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Growing up in a small town in Vietnam, always thought the little town is all there is on this planet. I remember every night I would go outside and stargaze in the front yard and would be super fascinating. As I grew bigger and bigger I started to question if it's possible to go outside of planet Earth and live somewhere else. As I kid I would watch all these cartoons of people traveling to other planets or to stars for expeditions. And of course, I do what all little kids do which is wanting to also travel to the stars, and other planets out there in the universe. Every day that went by I get more and more intrigued by the idea of space exploration.

However, I wasn't sure how that would be possible for someone like me. Every time my relatives would ask what I want to do when I grow up, I would say that I want to travel to the stars, to the moon, and to other planets. They would never believe me because I came from such a low-income background where my parents didn't have enough money for me to attend kinder garden. When I got the opportunity to come to the U.S I set my mind to chasing my ultimate dreams. But as of now, I've slowly lost interest in chasing that big dream because of how difficult and how much money I need to even have a chance at it. Even tho I'm losing interest in it, I want to work hard still to save up money because space companies like SpaceX and NASA are developing a space travel program where it costs 300k to travel to space. When I heard about that I was very relieved and decided to change my future major into engineering and would spend however much it needs to go when I'm financially stable and settle down.

#DreamBig! #AlternativePath #NeverGiveUp!

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in this final chapter. Krakauer then relates his own attempt to verify that wild sweet pea could have poisoned McCandless. Did McCandless pick H. mackenzii instead of H. alpinum? Krakauer details the arctic explorations (p. 189 of Sir John Richardson, a Scottish adventurer (p. 190) who included in his journals an anecdote about a native woman who nearly dies from eating wild sweet pea (p. 191). He recalls that, in his first article in Outdoor Magazine (p. 192, he reported with confidence that wild sweet pea killed Christopher McCandless. But after its publication, he began to doubt that Christopher McCandless had eaten wild sweet pea. He investigates further, but scientists find no toxins in the samples of wild sweet pea Krakauer sends. Instead of reaching any conclusions, Krakauer continues to read scientific literature. After several years, he stumbles upon an article describing a mold that produces a toxic (. 193) alkaloid.

Summary: It once again ends with a simple little mistake. If he just ate the potato and not care about the seeds he would be fine. But I don't blame him because the author of the book never mentioned anything about the seeds being toxic when season's change. I feel bad for Chris because all the bad luck have came to him even tho he's such a good person. I understand that Chris did many self fish things but I still believe it's how he grew up.

#HereLiesChris #Toxic #Starvation

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In this chapter we learned that there are so many ways Chris couldve survived but he was so close but yet so far from the solution. As the four hike progresses, Krakauer admits that he is glad he has people with him, and that for once in his many travels in Alaska he finds the landscape (p. 173) unnerving. Later that night, at around 9 PM, they reach McCandless’s bus and are struck by the bones (p. 173) of all the animals he shot, which are still scattered (p. 174) around it. Before entering the bus, Krakauer takes the opportunity to reflect at length on the presence (p. 175) of a nearby moose skeleton. He recalls that in his early interviews, the first people to find McCandless’s body thought it was a caribou skeleton. They assumed McCandless had mistaken a caribou for a moose, which would have signified his unpreparedness (p. 176). However, Krakauer writes, after the publication of his original article in Outdoor Magazine, McCandless’s own photographs proved the animal to have been a moose.

Summar : CHRIS LEFT THE MAP!?!??! His only source of direction and he left it...It's so sad to think that all the things that lead to his death is simple small mistakes that adds up over time to become a massive mistake on his part.

#Maps #Unknown #Blinded.

Summary:

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In this chapter we follow McCandless's last month before he starve to death. McCandless then follows a faded snowmobile track into the park. He wades easily across the Teklanika River, which is at a winter low. He falls through the ice at one point along his way but emerges intact. On May 1, 1992, he finds the abandoned (p. 157)  bus and records in his journal “Magic Bus Day.” He also writes a message about his independence (p. 158) and having successfully escaped (p. 160) the poison of civilization on a piece of plywood in the bus. He decides to stay, since the bus offers comfortable (p. 161) accommodations and the chance to acclimate to his new way of life. As spring passes, McCandless struggles with snowstorms and a lack of game, recording these struggles in his diary. He fares much better in summer. He hikes away from the bus, but encounters difficulty navigating (p. 162) the soggy summer ground and has to spend too much time stalking game. He returns to the bus, which now serves as his home base. The narrator reminds the reader that although McCandless was very close to civilization, including a highway, he did not know it and was isolated enough not to be able to leave when he was on the brink of death.

