yet detrimental principle of humanity. It creates wars, disputes, trauma– yet can be the medicine for these atrocities. Fear, in essence, stems from the idea of death– the only thing we have guaranteed in our lives. 

Fear allows us to realize the beauty, value, and rapidity of life. Experiencing fear, in a very privileged way, allows us to take advantage of the emotion of being alive– of liberation, self-autonomy, and the power of being conscious.

A block break trip took us to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, where we were given the opportunity to embark on a trip of utter freedom– of climbing, bushwacking, laughing, camping, crying, and much more in one of (if not) North America’s most beautiful landscape(s). The pictures taken attempt to highlight their grandeur; of their stoicness and uncaring nature that transcends our human consciousness. 

While standing on the summit of many of these peaks gave us great satisfaction, the true message of these mountains was felt in the journey: of aching, raw feet, bloody hands, frigid nights, scratched shins, and blistering days. These mountains showed us that we are privileged enough to experience this pain– societally– and that we are only human; alive, afraid, and awake. 

Images were taken on the indigenous lands of the Apache, Navajo, Tiwa, and Tewa Peoples.