During my latest humanities project, my class and I traveled to the southwest to New Mexico for the Manhattan Project. We visited the major sites found in New Mexico such as Trinity Site, Los Alamos Laboratory, and several different museums that presented the history of the atomic bomb. The trip took us to a variety of places like the balloon fiesta that was unrelated to the Manhattan project but was an experience unlike anything else. It was a stunning trip with jam-packed days that challenged how long I could work. New Mexico 2019 was incredible, and let’s talk about some of the risks and experiences that made it such an amazing trip.
Shoutout to Daniel for creating a recap video for our trip. I encourage you to give it a watch, it’s a great visual representation of our exciting trip
I am going to look at some crazy experiences that required me to change my mindset to even understand what was going on around me. They required me to let go of social perception and fully immerse myself in the experience.
Meow Wolf
Without a doubt the strangest experience of my life.
I simply cannot describe the insanity that surrounded me when I entered the exhibit. It was a collection of creative themes that connected to the main story. There were close to a hundred different themes found within the exhibit. Every single setting used different senses to augment the experience. As we walked through the rooms/themes we tried to visit each one but we kept finding that the rooms guided you in different directions every time you traversed them. After struggling to guide ourselves we found ourselves meandering around the rooms, and it was only then where I could settle down and completely immerse myself in the experience. I couldn’t call this a controlled risk but I think it shows how I was flexible in my thinking. By losing control of the situation I was able to access a different side of my brain. It felt a lot like a heightened mediated state, almost as if the fewer thoughts clouding the mind, the more powerful thought. I’m not even going to bother trying to explaining even one of the rooms, but I would recommend to anyone visiting the New Mexico area to stop by and give Meow Wolf a visit.
Balloon Fiesta
Although the balloon fiesta was less of a mind-bending experience than Meow Wolf, it made up for it with its remarkable beauty. Watching hundreds of balloons ascend from the ground was stunning because of the picturesque setting of a blue sky and large mountains that frame the landscape. 
Like my experience with Meow Wolf, I was forced to relax and find a mediated and tranquil state that would allow me to more fully appreciate the sights around me. We started the day at 3 in the morning and found ourselves at the Fiesta at 5 am. This was unique because it was the earliest of all the wake ups to that point. Combined with a few days before it of shortened sleep it made for a very challenging day. Any kind of adversity challenges the mind but extreme exhaustion is something that I haven’t had to deal with much in my life. I am not going to overstate my accomplishments; waking up at 3 is not that insane but my ability to work during the following day is the point that I would like to highlight. Working under adversity is an important skill and during the New Mexico trip I challenged it, and I am proud of how I worked under it.
Interviewing
During the trip I found myself conducting interviews at a rapid pace. The condensed nature of the trip made me work fast when directing my questions. Whenever I was interviewing someone, I was joined by at least 4 others all looking for answers to similar questions to mine. It challenged me to create more unique and more effective questions. Interview skills have been something I have been working on for years and it was put to the test in the speed round. If I were to reflect on my abilities to interview during the trip I would say I was inconsistent at fielding questions and finding the best answers.
There were moments during an interview with David Gibson where I adapted my question to what I thought he could best answer where I showed some of the best skills I have to offer. I was rewarded with a perfect answer that fitted into my book molding my entire “cultural impact” chapter. However, they were other interviews like my interview with a Trinity Site volunteer that went off the rails. I asked him my question but I was shot down because I didn’t tailor my question to his personality and expertise. After I was rudely shot down I backed off and gave up my questioning.
At the moment, I can understand my reasoning, but looking back kai was able to talk to him longer and was able to find some great questions to ask. He was rewarded with some answers that were a great addition to his book. I can learn from that initiative to stick with questioning even if the interviewee seems rude or unwelcoming because sometimes those are the people with the most comprehensive experience.
New Mexico was one of my favorite trips because of its slate of activities. Its compliment of Manhattan Project-related locations and cultural experiences made an early highlight of the school year. It was more jam-packed than any other PLP trip I have been on, so it brought on different challenges and I am happy with how I dealt with those challenges. Within the adversity, I was able to show growth and I am very intrigued to see how that growth will affect my school work.
