Miika's Answer to "Why Vanguard"

A Vanguard Gap Year Story

By HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development

October 28^th, 2021

It’s almost humbling to think about what my perception of a post high school life looked like at this exact time last year. As I sit at the edge of Chrouser Lawn feet away from Long Lake, soaking in the faint October sun that illuminates the many shades of orange, red, and yellow, it’s hard to imagine this year going any other way. When I look at the ways God perfectly orchestrated this opportunity, my mind subconsciously shifts from “why Vanguard?” to “how could it not have been Vanguard?”

Fall of 2020 was an interesting way to start my senior year of high school. What was supposed to be the epitome of public school for me turned out to be another year of seven hour zoom days, anxiety about the future, and increasing uncertainty about what college would look like in a Covid world.

I had never really considered a gap year and was fairly certain it wasn’t for me. Everyone I knew was going to college the following year and seemed to have no problem diving right into the next phase of their education and life. I was not.

"You gotta be kinda weird to do Vanguard..."

As college application due dates got closer, my fears of the future only got stronger. I had received multiple emails regarding Vanguard, but had never given the program much thought. My mom, being who she is and seeing the ways in which my anxiety was overwhelming me, set up a meeting with Laura Elliot, a Wheaton and HoneyRock staff member. What I thought would be a simple, informative webinar turned out to be the reason I further pursued Vanguard. Laura mentioned the year would start with a backpacking trip, then later a trip to Costa Rica, and ending with a trip to Chicago. Having been to Costa Rica before, and having dear friends down there, I couldn’t help but get excited for the prospect of returning in such a cool way. Similarly, being able to serve Chicago, the city I grew up in, as well as backpack and spend significant time outdoors got me excited for the 2021-2022 school year for the first time. And that wasn’t even the beginning of what this year is and has already revealed to me in the three weeks I’ve lived here.

A fellow Vanguard and friend of mine said a couple months ago, “You gotta be kinda weird to do Vanguard, no one just moves to the Northwoods of Wisconsin for the fun of it.” And as I watch this year unfold, I believe it more and more. This program draws in a unique crowd of individuals who are all, to different extents, searching for ways to engage in and be a part of an outdoor community that celebrates our Creator and His Creation every single day. I have at least one moment a day where I remember how different and incredible Vanguard is making my life in this season. When millions of eighteen and nineteen year olds are sitting in hour-long lectures and jam-packed seminars I’m backpacking on Lake Superior, I’m worshipping my God while in a canoe, I’m stargazing long enough to watch the moonrise, and right now I’m doing “work” as I gaze out at the beauty of the Northwoods that I'm now living in.

Now that I am here, I see “Why Vanguard.” I get to live in the woods, I get to be outside every single day, I get to worship my God with my hands and my heart in ways I could have never imagined, I get to experience intentional community, and be a part of a vision much greater than my own.

I have at least one moment a day where I remember how different and incredible Vanguard is making my life in this season.

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HANNAH'S ANSWER TO "WHY VANGUARD?"

Miika's Answer to "Why Vanguard"

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