Page 16 - OSCSCI Safari Trailst
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In the years that followed, I something raw and real. That
went on many more hunts, morning in the woods with my
each one teaching me some- dad taught me that the greatest
thing new. I eventually made rewards aren’t always in the tro-
my first successful shot, and phies we bring home. Some-
I’ve filled my share of tags since times, they’re in the quiet choic-
then. But that first hunt, when I es, in the moments when we let
chose to let the deer go, stayed life continue. And for me, that
with me. It wasn’t about the first hunt will always be a re-
thrill of a kill; it was about learn- minder that sometimes the
ing patience, respect, and the most meaningful part of the
weight of responsibility that journey is knowing when to low-
comes with hunting. er the rifle, to step back, and
simply be a part of the world
I still go hunt- around you.
ing with my
dad every
Junior Division Boy season,
each
and
Grade: 8 Teacher: Matthew Belicek time I return to
Age: 13 School: Weleetka PS those woods, I’m
reminded of that
first morning. I see
Hunting: Sharing the my younger self in every first-
time hunter, that mix of excite-
Heritage : ment and nervousness, that
need to prove something. And
..(Continued) every time, I find myself hoping
they’ll come to understand what
On the way back down the trail, my dad taught me that day.
my dad put his arm around my Hunting is a tradition, yes, but
shoulder, pulling me close. it’s also a privilege—a chance
“Hunting isn’t just about taking to connect with nature, to honor
a shot,” he said softly. “It’s the lives within it, and to walk
about understanding when the away with memories and les-
time is right, and knowing when sons that last long after the
it’s not. You did good today.” I hunt is over.
felt a warm swell of pride at his
words, a sense of validation Hunting has become a way for
that went deeper than any tro- me to find peace in the chaos of
phy ever could. life, a way to reconnect with
