Abraham Zepeta: Un Momento Como Este – A Moment Like This
Ya sea despertarme a las 6:30 AM o después de mi clase de Español, a las 2:20 PM, cocinar con mis compañeres es una gran diversión. Tenemos la responsabilidad de alimentar al semestre, y cada día tenemos nuevos platillos para cocinar! Al terminar nuestro trabajo, nos toca limpiar mientras escuchamos música relajada: Lunes por la
mañana, o Bad Bunny por la noche. Aunque no será mi día, los Sábados me gusta ayudar a mis amigues con la
limpieza mientras cantamos Ed Sheeran!
Whether it be waking up at 6:30 AM, or after my Spanish class, at 2:20 PM, being part of the cook crew is a ball.
We are tasked with the responsibility to cook for the whole semester, and every day we have new dishes to chef
up! Before wrapping up our job, we clean up with relaxed music in the mornings, Bad Bunny at night, or Ed
Sheeran Saturday night. Even though it might not be my day, I love helping my friends clean up while we sing Ed
Sheeran Saturday nights!
Sammy Wasserman: Home: My Time Living With Seven Other Girls
August 18, 2024: The first time I saw the place that would soon become my sanctuary for the next four months. I walked down the boardwalk towards my new home: hair in braids, a wide smile on my face, pulling two cumbersome duffels behind me. The melodic, joy-filled laughter wafted through the chilled air, tingling through me. My first look into Cabin Four presented me with possibility. The cabin greeted me with its enchanting, tantalizing wood-burning stove. I saw my name written in vibrant purple ink on a small index card, and a welcome message on our white board. I was home.
We are now two months past that magical first look at Cabin Four. Truthfully, living with seven other girls is no easy task. Your space is limited; you wake up your whole cabin screaming in your sleep. You stand outside in the cold chopping kindling, you sigh, defeated and disappointed when you lose cabin inspection to the boys cabin next door. But living with seven other girls has also created some of my most invaluable memories to date: piling onto each other’s beds each night, pillows, fluffy comforters and blankets creating a cocoon that is wholly ours. Heads rest in laps and blankets get shared as we talk about our life stories, our fears, our gratitudes from the day — each person so unabashedly themself.
Slowly, our closets merge. One night, early after our first expedition, we sat on the floor of the cabin, each of us with three items hand-selected from our wardrobe as if we were about to show them to Heidi Klume herself. We each told the story behind every piece. This White Elephant swap led to chaos, yelling, drama, stolen sweaters, and ultimately, understanding.
Now that I’m halfway through my HMI experience, I want to send a lot of thank yous. A thank you to the girls who took me in with all of their hearts, making me laugh until I almost pee my pants, singing songs at night in the bathroom, toothpaste dripping down my face. The girls who will hug me when I cry, who cheer at my
successes. I love you guys.
Leyla Somani: My Relationship with My Teachers
I step out of the van from first exped, look around, and hug familiar faces. Then, I scan the area to look for my teachers and advisor. I see my advisor Sarah standing at the entrance of Barnes, holding a tray of watermelon slices and smiling at me. She comes over and I hug her. She makes me feel like I am home. Over the next few days on campus we settle in, and get used to the new routine. During my first week of HMI classes, I feel completely at home. There are many reasons for this: friends, school, but especially my teachers. I don’t take Spanish class, but I wanted to see what it was like, so one day I decided to join. Amos and Claire, the Spanish teaching duo, who were also on my first expedition, welcomed me to the class and let me participate in the activities. I had so much fun pretending to be fluent in Spanish.
Around the second week of classes, we had our advisory dinner. I had been looking forward to it ever since I
heard about it on exped. Sarah drove us to the taco truck, and then to her house. This was the first time I had really interacted with my advisory as a whole, since it was a new group. More importantly, the dinner gave me a
look into Sarah’s life; more than just my history teacher, it made her seem like a person I could trust and go to for anything. Here at HMI, my teachers are more than mere authority figures; they are my friends and some of the people that know me best.
Avi Kunins: A day at HMI:
Waking to the sound of a scratching suitcase echoing through the small cabin, I grasp my fluffy green blanket tightly to my chest, and arise, letting out a big stretch. After rubbing my droopy eyes I glance at my watch to see the numbers 6:30am, and get ready for morning AMX. I leave my cabin with my Mp3 in my right hand and headphones on head; I am ready. As I run down the dewy concrete road, I notice a layer of morning fog resting on the horizon. There’s snow on the mountain and my breath is cold.
