OUTDOOR PERSON

Hiking Day in SF

Lots of people tell me that I look like a person who loves being outside to camp or to climb mountains.
People think I am good at any sports, especially running.
I like that they think I am a fast runner because I am such a slow runner actually.
I think those people have those kinds of image of me only because I have dark skin.
I don’t like to make people disappointed if they have some sort of expectation to me.
So I had tried hard to answer the expectation, although I kinda know “Who cares…”
I had never told people the fact that I was not like a person whom they image of me.
I was a leader of YMCA when I was a college student, and took lots of kids for camping to river and to mountains.
But still never liked camping at all, so I don’t know why I did that for four years.
The only camping I loved was with my friends from YMCA.
We went for a camp by car with tons of stuff and they did all setups without me.
They spoiled me, so I made fire only when I felt like to, and I did only my favorite parts like cooking outside or chatting in front if fire.
The best part was that I did not have to walk with carrying lots of stuff!!!!!

Once I told people that I don’t care much about nature, I felt much better.
During this trip, I went on hiking with my boyfriend.
On that morning, our friend, Dan, was surprised “Yukako is going on a hike!?!?!?”
When I heard him saying it, I was so happy and thought, “How nice that people around me know what I am not good at! I don’t have to try hard!!”
Therefore, when we were in a mountain, I could say whenever I was tired and whenever I wanted to take a rest.
Before I had never be able to say such a thing, maybe I had a high pride.
Actually, I had a good time on that day. In a mountain
Hiking is not my thing to do every weekend, but I realized it is good for sometime.
I asked Ryan “What is the point to go for a hike?” then he said “To feel nature”, so I did.
I looked closer to things in a mountain, and it was interesting.
I saw many things, did echo for the first time in my life, and listened to nature sound.