The day of my high school graduation I entered a new stage in my life. I would soon start college and embark on my future. I was entering my manhood. In San Juan Pueblo, the Tewa Indians believe that a child enters his manhood when he defeats their sacred animal, the elk, with nothing but a bow and arrow. Being a Tewa Indian, I can relate to this. It reminds me of when I took my first elk, with a bow of course, and symbolically entered my manhood. Whether I'm starting college or hunting an animal, I'm beginning a new stage in my life. Symbolically, these events mean the same thing, each relevant to the place or time in my life they took place.
             When I began my search for a college, I had very few guidelines I wanted to follow: location, quality, and affordability. In the world of hunting, it's exactly the same. I have to choose where I'm going to hunt, make sure it's a quality area, and make sure it's not too far from home. I would usually like to hunt in an area that's high in altitude; that's where the trophy sized animals live. I'd prefer to be sitting high in a tree and be able to watch pockets of clouds condense in the thicket of the canyons below me. The air should be crisp and fresh with the sweet smell of ponderosa pines and where the sounds of eager bull elk carry for miles. My secret spot should be nestled nicely over a favorite game trail, but not too hidden that it misses the rising sun that is so comforting in the bitter cold.
             One thing about hunting that brings me down is when there's a lack of wildlife in the area. In a picture perfect hunting environment the landscape is dotted with a variety of animals, all kinds, even if they're not what you're after. It's so exciting when I am driving to my hunting spot; I feel like I'm in a different world. The trees are canopied over the road like an umbrella, creati
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