Growing Up Alaskan Style

Yes, I'm from Alaska. No, I'm not from Canada. Yes, I've been dog sledding. No, I don't live in an igloo. Penguins live in Antarctica. Polar Bears are only found in the far north. Is Alaska an amazing place to grow up? Yes!

Six year old me eating snow...

Some of my earliest memories are of fishing, playing in snow or mud, picking blueberries, and creating stick forts. Being born in Alaska has made my life so different than anywhere else in the world. Maybe it was the countless mountains I yearned to summit or the chilly lakes I would play in. Growing up in the last frontier taught me to have grit and a strong sense of adventure. There are just some experiences you cannot have anywhere else. Like the time some friends and I ran across ice and water on a lake during breakup season, or when I hiked across a boulder field just a few miles from my house. Alaska also offered me so many different environments, from Juneau’s Rainforests, tundra’s in the interior, beaches in Kenai, and snowy slopes in Girdwood.

Alaska is a place of serenity and beauty that I feel lucky to have grown up in. I hope everyone will be able to enjoy the uniqueness of Alaska. One of my best memories is from when I was about six years old. My family and I were fishing on a river and I was using a small Barbie pole. I remember a small trout biting on my line, I became so excited because no one else had caught a fish and I was able to pull it in on my little pole. Memories like that make me want to share and love Alaska more than ever. Another Alaskan activity I always enjoyed was four wheeling. Ever since I was very young I have four wheeled on muddy paths, up to icy glaciers, and even on sandy hills. I highly suggest anyone on vacation in Alaska to take a 4x4 trip. Every summer I would go to my grandparent’s cabin on the Kenai River. My brother and I would spend the long summer days fishing, biking, painting rocks, and kayaking. We always enjoyed helping our grandparents can and smoke salmon. Fresh smoked salmon is one of the most delicious Alaskan foods I have ever eaten, maybe that was because we worked for hours to catch and process it. Growing up in Alaska gave me the virtue of patience, whether it was waiting for a fish to bite, relaxing in a car while driving all day to Fairbanks, or hiking for hours to find a blueberry patch. I’m proud to call myself an Alaskan, and I am thankful to have experienced the endless summer days, beautiful mountains, and the serenity of Alaska as a whole.