Instructors and Logis Offer Some AWE Advice
AWE, the Athenian Wilderness Experience, is a hallmark of The Athenian School. That a 26-day-long wilderness expedition is one of our school’s graduation requirements demonstrates the unique rigor that an Athenian education demands of students beyond academics.
However, these high expectations inevitably creates anxiety among students, something Andrew Ekren, a student logi for 2024 Death Valley AWE, acknowledges. “I think it’s very natural to be afraid of the experience. I don’t think you should stop being afraid of the experience. A lot of people say that expectations are what ruin the experience, but there’s no way to get rid of expectations: you are going to have [them] one way or another,” said Andrew.
Facing this anxiety, many students often seek advice from trusted adults or students who have experienced AWE. Andrew said, “If you can try to push past those expectations, I think that would help your experience be a better one. I think the only way to experience AWE is to experience AWE so no matter how you feel beforehand you’re still going to go through the trip and whether you enjoy it or don’t enjoy it, it’s going to be a very valuable experience.”
Jason Ham, Co-Director of AWE, explained that preconceived expectations cannot fit into the uniqueness of the AWE experience. “Whatever you hear ahead of time or have an idea of ahead of time, it’s probably not correct because everyone’s course is so unique. It’s hard to translate someone else’s experience into your own, so the more open you are to that, usually the easier it will be in general,” said Jason.
Another student logi for 2024 Death Valley AWE, Crystal Luo, also recommends having an open mindset toward AWE: “Just bring an open heart to it. Enjoy the journey, the nature around you, and the process of exploring yourself to think back on your life and reflect on what have you done, and what do I want to do in the future. And when you come back from it, you’ll find— it’s not going to be shockingly different—something new,” said Crystal.
In addition to telling students to get rid of their expectations and be open to the experience, Jason urges students to find presence. “Be in the moment. Don’t listen to what other people say about the course at all whether it’s good or bad, and just see what happens,” said Jason.
Jason further explains that being in the present can make every moment an opportunity for practicing kindness. “It’s just a matter of approaching each day for the things that do happen and thinking about how you can be best in that particular moment. You open your eyes in the morning, and it’s cold and frosty. That’s when you decide, ‘Ok, this is going to be terrible,’ and you suck your head down in your sleeping bag or you make another decision: ‘I am gonna get going this morning and make hot drinks for everyone,’ and you pop out of bed and you just do it and you are doing it because you want to make everyone’s day better. Those are two paths you can go down on any given day. They are both acceptable paths but they have very different outcomes, so you decide every day what happens on the course like AWE,’” said Jason.
Andrew says, “The biggest tip I can give is that on AWE the more you contribute to the group, the more your group will contribute to you. I don’t mean this on an individual scale where you help someone then they help you back. I mean that giving your time and energy to people is very rewarding to the group as a whole. And if everyone is able to contribute to the group as much as they can, I believe that will be the greatest AWE experience.”
