Jakob // Finland Explorer

Hey hey. My name is Jakob Kujanpaa. I'm a pretty simple guy! I love almost anything active and almost anything outside. I'm 23 years old and I'll be a sophomore at UVU this fall studying psychology and business. I was born in Illinois and grew up in Utah. My father was born and raised in Finland, which is why I'm the ambassador for the one of the most beautiful countries in the world, the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, Finland.

One of my main goals in life is to be able to travel around the world and help those that are less fortunate than me find happiness in the simple things of life.

The reason I am happy, is because I choose to be. Yes I have been blessed with a great life, amazing family, and incredible friends. However, throughout high school I went through phases of depression. I didn't always realize when I was depressed, but the times that I did recognize it I didn't want to tell anyone, and keeping it to myself didn't help. The only things that would make me happy we're playing soccer or ice hockey. Those were things that I loved to do, because they put me in a good mood.

 I now know that not only did I become happy because I was doing something that I love, but by being active and exercising my body I was stimulating my brain and it would shoot off positive endorphins throughout my body.

I believe in being active and I believe in being outdoors. We have this beautiful world, let's go explore it and find the happiness that it has to offer us. A good breath of fresh air and a walk in the park can go a long way.

 I love Pangea. "Happiness is not just a mood, it's a work ethic." Shawn Achor

Nate // China + Taiwan Explorer

大家好! Hey everybody!

So I've never posted on a blog before... or read a blog for that matter. Haha but I'm sure it'll be fun! My friends call me Nate or 黄智祥, but my full name is Nate Olson and I am way excited to be a part of the Pangea Explorers Club! 

 Like everyone else involved, I love being outdoors and finding new adventures. I spent a chunk of my childhood in a super small town in southern Idaho (Declo, ID; population 300-ish) where I had plenty of opportunities to get outside and explore. In fact, my house was basically right across the street from the Snake River. My friends and I would go down there all the time and find places in the nearby woods to make little forts.

When I go out and hike/camp/boat/you-name-it today, I still feel the same rush of freedom and escape that I got back then. The only difference is that my adventures are a lot more exciting than they used to be ;)

So what's with the Chinese stuff up there, right? I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Calgary, Canada and was assigned to speak Mandarin Chinese. I spent 2 years up there making tons of Chinese friends, and I just fell in love with all of it. I can't get enough of the culture, food, language, and people.

In a way, being a missionary was a great big adventure! Traveling to a new place, learning a new language... No matter how much planning I did or didn't do, I never really knew what surprises the next day had in store. There was also so much purpose behind everything I did, and most of it was for the benefit of other people. 

Getting home from all that and having just regular, predictable, everyday life? It's a bit of a bummer. Sure you get to see your family and friends, which is great, but I got bored pretty fast.

There was even one day that I was driving around, kind of looking for something to do, and I saw this guy pulling a stump out of his yard... Yeah I asked him if I could help. He said he could handle it on his own, and I think he was a little weirded out. So this was the point that I realized I needed to find some new adventures. Luckily I was moving up to Logan, UT to go to school at USU!

Since being here in Logan I have always been looking for new fun things to do, and there are plenty of them. I spend a lot of weekends going on hikes, hitting up the hot springs, playing basketball, going out to a lake... whatever I can get a group of people together for! If everyone else is busy, I will usually go for a trail run on my own.

It's never enough to just have fun either; you have to make it an adventure somehow. Try some new things, explore of the trail a little bit (in a safe way). 

 It has been fun as well to get to know the Chinese community up here. You see, every time I see a Chinese person or hear someone speak Chinese I literally have no choice but to stop them and talk, I just can't help it! 

Needless to say.

I have made a lot of friends up here from China and Taiwan. I actually attend my weekly church meetings in Mandarin. It has been a blast as well to show my Chinese-speaking friends how fun it is to get outdoors! A lot of them come from big cities in China, where hiking consists of shopping or missing the bus and walking to school or work. And let me tell you, their school is hardcore. If anyone needs some relaxation time in the woods, it's our friends from the Far East. It has been a great experience to take them out to the mountains and watch them fall in love with it all.