Following AMX, I enjoy a warm breakfast of eggs, bacon, and fruit–then chores. Today was a Friday, which meant I had a free period first as well as laundry room duty, which is arguably my favorite chorespace. After thirty minutes of moping, sorting, and cleaning, I watch the clock hit 8:50 and run out. I grab my backpack and head for the gym to spend my free time. Headphones back on, music playing, I
begin my workout.
Next I head to class: Calculus, then lunch, history and English. It’s now dinner time, which is also one of my favorite meals: butter chicken with naan bread. It was a decently warm evening, so everyone sits at the long wooden table on the back porch to enjoy a meal together. Once sunset hits, I head back to the cabin, where me and Quinn cut Issac’s hair through our makeshift barbershop. Although we mess up his sideburns, we do a decent job, and finish with some dap-ups.
At 10:45pm, our entire cabin gathers in the main room and turns off the lights. With a flashlight on the middle table, I turn on my Mp3 and start playing some rap beats. We then proceed to enjoy our weekly freestyle night, where we go in a circle rapping over the song, adding on the last person’s line. Laughing until we’re practically peeing, we finished around 11:30 pm, then went to bed for another great day.
Henry Davidson: Town Time
Despite being only five miles outside of downtown Leadville, us students do not get to spend much time wandering the streets and seeing what the once flourishing mining town has to offer. Town time is a time to decompress from our school life, and to connect with the local culture of Leadville.
We have gone into town twice now: once at the end of the first academic block on a Sunday, and again on the Saturday after our second expedition. Melanzana, a local sweatshirt brand, is the first stop for most of us. The
sweatshirts, or “mellies,” are made right here in Leadville; they’ve become so popular that the company sells by appointment only, so we visit the store hoping we can find one on the overstock rack.
Town time was our first time in the real world since coming to HMI. Some of us went for candy, and others to the numerous thrift stores. The antique mall was one of my favorite places; you can buy anything from an authentic WWI gas mask, to a retro poster for the cabin, and everything in between.
Our town time after the first academic block acted as a capstone to the hard work we have been doing; it got us ready to leave civilization for our second expedition. On the flip side, town time also helped us all acclimate into society after living in the canyons for ten days. It gave us another dedicated time to hang out with friends, and mix up our interactions after living with the same people for ten days. Town time is the perfect place to
decompress while also exploring Leadville’s local culture outside of the HMI’s campus.
Dulce Chavez: Staying In The Moment
One of the most pleasant moments during the first academic block was getting to experience solo time. It was both rewarding and relaxing. In my first solo spot, I got breathtaking views of the Sawatch Mountains and its lakes. In a way, simply sitting in nature made me more satisfied with my overall backpacking experience. The scenery made me feel like I was behind the scenes of a National Geographic magazine dedicated to the Sawatch Range.
Before that experience, solo seemed boring. I still didn’t think I could benefit from it. HMI faculty explained to
us that it can be a place where you dedicate your time to just being. So, I focused my attention on expressing gratitude towards what I had achieved up until that point. I even had time to write letters to my loved ones!
Over time, I realized that my solo spot is more important than I originally thought. However insignificant it might initially appear to our HMI arc, it is a place to unwind alone without distractions or homework. Here at HMI, I am constantly surrounded by people, for longer than I’m used to. So, when I need a place where I can sit and
listen to my internal dialogue, I know I can use this intentional time to reduce my stress and express myself creatively.
Milo Barrett: The Dunes
Going to the dunes was the ultimate school field trip. While it’s wonderful to spend so much time with my friends here at HMI, we rarely have opportunities to leave our bubble and explore. Because of this, I’ve learned to cherish these opportunities of variety in my schedule. The largest of these trips was our journey to Great Sand Dunes National Park.
During the two hour car ride, we noticed the dunes from afar, eyeing the juxtaposed massive lumps of sand at the bottom of a mountain range. After settling in the parking lot, we all got briefed that we would be let loose to roam around as we pleased. We immediately scattered across the massive flat plane, walking at different paces. With the dunes towering in front of us, I decided to follow the main group and push to try to get up to the tallest point. After seeing another group stop, I considered joining them, but hoped it would be worth it to climb a little more for my lunch spot.
Finally, I found the place the others had settled into to eat their lunch: a small saddle in between two peaks
overlooking the rest of the beautiful dunes ahead of us. I spent lunch reflecting on where I truly was, which was certainly different from my hometown: New York City. HMI Has given me endless opportunities to explore the most surreal and unknown places that I had no idea existed before I came. This trip to the Dunes was just another one of these incredible adventures where I had so much fun with all the incredible friends I’ve met during my time here.
