Go beyond your comfort zone

by Peter Twitchell

Most of Yup’ik People it is said go to K-12 and don’t go any further in higher learning. A few go on and climb the ladder of success. We are tested. Some of us are fueled by achievements in our lives to move ahead and learn various professions.

Status quo keeps us in one place, and rather than improve our full potential in life we reach a place where we are comfortable.

One of my friends is studying probate law – more power to you, skies the limit. Take your talent and dream to the stars.

There’s only a couple things I can think of that stops us dead in our tracks from going all the way to the finish line and that is drugs and chemicals like alcohol. We are overpowered and fall. Alcohol and drugs are like a wildfire out of control.

What a waste of enthusiasm and dreams. We have been there in its ravages of short-lived dreams and hopes. It’s going to take a strong man and woman to get back up and learn to stand on our own two feet.

Unless we take the initiative to conquer our demons in life we will have 20, 30, 40, and 50 year old boys who never grew up to serve someone greater than themselves.

We’re going to have to be willing to go beyond our own comfort zone and achieve those skills necessary to propel us beyond just upward.

I lost a great friend in Joe Vanderpool recently. I did more than just look up to him. He learned to fly an airplane at the age of sixteen. I admired his grit and servitude to his fellow man, women, and children, logging 36,000 hours flying time before navigation aids like Capstone and limited instrument flying if that at all. Mostly visual wit, gut, and experience flying over Alaska and our lower 48 states.

Joe learned from his Elder pilots before him, and invested wisely in the welfare of others who depended on him.