Summary: I can't believe that the one thing the author of the botanist book didn't write down is the thing that ultimately cause Chris's death. If it was in the book, it would've saved Chris's life and he would be able to be rescued 2 weeks later.

#Mistake #UnknownSource #TheFinalStretch.

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In this chapter we followed Krakauer in his journey to Devils  Thumb. Krakauer remains in his tent for several days because of foul weather (p. 147). After three days, he gets so restless that he smokes his only marijuana cigarette, which makes him hungry. He lights his stove to make oatmeal (p. 148) and accidentally sets his tent on fire. He stands in dismay, then admits to the reader that he borrowed the tent from his father. He recalls his father’s difficult personality and their fraught (p. 150) relationship. Krakauer’s father forced him and his siblings to excel, in hopes that they would attend Harvard Medical (p. 153) School. Instead, the narrator became a climber and a carpenter, rejecting his father’s philosophy. In his later years, Krakauer’s relationship with his father only worsened. His father experienced dementia and the return of polio symptoms from his youth. He became addicted to medications, which he would carry with him in a suitcase (p. 155). After a suicide attempt at which Krakauer was present, his father was consigned to a psychiatric hospital. On the Stikine Ice Pack, Krakauer determines that he will try to climb the Devils Thumb again. He tells the reader that his father’s insistence on achievement left a lingering mark on him. He attempts to summit again, but a storm forces him to descend. He spirals down into self-pity and fears for his life. The wind shifts, allowing him to find his base camp again

Summary: It's crazy to think that there are people like Chris going out doing insane stuff in the wild. Even if it would risk their life or have a high chance of not making it home. But I respect Krakauer a lot because he set his mind on something and actually went out to do it rather than baking down on it.

#HighDreams #FollwoThrough #IntoTheUnknown

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in chapter 15 it tell us a lot of info on the thumb! In order to complicate the idea that McCandless had gone into the wild to commit extended suicide, we're introduces a story from his own past. When he was young, he lived in Boulder, Colorado and worked as a carpenter (p. 138). An avid climber, he decided to summit an extremely difficult peak called the Devils Thumb (p. 139) in the Alaska. He travels by car to Washington State, then heads north on a salmon boat, where he sees a caribou swimming (p. 140) in the Bay of Alaska a mile from shore. He disembarks in Petersberg, Alaska, where he sleeps on the floor of a woman whom he meets outside the local library (p. 142). Strangers drive Krakaur to the edge of a glacier called the Stikine Ice Pack and he begins his climb. He arrives at the edge of the Devils Thumb three days later. As he climbs, a snowstorm (p. 143) begins. He nearly falls through a crevasse before he makes it onto a glacial plateau to camp. He worries that supplies he has arranged to be dropped by plane will not arrive and that he will starve to death. In the morning, a plane delivers his food. He begins to climb again in perfect weather. He climbs nearly 700 feet on sheer vertical ice. Then he fails to find any further footholds and must climb back down.

Summary: It's scary to think that there are so many people who want to climb at such a dangerous place like the Devils Thumb. You would think that it would scary away people with that kind of name but it only attracts more dare devils.

#DareDevil #DangerousHike #HighGoals.

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In this chapter we go in depth with Christopher McCandless’s younger sister (p. 128), Carine McCandless, and interviews her about his disappearance and death. She describes for Krakauer her extraordinarily close relationship (p. 130) with Christopher as well as their gentle disagreement over materialism (p. 131). She describes her brother’s love for the family dog (p. 130), who now lives with her, and narrates the moment when her husband came home from work to tell her that Christopher had been found dead. She tells the story of visiting Alaska to bring back her brother’s ashes (p. 131) after officials in Alaska have cremated his body. There she was given a number of Christopher McCandless’s belongings: his book of plant lore, his rifle, and several rolls of his film. Krakauer describes the consequences of Carine McCandless’s grief. Her sorrow over her brother’s death causes her to refuse food until friends begin to suspect she is suffering from anorexia. The same was apparently true of their mother, Billie McCandless, though Walt McCandless gained considerable weight by eating compulsively. At the end of Chapter Thirteen, Carine McCandless revisits her collection of photographs from McCandless’s last days, which she had developed from the film given her along with his remains. She breaks down weeping, which prompts the narrator to reflect on McCandless’s selfishness. Carine McCandless insists that she still does not understand why her brother left.

Summary: It's so nice and sweet to hear that McCandless's siblings are the ones that loves him the most. It's also very sad to think that if Chris brought the dog with him. He could've made it out of his journey alive and well.

