My body is sitting in an environmental health lecture in Bascom Hall with 250 students, but my mind is deep in the woods of northern Wisconsin. The glow of my headlight guides me through the early morning darkness as I walk quietly along the mixed maple trail to my deer stand. The air is cold. I can see my breath as I climb the ladder. Wrapped in layers and blaze orange, wearing heavy boots, and with pockets full of hand warmers, I get cozy and prepare mentally for a dusk-till-dark sit. I load my gun. As I wait for the sun to rise, my excitement builds.
I snap back to Environmental Studies 113 and scramble to take notes to catch up. Thanksgiving break is coming, I tell myself. I anticipate it not for the turkey, but for the hunt that excites me every year and for the chance to escape city streets.