I am not about to stop finding new adventures any time soon either. I've got some midnight-sunset hikes planned up here in the next couple weeks, so hopefully I can get my hands on some high quality Pangea gear soon ;) 

Actually, I have one of my biggest adventures yet coming up. I am most likely going to take off to China in the fall to be an exchange student for about a year.

So I guess adventure doesn't always mean being out in the trees; the most important part of any adventure is the idea of trying something new and fun. Everyone should find something good and wholesome that they love and go live it! Don't go through the motions and don't get stuck on the couch watching Netflix.

Life is way bigger than that.

At the bottom there you will see two pictures with a big ol' gap in the middle. That's how life should feel; like there is always an empty spot waiting to be filled with the next adventure.

Being out and about, seeing nature, being with friends, actually doing things... that's what makes life special. Whenever I am having a hard time or in a bad mood I like to take a drive up the canyon and hike or even just sit and enjoy the scenery. Seeing the mountains, trees, and rivers helps me to realize how big this world is. We are so tiny! But instead of making me feel small and insignificant, it makes me feel blessed. Blessed to know that God made all this for me. And He made it for you too, so get out there and enjoy it. :)

I think we should all just go enjoy Pangea a little bit more!

 

Orsi! // Hungary + Arizona Explorer

I was born and raised in Hungary and came to the United States after graduating high school. I played tennis since I was 10 years old and got an athletic scholarship to play for a Division I school, so I packed up my suit cases and left home. That was 9 years ago and even though living far away from my family and childhood friends is the hardest, I think making the move helped me improve a lot as a person.  

But first, let’s go back in time a little bit.  

Growing up I was a very shy child. I was fighting a big amount of anxiety that made each day miserable. To help me take my mind off worrying, my mom pushed me towards being involved in different sports and outdoor activities.

I loved being outside, it was my happy place. I remember that my friends and I spent any given moment playing soccer, hide and seek, or just laying down in the grass and looking at the clouds trying to find animal shaped ones. 

When I was 10 years old, my mom signed me up for tennis and that changed all of our lives. I fell in love with the sport in a minute. My passion and dedication resulted in us having to move cities and traveling to more and more tournaments. We were on the road almost every weekend that not only helped me make friends from all over the country but also showed me many interesting places that I have never seen before.

I got very nervous about my matches sometimes but I still loved being on the road because we got to go to either a new place or an old one that I loved very much. When I was nervous about school, I went to practice and trained as hard as I could, when I was nervous about tennis I went to hike or bike with my parents to calm down. When the crazy days got overwhelming, I went down to the river and walked a couple miles in silence and let my thoughts untangle them.

Forwarding a couple years, I was standing at the airport in Hungary, hugging my family and saying goodbyes and I was more scared that I have ever been before. I didn’t know where I was going, I barely spoke the language and I had no idea how I was going to survive what was ahead of me.

I arrived to a new place far away from my safe base and had to start over everything. Nothing was familiar anymore, except for one thing: playing tennis. School started up again, tennis season kicked in and even though I was 9000 miles away from home, we did the same exact thing. We hopped in the car on the weekends and got on the road to play tennis; plus, we saw lots of new places. 

I was lucky enough to travel the West Coast, the East Coast, and spend a couple years in the Midwest as well. When I felt nervous again I went for a hike, I woke up early and watched the sunrise by the ocean, I went to learn yoga outside in the sun, strolled to a creek to sit in quiet and listen to the water and find my inner peace again.  

Things change. Actually at some point, everything changes and it sometimes scares me more than anything. We get older, we lose friends and friendships, we move away, we graduate and all of a sudden everything we have known and felt safe around disappears. 

After graduation I had a hard time finding myself again. Competitive tennis was gone from my life in a blink of an eye and everything I had known and was good at was not there for me anymore.

 But again.

 Even if I am in the Midwest, or live on the West Coast, there is always outside and many wonderful things to discover. Even if all that changes the one constant thing I can always find peace in is there . . . to go and find my outdoor peace spot where I can sit in quiet and see what is next. Once I am in that clear state of mind, the answer just comes to me. 

So this is my story. I am very honored to be part of the Pangea Explorer Club because they represent what I believe in.

Travel followed me throughout my life and I always found an outlet and peace in nature that nothing else could gave me whether I was aware of it or not. 