#SisterLove #Love #FarFromHome.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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in this chapter Krakaur describe the search for the rationale behind McCandless trip into the wild leads Krakaur to provide a series of anecdotes (p. 120). After his high school graduation (p. 120), McCandless takes an extended trip through the American West. Before he leaves, he gives his father a gift of an expensive telescope (p. 122). While on his trip, he calls home infrequently before falling out of touch entirely. He returns gaunt (p. 124) and bearded just before he is to begin college at Emory in Atlanta. His parents move McCandless into college the next week. He works for the student newspaper (p.125) and makes high grades. He begins to unravel, however, becoming anti-social. The narrator reveals the reason for McCandless’s change. During his trip, he had discovered that his father had maintained a relationship with his first wife and his other children.

Sammary: I still can't believe that one man can get away with so much lie. This is how a villain is made, if not that then when the two family finds out it would be devastated for the both family to find out they have been living under a lie!

#Lie #Outrageous #2Family.

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In this chapter we get to learn about Chris McCandless's background and where what his childhood (p. 104) was like. Christopher McCandless spent his childhood in an atmosphere of thriftiness and striving as his parents (p. 104) worked together to build a satellite systems consulting company. Fights between Billie and Walt McCandless led to closeness between McCandless and his sister (P. 107), Carine. The tension was sometimes alleviated by camping trips that may have sparked Christopher’s love of the outdoors (p. 109). Christopher’s paternal grandfather’s love of camping and climbing may also have contributed. Carine and Christopher were musical children and loved the family dog. McCandless also ran cross country and showed extreme determination to succeed in every task he undertook. Anecdotes from his school friends illustrate both his dislike of his parents and a contradictory unwillingness to complain. Other anecdotes from his parents demonstrate Christopher’s intensity and strong-willed independence (p. 114), including a run-in with a physics teacher that led to him being failed for not wanting to follow arbitrary rules. Christopher also secretly housed a homeless man on the family’s property. The McCandless family lived comfortably. For example, as their business succeeded Billie and Walt McCandless eventually bought a sailboat and took their children on a cruise.

Summary: I cannot believe that Chris's father have been living two lives for the longest time without anyone knowing. I get why Chris is how he is because no father would ever do what his father did. It just come to show that a person become good or bad is all depends on how and who they grow up with. With the situation Chris grew up in, I'm surprised he didn't become a bully but instead a smart and adventurous person.

#Childhood #2Life #Busted

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Chapter 10: Jim Gallien, the same Alaskan who gave Chris McCandless his final ride into Alaska, sees a front-page (p. 99)news story about the boy’s death based on another story that appeared (p. 99) in The New York Times. Because Gallien thinks he knows the identity of the body, he calls the Anchorage police. After struggling to differentiate himself from other tipsters and cranks, Gallien convinces the police he encountered the dead hitchhiker (p. 101) on the Stampede Trail. He can only be so helpful (p. 101), however. In informing the police that McCandless was from South Dakota, he unknowingly (p. 102) repeats a lie McCandless told him. The police begin an erroneous search for McCandless’s family in South Dakota.

Summary: Technology in 1992 is way different than the ones we have today. To think that they could 100% identify a body like Chris McCandless is such amazing work by the police. I can't imagine the amount of work that was put into this in order to identify who the body belongs to.

#Rough #Front-Page #NewYorkTimes.

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Chapter 9: Krakauer opens the chapter by describing a Southwestern canyon called Davis Gulch, a watershed (pg. 88) in the midst of the desert. Davis Gulch contains petroglyphs left behind by the Anasazi people, as well as a carving left in 1993 by a young man named Everett Ruess, who, like Christopher McCandless, disappeared into the wild (pg. 90) Krakauer then relates Ruess’s life and the travails and adventures (pg. 91) that brought him to Davis Gulch, where he left a final inscription of his name before disappearing (pg. 92). Ruess was born in 1914 to a middle-class family that lived primarily in Southern California. After a short stint in college, he apprenticed himself to the photographer Edward Weston, built friendships (pg. 94) with California artists, and then set out to live as a tramp. He renamed himself, choosing the name “Nemo,” or “no one,” and sought to remove himself from society in favor of an ascetic or pilgrim’s life. Krakauer includes excerpts from Ruess’s correspondence in which he describes the allure of the solitary life. He insists that his correspondents wouldn’t be able to understand how exciting he finds the wilderness. Krakauer links Ruess’s lack of concern for personal safety to McCandless’s.

