In my post on Why I Just Quit My Good Job, I mentioned my resignation letter. This elicited a few  questions from readers, so I thought it would be informative as to my reasons for leaving if I posted the actual resignation letter. Authenticity and full transparency is the best policy for me, so hopefully this answers more questions! The school name has been replaced with Esteemed School - you guys understand :)

Dear Esteemed School,

    Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the wonderfully curious community of learners that is Esteemed School. It has been a pleasure for me to see this community of students grow as people, and in helping the community to learn I have grown tremendously myself. When teachers can learn as much from students as students from teachers, a school is certainly doing something right. I am excited to see how the students of our school will change the world.
    However, due to the fact that I firmly believe in the principles of full engagement, it is time for me to move on to new pursuits. Energy and interest are cyclical, and intermittent disengagement as well as a meandering course are necessary means by which I will ultimately find my life’s pursuit (doing that which excites me) and achieve my goals (making as much of a positive impact on environmental issues as possible). Thus, I will not be returning to Esteemed School next year. I regret leaving such an excellent school that has done so much for me, but these beliefs and passions are pushing me out into the world, and I am taking the leap.
    I wish the best to the school and will be following its extraordinary progress!
    Be well and have happy journeys,
                                                    Marshall Moose Moore

    This post is a memoir of my reflections from graduation. Do you keep a journal? I find it amazingly enlightening to keep one, and to occasionally reflect on it. That's what I did today. Congratulations Class of 2013!

    Maggie asks my mom "Can I go? I think I can fit in the suitcase!"

    "So what are you thinking you want to do while you are here?" I asked Mikey as she wolfed down some pizza like she had just run an ultramarathon. To be fair, she probably had, since I think any run she goes on turns into an ultra.

    "I don't really care, just something fun" she said meekly.

    "No no no" Jason corrected, "she means she doesn't care as long as it is something unbelievably epic."

    That made more sense.

    My escape from the world of Norse gods began with a haircut. It landed me in a fictional landscape of comic book heroes.
    “OH MY GOD!” a sixteen-year-old high school student yelled when she saw me on Monday morning. “You aren’t Thor anymore! You look like the hulk!” she screamed so loud I was sure the entire school could hear. “Or a huge version of Mr. Calhoun,” she said nonchalantly, and then moved on.

    My recent haircut, although it was quite a change, got me thinking of (and was actually inspired by) the question: why is it that we tie up so much of our identity in how we look?

    I decided to grow my hair out immediately after finishing my football career. The main reason? So that I wouldn’t look like a football player anymore. I was tired of having the identity of a football player, and I wanted a fresh start. The easiest way for me to get away from the prejudice (yes, it is found on the Brown University campus somewhere) I found against football players was to change my look. Unfortunately, my giant frame and turkey-burger calves weren’t going to change. So my hair was an easy option. The other reason was simply because I was afraid I was soon to go bald, so I thought “I might as well enjoy hair while I have it!”

    Well, nearly five years later, my hair was still long, and that had become part of my identity. It identified me as a hippy, an environmentalist, an adventurer, a caveman, a mad scientist, and a myriad of other personas. I realized that I had become attached to my hair because it was tied to that personality – it had become a part of me.

    One of my big soapboxes in life is about exhibiting your own personality and being authentic (being your highest self) no matter what the occasion, and looking for that in others as well. I say this because I don’t want to work with someone who wears a suit to work and is mean and dumb (sorry if that came off as harsh). Instead, I want to work with someone who is passionate about what they do, smart, and exudes energy and inspiration upon others. I don’t care what they look like! I want this to be a more prominent value in our culture, so it is a battle I choose to fight.

    Well, I realized that I wanted to work on that very thing – just being me. Yes, I feel that having long hair helped me fight that battle in a way. But at the same time, I felt like it had become too much of a part of my identity and in some ways, my statement. So, I decided that I needed to work on being me no matter what I look like, so I first shaved my beard and kept a mustache. Then, I just cut the whole damn beard and all the hair, too. Damn it feels good.

    What about your looks has become part of your personality? Do you think it affects you in a negative way at times? How can we, as a society, find a healthy balance for self-image? Let me know your story.