Looking back it was always the solution to improve myself, to get better, to grow and to find peace. Leaving home was not easy; however, it pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me stronger than I have ever been before. 

I hope each one of you can find a solution here with the help of our collective effort. This team was put together with a great variety of people that serve one purpose only, to show you that there is so many wonderful things out there that are worth thriving for! 

myredtravelshoe.com

Desi! // Filipino + California Explorer

hey guys!

This is Desi, otherwise known as the Filipino California explorer. I'm so extremely stoked to be apart of the Pangea Explorers team! Not only is this company involved with things that I love, but their message rings true to my heart! I'm super passionate about the outdoors because of the outlet it provides for myself, but we can get into that later.
but first, I want you to know a little bit about me so i'm not a random explorer here for this company, but i'm someone you may hopefully be able to connect with and I hope I can help to inspire others to feel what I feel when I am outside.

Well okay! Lets get started...

My name is Desiree Guerrero, people usually call me Desi or Des, sometimes I get D-ray. It really is your choice because I love all those options.

I am Filipino, Mexican, and White. I was born in California and then moved to Utah when I was super tiny and grew up in this beautiful state. My family has moved back to California so home for me is the bay area.

I am the biggest dog enthusiast! Definitely not a fan of cats though. I share about 30 videos a day on funny dogs on Facebook, so yeah, i'm that girl.

I am the oldest sibling in my family. I have 4 younger siblings, well...I guess 5 if you want to count my dog, Annie. But they are the quirkiest bunch of kids so I feel extremely blessed to be their sister.

I have put in 3 years at UVU and am a Behavioral Science major and I absolutely LOVE everything about what i'm learning.

I hope to open up my own clinic one of these days in the future to work with troubled youth and help them to find outlets through the outdoors rather than medication, self-harm, getting into trouble, etc.

I currently work at Telos Residential Treatment Center and am very passionate about the work I do there. I work with troubled youth boys and we help them cope with their problems with outdoor activities and experiences. It's an amazing because I am able to use my outlet for outdoors with boys who are passionate about being outside as well.

Currently, I am taking time off of school for this job. I had a scholarship to run track at Utah Valley University, but I have chosen to move on from that opportunity because it no longer helped promote my inner happiness and ability to enjoy each day. I knew I wanted to move forward with a great job revolved around my career so giving up track to do so was extremely difficult, but what's important is feeling that peace and happiness inside of you because that is what helps to inspire yourself and others.

I do love the life I have created for myself. I have made sacrifices here and there, but at the end of the day, I fall asleep stoked for the next day and all the opportunity it may bring.

I'm trying to go live each day to its fullest potential and enjoy the journey that I am on.

My philosophy on outside and going on adventures?

It's a major outlet for me. I'm really big into promoting inner peace and happiness because that is what I teach my boys at my job everyday. The best way to feel confident in your abilities and in every stage of your life is to focus on the energy you are constantly feeding your soul. Whether it's music, art, reading, being alone, being with friends, service, or travel; it is something that makes you feel whole inside and in love with every part of you. I find so much peace and happiness when I am in the mountains; mountain biking, hiking, camping, by a fire, exploring.

Whatever it may be, every free second I have, I will be outside because I am blessed to have the mountains right outside my door and how I feel when i'm out there is something so pure and perfect that I know I can't live without it.

I live by the quote "enjoy the journey" because we have been given the opportunity each day to wake up and make something of our day and grow as an individual.

Each day is a gift that was given to us, another chance to do what we couldn't yesterday. I want to fill everyday with something new so I can share my experiences with others and hopefully inspire them to do the same and help them to find what makes them happy at their core.

Once again, I am grateful to be an ambassador for Pangea, it connects to my heart and I know it'll touch the lives of many others because of the incredible people who started it. You couldn't find a better group of kids.

Here are some of my recent excursions . . .

Welcome to the Pangea Explorer Club //

Hi, we're glad you're here. Feel free to stay for awhile.

This will be a blog continuously updated by our ambassadors. They'll share why they love getting outside and what they are currently up to. The whole purpose is to uplift one another, inspire to be a better you, and find happiness doing what you love. 

For now let's all just go explore Pangea a little bit more! 

If you aren't sure what Pangea is, feel free to google it and all this will make even more sense ;)