Summary: To think that there are people out there that are going on these crazy expeditions like Chris does is insane. I thought no one would ever want to do something Chris wants because it's so dangerous and has a low chance of making it out alive. However, I still have a lot of respect for these people because they went out to chase the life they want to live even if it risks their life.

#risk #outragous #LiveLifeToTheFullest

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In this chapter, as a starry-eyed incompetent running from his problems or a nihilist with suicidal tendencies. As if to confirm these descriptions, the narrator then lists other instances of men who became drifters, including several personal encounters (p.72) from his own travels in Alaska and his time as a mountaineer. By establishing his familiarity with the history of American out doorsmen and thrill seekers, Krakauer underlines his own authority (p. 75) and sets himself up to refute McCandless’s detractors. Krakauer offers biographical portraits of three (p. 78) men, Gene Rosellini, the mountain climber John Mallon Waterman, and the photographer Carl McCunn as a means of deepening his and the reader’s understanding of Christopher McCandless. Wealthy and intelligent, Rosellini earned several advanced degrees and then became an exercise fanatic. He killed himself just before embarking on his plan to live out of his backpack for the rest of his life. A master climber who had suffered psychiatric breakdown (p.79) at different points in his life, Waterman died while attempting (p. 83) to summit Denali, one of the most difficult peaks in the world. The narrator also draws parallels between McCandless and Carl McCunn. The narrator then differentiates McCandless from these three men and suggests a fourth comparison, a 20-year-old named Everett Ruess.

Analysis: It's crazy to think that there were people out there doing the same thing Chris McCandless did and met the same demise. I wonder what good could these people have brought to the world with their intelligence if they made it out of their journey alive.

#ThreeMusketeers #mistakes #NoHelp.

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In this chapter McCandless intended to stay from March until April to raise funds for his trip to Alaska. Gail Borah was interviewed who's Westerberg’s girlfriend (p. 64), who describes McCandless’s seriousness and his affection for his sister Carine, as well as his disagreements with his family. Westerberg’s mother also says that she felt particular affection (p. 68) for McCandless even though she only met him once. McCandless never had a girlfriend and may have remained celibate (p 72) throughout puberty (p. 72) and afterward. McCandless apparently marked up passages of Leo Tolstoy’s “Kreutzer Sonata,” a story about the renunciation of sex. Krakauer analyzes McCandless’s character at length, concluding that he was drawn to nature because of a desire for human contact too strong to be satisfied (p. 80) by other people.

Analysis: It's crazy that a handsome man like Chris McCandless goes out as a virgin. But I can understand this due to his condition of running away from strong connections with other people. After all, he chooses how he wants to live.

#Virgin #Connection #handsome

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In this chapter Franz tries to convince McCandless to get a job, but McCandless explains to him that he has a plan. He also begins lecturing Franz about how sedentary Franz’s life is. Franz teaches ( p. 51) McCandless leatherworking, and McCandless produces a monogrammed belt with a number of symbols from his life as a tramp. Eventually, Franz drives McCandless to San Diego, where he attempts to get work. Later letters arrive from McCandless to say that work is hard to come by in San Diego. By late February, McCandless writes to Burres and Franz to say he has jumped (p. 53) trains to Seattle. His next contact with Franz comes after his arrest and release for jumping a train further south, in a small California town called Colton. Franz drives (p. 57) to Colton, picks McCandless up, feeds him, gives him supplies (p.55), and helps him pack to depart for Carthage, where he says he will work for Wayne Westerberg again. On one of their last drives, Franz asks McCandless if he can adopt (p.50) him as his grandson, but McCandless pushes (p.60) off the conversation after his return from Alaska.

Analysis: I can't believe Chris keeps rejecting the offer of a kind hearted man that just wants the best for him. Franz tries to do everything to make Chris's life better but in the end Chris doesn't take any of it seriously reject him. This make Chris seem so self-fish and not think of others and only think about himself.

#Rejection #adopted #RunningAway

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In this chapter Chris McCandless moved into the small town of Bullhead City, Arizona. He works ( p. 40.) in a McDonald’s and opens a savings account under his own name. Fellow employees and his managers remember him as a hard worker and a loner with odd personality traits, including a dislike of wearing socks (p. 40 and an inability to tell that he smelled bad. His smell leads to at least one unpleasant (p. 42) interaction with a coworker. Krakauer reveals that McCandless hid from his coworkers that he was a drifter (p. 40) without a home or access to shower facilities. In this period Chris meets Charlie, a colorful old man who takes him and gives him a home in his camping trailer (p. 45) in early December.

Analysis: I like how Chris can get into so many jobs everywhere he goes even tho he is basically a homeless man and there are people out there who don't want to get a job and accept to live on the street. I'm happy that Chris gets a job at McDonald's because that's the happiest place on Earth.

