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Solo-Pilgrimage in Norway: Bee Stings, Solitude, and Connection
My hand swells up to twice its size, oozing clear liquid, and i've never felt better. About four days prior, I was traversing the notable...
Emma Lopez
Jul 24, 20244 min read
85 views
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A Slow Life
I returned from Hawaii a couple months ago and sat down to write about it. I didn't get very far, and left the words to marinate in an...
Emma Lopez
Jun 2, 20245 min read
116 views
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Colorful World of Vibrant and Dull Extremes: Finding Balance
When I arrived in Wyoming, I fancied vibrant yellows and then deep rusty oranges - the colors of aspen leaves in the fall. For the first...
Emma Lopez
Jan 29, 20244 min read
125 views
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To Dwell or Not to Dwell: How Do We Deal with the Emotions of Nostalgia?
Nostalgia creeps in like the cold of winter. Slow at first, then one day the icy wall shows up with full force, impossible to ignore....
Emma Lopez
Jan 2, 20244 min read
102 views
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How to Become Confident: Through Experience
Many people want confidence. Many people wonder why they don’t have it. There are things that I am very confident in, such as leading...
Emma Lopez
Nov 10, 20224 min read
114 views
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Get Uncomfortable: How to Get Into Your Growth Zone and Out of Fear
There are a lot of things that are scary about life. Everyone has their own personal anxieties, and oftentimes avoidance is how many...
Emma Lopez
Oct 24, 20224 min read
197 views
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Autumn in the Mountains: The Complexities of Change
I have been seduced by the phenology of quaking aspens. In the winter, they stand softly, white bark against white snow. Their eyes,...
Emma Lopez
Oct 7, 20223 min read
41 views
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The Healing Powers of Nature: Feeling Alone
Peyton is in 8th grade. Blonde, formidable beauty in her future, remarkably rebellious, sharp as a nail, and tragically wrapped up inside...
Emma Lopez
Sep 25, 20223 min read
25 views
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Kids and Screens: A Reason to Scream
I am walking through the forest with some 6th graders when one exclaims, Wait, these spruce don't look anything like the ones on...
Emma Lopez
May 14, 20225 min read
62 views
2 comments


Self-Soothing: A Necessary Skill to Coping with Life's Challenges
Imagine something traumatic has happened to you. Maybe it actually has. We may have a support system - Parents, friends, teachers,...
Emma Lopez
Mar 20, 20223 min read
43 views
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Living and Teaching in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
A red shape flashes in the corner of my vision. I turn away from my students, and see a red fox lightly pitter pattering across fresh...
Emma Lopez
Mar 12, 20224 min read
100 views
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The Nuances of Cultural Appropriation in Spirituality: Expanding Compassion
Recently, I started reading a book about spirituality called The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I first discovered this book when I saw a...
Emma Lopez
Feb 1, 20229 min read
246 views
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Developing a Morning Routine to Start Your Day Right: 4 Things I Do Everyday
There is not a one-size-fits-all in terms of waking up. It is actually quite simple: You open your eyes, and start your day. How we start...
Emma Lopez
Jan 17, 20225 min read
39 views
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Finding Nature’s Power Through Stillness
I park my car next to a small snowbank of fresh snow, and see large footprints that head into the forest that start at my car. They...
Emma Lopez
Jan 13, 20226 min read
59 views
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Why I Stopped Collecting and How You Can Stop Too
When I was in elementary school, I had a box containing around 300 gift cards. None of these gift cards ever had any money on them. I...
Emma Lopez
Jan 5, 20229 min read
1,609 views
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New England Suburbia vs. Western Small Town
On the drive back from the airport in Boston I stare out the window at all the trees zipping by out the window. On long car rides I used...
Emma Lopez
Dec 30, 20216 min read
100 views
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Beating the Holiday Blues by Managing Expectations
Twinkling lights wherever you go, holiday desserts, family gathering, gift giving, time off from work - How could one not be happy around...
Emma Lopez
Dec 21, 20215 min read
112 views
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Blasé in Beautiful Arches
I planned to visit five national parks this week, and spend every night under the stars. I start to rethink this decision on the second...
Emma Lopez
Dec 10, 20218 min read
56 views
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The Materialistic World of the Outdoor Industry
Gear. Gear. Gear! You have it, or you don't. The word itself is so subjective - It can be valued at $5 or $5,000, depending on where you...
Emma Lopez
Nov 30, 20216 min read
201 views
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Hiking My Way to Sanity in Franconia, NH
I take deep breaths, half because of physical exertion, and half because the air is dense with the musky-sweet smell of fallen leaves. So...
Emma Lopez
Oct 12, 20216 min read
92 views
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