Just for amusement sake, here are a few funny images I found of myself. Enjoy :)

    It's that time of year, if you know what I mean. The days are short, the nights are cold, and I crave chocolate even more than normal. I often find myself singing along to "Spring is almost here and the summer's coming; the days are getting long. I waited all night for the time to be right just to bring you along... du du du"

    Luckily in Flagstaff, spring is usually close by in the form of Sedona. The riding is SO GOOD, and even the nights are temperate and pleasant.

    In the above picture, do you see the tower with the rounded top right above the word "tower?" OK, now look just to the left of it at the pointed spire. That spire is called "Queen Victoria," and Joaquin, Gavin, and I climbed it last weekend. Not to leave you with a cliff hanger (pun intended), but that update is for the next post. Here is a preview, though!

    I took a trip up to Bryce and Zion just to see it, and oh man was it amazing. I am planning another adventure up there soon!

    I stopped by Horseshoe bend on the way back to see the sunset:

    I ended up doing a night hike through Bryce which was AMAZING - the moon lit up the snowy trails and made hiking possible without even a headlamp!

    The sunrise was equally amazing:

    I also stopped by Zion on the way back, and trust me - I plan to make it back as soon as possible.

    Until next time, happy journeys y'all.

    On Sunday, the storm had mostly cleared. Clear blue skies took its place. I shoveled my sidewalk and happily enjoyed the beauty of my neighborhood.

    Felipe and I decided it was time for another adventure, so we headed up the mountain to see what we could see. Per usual after a snow, lots of skiers and snowboarders were snowshoeing up the mountain in order to ski back down. There were also a few idiots getting their 2-wheel drive cars stuck.

    The mountain itself had turned old overnight, its once green hair turning a bright white. At the top, the wind was howling, sending snow flying to the south.

    In the wake of the storm, even more beauty emerged. The clear blue skies contrasted against the white snow made the landscape come alive, giving all of us here in Flagstaff a new take on familiar scenery.

    Well, that's all for now, folks. Until next time, happy adventures,

    Everyone in town has been baffled - how have we not had a true snow yet? Sure, we got one little dusting, but the lack of precipitation has the locals worried. Without the moisture, the national forests are in major danger and run the risk of being closed to recreational activities, making the issue especially important to the nature-lovers in Flagstaff (there are a few of them out here).

    Well, we finally got the first real snow on Friday of five inches or so, and the snow continued to dump another seven inches or so overnight and into the day. It made for a TOTAL winter wonderland on Saturday, so Felipe and I decided to go on a little adventure down the 89A towards Sedona.

    We packed up our gear and set off. We wanted to take the opportunity to witness some of the effects of elevation on snow accumulation, and to see if we could catch a few glimpses of red rocks covered in snow.

    Near Flagstaff, the snow continued to pile up. By the Overlook at the top of the Mogollon Rim it was knee-deep, so Felipe and I took turns sprinting through the fresh powder.

    The snow on the Overlook itself provided a fantastic case study in ecology. Because different types of trees (mainly Ponderosa Pine vs. Douglas Fir around here) hold snow differently, the snow allowed us to spot different tree types from quite far away. Douglas Firs tend to hold more snow on them, and they have a much more conical shape. Ponderosas, however, do not hold as much snow and they retain their green hue and round shape.
    From our vantage point at the Overlook, we could clearly see that the south-facing slope (which gets more sun) was totally dominated by Ponderosa Pines. The north-facing slope, on the other hand, was covered in Douglas Fir trees, with a few Ponderosas visible just before the rim of the canyon.

    Can you tell which way I was facing when I took this picture?

    In Oak Creek Canyon, we encountered an even steadier storm - except that this time snow was falling upon the famous red rocks. It was an unbelievable sight that, to me, conveyed the power of a storm to transform a landscape.

    As we reached Sedona Proper, the storm began to break. We watched as clear skies began to appear to the South, and as the dark storm clouds continued North, rising upwards onto the rim.

    ... And then it was gone. The storm left behind only fleeting memories of its presence on the desert flora, and hope in the hearts of a couple young men that more storms are to come.