#McDonalds #Working #MakingMoney

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In this chapter Chris's life is starting to go on the low again. In October 1990, a National Park Service ranger finds a yellow Datsun in a dry riverbed in Lake Mead National Park. A note reads that it has been abandoned (p. 28) and is free for the taking. It also contains a few loose items, including clothing, a guitar, and two bags of rice. A ranger (p. 28) jumpstarts it. A trace leads the rangers back to a Hertz rental car (p. 27) operation, but no further. As a result, Krakauer writes, the rangers now use the car to make undercover drug investigations (p. 32) . He then reveals that the yellow Datsun is Chris McCandless’s. McCandless arrived in an area of Lake Mead called Detrital Wash on July 6, 1990, and got caught in a flash flood that got his engine wet. He buried the rifle he was carrying and burned all his money (p 37).

Analysis: I like and don't like the fact that Chris abandons everything to keep going on the journey he wants again. If he's going to keep continuing the journey at least keep some belongings with him so can care for himself when needed.

#selffish #daring #sad

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In this chapter Chris stop by a tiny South Dakota town called Carthage, Wayne Westerberg describes Chris McCandless to Jon Krakauer, who the reader knows has come to interview him about McCandless. Krakauer relates that Westerberg, then overseeing a barley harvest in Montana, picked up McCandless while he was hitchhiking (p. 17). Westerberg remembers him as restless (p. 19) and handsome (p. 19), with a sensitive face and a lean physique. He mentions that women would likely have found him attractive, but also describes his face as alternating between animated (p. 18) and slack. Alex was engaging and friendly. Westerberg decided to let him sleep in his trailer overnight when it started to rain. McCandless stayed for three days. Westerberg then told McCandless to come to South Dakota for a job whenever he needed. McCandless arrived a few weeks later, and Westerberg gave him a place to stay and a job on one of his grain elevators. McCandless worked hard enough that Westerberg was impressed. He also learned that McCandless was intelligent (p. 20) and liked to read.

Analysis: I feel happy for Chris because he finally found a place he like to live. But i'm not sure that running this far away from home is a good idea in the first place. I like that Chris choose small towns to make his stop because he knows he can get connections and make some money easier.
#enjoyable #intelligent #drinking

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Summary: This chapter begins with the description of the dangerous and difficult journey down the Stampede Trail. There were 6 adventurers that went along the Stampede Trail (p. 12) on September 6th, 1992. This soon discovered a Bus (p. 10) in the middle of the woods. One of the 6 adventurers named, Gordon Samel, went on to check out the bus. As he is examining the bus he picked up a bad smell (p.10) coming from the bus. As he makes his way around the bus he discovered the decomposing body of Chris McCandless inside a sleeping bag (p.11).  As the morning of the next day came, the Alaska Troopers came to pick up the decomposing body of Chris McCandless. His body was decomposing so much that the researcher could not find the exact reason why he passed. However, they can for sure say that one of the reasons was Starvation (p. 14).

Analysis: It's sad to think what Chris must've felt during his last few moments living his dream. His last moments were probably him thinking of his mistake and regret going out. But in the end, he did get to live the life he dreamed of living was living in the wild! So there are good and bad, but I'm happy that he get to do what he wanted in life before leaving.

#RIP #Hopeful #LivingLifeToTheFullest

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Summary: Into the Wild we followed a man named Christopher Johnson McCandless throughout his 2 year journey in the wilderness(p.5). He is determined (pg.6) to into the wilderness of the Alaska Interior to start his journey. He went into the wilderness with little to no Gear (pg. 4). His backpack(pg. 7) did not have enough food nor water supplies to last him the few months journey he's going to live in the wilderness. Chris was dropped off by a man named Gallien near the Stampede Trail. As Gallien drive back to his town. He was thinking of signaling the Alaska Troopers about Chris. However, he thought if any normal (pg. 7) person they would be starving with the little amount of supplies and go to the highway to get help.

Analysis: I feel like Chris should've have come more prepare if wants to go on such a wild adventure. I get that he wants to challenge himself, but going in with little to no supplies is just asking for death. He should've atleast keep a tracker, a radio, or let the Alaska Trooper know what his intention are. If he let the Alaska Trooper know what he was doing, they could've kept an eye on him and send help when he needs. Overall I think that this could've been thought out a lot better and the result would've come out better.

#Trooper #Wander #wilderness.

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This is me painting a beautiful flower pot that I've been using to grow roses. The weather was breezy but a little cold for me at the time.