Into The Wild

I haven’t been inspired by anything or anyone in so long than I have been by this movie. So choked up at the end that I couldn’t speak and I surely couldn’t breathe. For anyone who hasn’t seen it or read the story, skip over this part a bit. I must talk about the story to fully establish what it did for me and why I care so much about the environment. Also…watch this trailer. If it doesn’t make you want to see it…wow.

So this young man, Chris, just graduates from Emory with his last semester among many others with all A’s. I can see how everyone must look at him saying…”What a bright kid. He is going to go to law school. He is going to make so much money in his career. He is going to change this world.” And he did. But not in the way that everyone had expected him to. His parents come to his graduation and they are so proud. They leave him to go back home expecting to see him soon when he gets all of his stuff packed up. Instead, Chris packs a backpack, burns his identification cards, pictures, and other “useless” items as he donates his entire savings to Oxfam. He changes his name to Alexander Supertramp. Bold from the beginning. And it is a story that continues on as he meets the most interesting people, changes their lives and walks right out of them because he is on a journey. His great Alaskan adventure. He hitchhikes, hops on trains, and walks to get anywhere he is going. He survives many things that could have made the end of him, or anyone. He pushes forward through states like Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, North Dakota, and even Mexico. When he finally makes it to Alaska he finds a small abandoned bus and this is where he lives for the remainder of his life. He finds the beauty in his surroundings and lives off of nature. He breaks my heart and makes it stronger at the same time. He kills to live and cries at death. The smallest things he faces are what bring him to his death in the end. But beyond that, brings him to the realization that the happiness he was looking for wasn’t real. But that “happiness is only real when shared.” WOW.
What was most inspiring to me in this film was how intelligent this man was. He had the courage to finish school and face years of materialism while gaining knowledge before he went out on this extravagant quest. What he did is what i dream of doing everyday and the fact that he finished school helped me to realize that i must to the same before I can ever do anything like that. It also reminded me how beautiful nature is. How lucky he was to get to see it for everything it was and spent countless hours taking it all in. It is because of feelings like that in which I feel so strongly in helping to save the environment that we do live in. Maybe I am selfish, but I want to romp the country side, rivers, deserts, and mountains just like he did. And I want everyone else to freely be able to do the same.