NewZealand_Horton_Defining

The first photo, for the Defining category, is of my friend Caroline Gaidon on one of the backpacking trips we took together. In all, the five months I spent in New Zealand were defined by the adventures I took on the weekends: I think I spent maybe only a handful of weekends in Dunedin, the town in which I studied, and spent the rest roaming the country's mountains, forests, glaciers, and tundra. Having been born and raised in New York City, I wanted to study in New Zealand because of the country's raw, natural beauty, and the ease at which its citizens can access those wonders. Living there, I was able to do that, and in traveling, hiking, and camping all over the country, I was lucky enough to develop that deep camaraderie with my fellow travelers. This photo captures those warm evening moments my friends and I spent eating a small dinner cooked over a campstove after a long day spent hiking out in the mountains. We stayed in lean-tos, and when the sun set we would need to light candles and huddle together to see each other in the dark. After five months of exploring New Zealand, I will not remember each breath-taking view or exhilarating hike, but I will remember the people I shared those experiences with.

 

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