Christopher McCandless left the his home in Virginia determined to find happiness, truth and an identity. Inspired by Henry David Thoreau and Jack London, McCandless sought solitude within the Alaskan wilderness. However, his journey North led him to meet strangers who would became his dearest friends and revolutionize the way McCandless perceived happiness.
McCandless’ journey, eloquently archived by journalist Jon Krakauer in his book Into the Wild, transcended the idea of storytelling as he pursued truth.
I share this brief summary of McCandless’ story because the exploration of both his journey and that of our campus are synonymous. They are both stories about those who are in pursuit of understanding.
Who are we? What do we stand for as a community and as individuals? Where are we headed? And, why do we care?
The exploration of understanding and answering these questions, for me, begins in the stories that are told.
Each person has a story; a journey of what they are passionate about and the events leading up to the present.
This edition concludes a year of The Tartan reporting on and exploring the lives of the various members of Gordon’s community. Through this year, we have uncovered how the past meets the present and the future. More importantly, we have pursued stories with a desire to find truth and understanding.
Whether you have been at the college for several years or if this is your first semester, the people you meet, the conversations you have and the lessons you learn are the most important part of your college experience.
Near the end of his journey, McCandless said, “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”
Make each day an endlessly changing horizon.
Journey On!
Taylor Ann Bradford
Editor-in-Chief
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