Mission Accomplished

"Mission Accomplished"

I have 2 bachelor's degrees 216 credit hours, about a 2.9 GPA across all of it, and a 3.5 GPA for the final year of my first degree and my entire second degree at CU. I've attended 3 universities and a community college. I've declared majors in Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology, Biology, Psychology, Individual Studies, Geography, and a minor in Space Studies.

I finished the Individual Studies Major, the Geography Major, the Space Studies minor, and the Geographic Information Systems specialization. I am also about one course shy of minors in Psychology, Economics, an associates in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology, and two courses shy of minors in Anthropology and Business.

No third undergraduate degree for me. And no need to complete those minors.. Done with undergraduate school forever. ....

Nick Whittemore

July, 2017

Everyone has their own experience in the desert at some point in their life.

“Everyone has their own experience in the desert at some point in their life.”

Life is hard. Life can get you down. Just remember, “Everyone is fighting a hard battle.” – Plato. Don’t ever quit. Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever stop enjoying something in life. If you find yourself read to quit don’t. Period. Don’t quit because someone let you down. Don’t quit because your mind wants you to believe you can’t do something. Don’t listen to it. You don’t have to listen to it.

I myself have been through some tough stuff at points in my life. I’ve wanted to quit. I’ve desperately wanted to quit. I’ve desperately wanted to give up, but I’ve always been drawn back by a combination of love, curiosity, and courage. I’ve always wondered what the next day might bring. It could be a bad day, but how about the day after that? I’ve just convinced myself it’s worth it even when I’m not sure what I’m doing or where I’m headed in life. Something beyond my understanding just says, “Get back up Nick!”. Don’t quit! What about tomorrow!? 

And this thing, this invisible indescribable small bit of faith reminds me that other people love me and that I have a purpose or meaning to life, even if I’ve lost my way today. I can redefine that purpose, that being, that meaningfulness, that love, that curiosity, tomorrow. You might even inspire somebody else or many other people to keep going.

Don’t quit because you broke your leg. Don’t quit because you fell off your bike. Don’t quit because your friend died. Don’t quit because people said that you can’t do it. Don’t quit because people said that, “You can do it!” and that’s not what you what you really want to do.. Instead find another path, another way towards the horizon, or REDFINE your purpose, your journey. Be yourself, love yourself. If you can do this, you can love others. It will be tough, it will be hard, it will be painful and ugly at times… we’re all human beings. It’s supposed to be that way. Life isn’t easy for anyone. 

Maybe you were born poor. Maybe you were born rich and privileged, maybe you were born somewhere in between. Don’t let where you were born, or what situation you born into define who you are as a human being. Don’t let it define your path in life. You can do whatever you want to do in life. It’s going to be hard, but you can do it. Don’t quit because Trump became president. Don’t quit because you’re different and feel disadvantaged. Remember, “Everyone is fighting a hard battle.” Find a way TO BE YOU!

So, this above is all coming from a few conversations that I had at a party tonight. I talked to a student who was not a member of the in-group that was hosting the party. He said he was 3.5 years into an engineering degree, and wished that he’d studied something else. I told him immediately that he still could study something else, but that he should finish what he started. I told him that I’d heard of so many cases where people were so close to “getting there” and something happened and they quit. I told him to take a step back if you need to, take a deep breath, take some time off and work, just be the guy that goes back and finishes what he started. 

He told me that a few of his ROTC friends got sick and had to quit. He said that people don’t understand that someone that’s 24 can get sick. I told him that I understand. I got sick and had to quit. It took me seven years to finish a bachelor’s degree because I got sick and had no idea what I was doing.. but I did finish it eventually. I did go back and finish that degree, and now I was back for a second one. He said, “Wow, you’ve made me think differently.” I told him people go through all sorts of stuff in life, but that doesn’t mean that you have to give up. This stuff is all too common, it’s a part of life. Just don’t fold the deck, when you’re just getting started. He said wow I’ll do that. 

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had similar conversations over the past three years or so. I see somebody in some type of “wanting to give up state.” And my mind kicks in, and is immediately empathetic, but also knows enough that person can’t give up. Similar stories come out, and I can tell my own story in a number of different ways. And very often, more often than not that little spark of understanding passes to that other person in that moment. It ignites a new pattern of thinking. People tell me I’ve inspired them, and that initially makes me feel a bit embarrassed because that can’t be the case.. However I’ve been told that enough times, that I realize it’s true. I am inspiring and I turn to these people that I’ve inspired a little bit when I’m down on my own-self. And they inspire me a little bit. It’s like a wave, or a wheel, or something like that. What goes around comes around. 

So yah, that’s what keeps me going, moving towards the horizon, looking across the desert, to continue being hopeful that tomorrow will be better, because statistically it’s a wish-wash. It might actually be better, and if it’s not then the day after tomorrow will be a good day, because I’ll make it that way. 

“We all have our experiences in the metaphorical desert of life at some point in our lives.”

Nick Whittemore
Written sometime in 
December 2016 

Moonwalk: "Footsteps in the Desert"

"Moonwalk"

My desert experience was the only thing that got me through the degree at CU. That was one of the hardest things I ever did. It was mentally tough, physically exhausting, and we lived a bit like homeless folks (I hate hate that comparison but it works). Ten hours of work in 100 degree heat, 15 days in a row, we had to survive on 5 gallons of water for two days at a time, and a shower once a week, in the absolute middle of nowhere. And after the last trip, cumulative 44 days in the desert, I thought on the last day after all that, “This isn’t so bad, I could get used to it.” 

It taught me that all you really need is a tent a sleeping bag, some clean water, an occasional shower, a change of cloths, a bucket and a shovel, a daypack and some extremely basic cooking equipment, ... and maybe some sunflower butter and jelly, ... access to some type of transportation, and at least one other person to survive. 

That’s really it. Talk about minimalism and a mentally taxing situation but people are incredibly resilient in this world. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything, even if it contributed to some long term sleeping difficulties. 

"Moonwalk: Footsteps in the Desert"

Imagine being so remote that all you see at night is a completely clear sky. 

Almost 0% light pollution. 

An experience like walking on the moon after the fire 130,000 acres of pure blackness. Nothingness.. 

With this road down the center of the valley, that split life from death. 

The shadow and light. 

Even the black sooty nothingness had a certain beauty to it. 

The tumbleweeds that slowly rolled across the road and the dust devils spinning above the desert were beautiful in a way. 

The sun rose over the black fine grained ash. 

The sun rose in the morning over the nothingness. 

A ball of fire providing new energy and life to a desolate landscape. 

It must have been a bit like what Neil Armstrong saw on the moon when he stepped out and saw the blue earth rise 250,000 miles away in the most isolated desolate landscape humankind ever set foot on.

That desert experience was tough and beautiful. My moon walk, my 44 days in the desert...

      Charles N. Whittemore
      21st of October, 2017