I was invincible. I had spent the last two years majoring in outdoor recreation at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and was mentally and physically at the top of my game. I had completed an internship at Touch of Nature Environmental Center assisting in leading hikes, canoe trips, rock climbing and rappelling, and educational programs all over southern Illinois, the Missouri Ozarks, and the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. My very naive, rural, small-town mind had been forever blown. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t do. My can of self-esteem had exploded and was overflowing. I took weight-lifting 101, became an American Red Cross First Aid and CPR instructor, and was certified…