Life Update - Greyson Gilbert

By Greyson Gilbert

I’ll do you a favor and skip the long intro about “My 2018 was filled with travel and fun and blah blah blah,” because that’s not the whole story. Like Boston, I’ll start with the boring stuff:

I was accepted and chose to attend Clemson University in February, turned 18 in March, and I graduated from San Antonio Christian High School in May. Shortly after my graduation, my family picked up our life and moved from San Antonio, Texas, to Franklin, Tennessee, in June. The summer was spent unpacking boxes, moving furniture, and an occasional hop around the country. In August I started school at Clemson as a Pre-Physical Therapy Health Science student. I have spoken for Folds of Honor about my dad’s story multiple times, and I’m currently one semester done and enjoying the new challenges and new faces that college has brought into my life.

I battled with one of the more serious sports injuries I’ve had (although it pales in comparison if you’ve read Boston’s life update). I completely tore the ulna collateral ligament of my left elbow at the end of football season in November of 2017, and I saw my career as soccer goalkeeper suddenly end. Although I did come back for the last month and a half of the winter soccer season as right back, I didn’t completely gain strength, mobility, and stability in my left arm until April. A minor setback that I can’t complain about too much (as it could have been a worse injury and recovery), but it was formative early on in the year. Rehabbing and working with my therapist on that injury was the force that put in motion my desire to pursue a career in health and possibly physical therapy in the future. It’s funny how things work out like that.

I graduated High School and we moved to a new state within two weeks. Finishing High School, although it honestly didn’t feel like such a monumental accomplishment but instead just a natural progression, established in my mind the importance of finishing something. Of sticking through to the end of some task and seeing your hard work pay off. It felt good.

Moving to Tennessee was another big step. My family decided to go out on a limb and plant roots in the Music City area. I could have felt irritated by having to move. I won’t lie, I still got to go visit some cool places this last summer, but I think that I could have felt ripped off by my parent’s decision. My last summer before heading to college was not spent at home with my friends, comfortable and fun, but it was spent adjusting to a new home and preparing to move yet again in August. Looking back however, that time with my family and the change that was ushered in was a blessing to me. After not quite settling in to the new place yet I packed my things and moved again, this time to Clemson, South Carolina.

I feel I’ve been through a decent amount of change in my life up to this point. We moved a lot when I was growing up, being a military family. I had to become used to packing up and finding new friends every two years. My dad died when I was young. The change that brought was unearthly. My brother and I had to learn to take care of ourselves and to handle ourselves in the public eye. We were forced to mature quickly and roll with the punches that life inevitably brings. The change that would come later in life, such as college or moving, were minor compared to this. Now I don’t want to give off the wrong vibe here, that it’s wrong to never move or that if you haven’t been through something traumatic, you’re limited, because that’s not true. However, I had friends whose biggest change before moving out of the house was transitioning from football to basketball season. Everyone has to experience change at some point, and it can seem like too much to bear, but I learned at a young age to roll with the punches. That is why this summer for me seemed more a natural progression than a huge life event.

Finding a routine in college life took a little bit of time. Handling workloads, managing time and money… I am still working on improving these things. There is always from for improvement. Some lessons that have been major themes for me this year can be best categorized by the following:

1.     The answer is usually “full send”. You will regret the things that you don’t do more than the things that you do, so if you’re hesitant about reaching out to that person or going on that road trip… just do it.

2.     Grit is a choice. Do whatever you have to do to get the job done. Don’t feel like working out? Or writing that paper? Or finishing that assignment? Guess what. Get it done anyways. Anyone can be gritty, but not many choose the hard, narrow, and fruitful path.

3.     Accept failure and learn from it. I’ve failed at least everything at least once. Whether it is through mistakes I have made chasing whitetail in brush country or elusive rainbow trout in Blueridge; from suffering for an assignment that I didn’t put the effort into, all the way to failing my first two driver’s tests, failure has always brought knowledge. Don’t be afraid to fail. Victories are a direct result of previous failures.

4.     The fourth pertains to my relationship with Christ. We are given not only the gift of eternal life, but of daughter and sonship. God is our Father, he is Papa, he is Abba. We are called to walk in close, deep friendship with him, every day. Sometimes, this means spending time with him, in prayer and his word, even – actually, especially – when we don’t feel like it. This is what builds relationship with Him.

There have been a couple activities that I’ve grown in since moving to Clemson. A group of buddies and I did a Spartan Race, the "Beast" - a 15 mile, 34 obstacle, trail run. It was long, painful, and awesome. If I’m not studying or hanging out with friends, I spend most of my free time climbing, fly fishing, or looking at photos of climbing or fishing, and planning the next trip. I’ve rock climbed a little every summer since I was seven, but in the past 6 months it has become a passion for me. The physical challenge and the problem-solving nature of scaling walls of rock are what entice me to the way of life. It is a passion that I believe I will pursue forever. The patience and precision that chasing Appalachian trout teaches me is also invaluable. The days I make the wrong call on the hatch and get skunked are the times that make those 20 fish days that much more awesome, even if they come only once in a blue moon.

Through both of these, more than anything else, I have found my own artistic expression. The beautifully artistic nature of these activities, the way of life that embodies them, and the people that I have been able to spend time with throughout the process have led me to photography.

I am an absolute novice. There is so much that I have yet to learn, but the prospect of the places and the people that photography can take me to have inspired me to do more, to explore, and to seek these opportunities out. Photography has become a method of story-telling for me. It is soothing to my soul. The value of the process can be comparable to climbing and fishing, in a way. You work on a rock climb, you fail a million times, but then you come back one day, and everything lines up and you send it. You make mistakes fishing, don’t set the hook well, you get lazy when fighting a fish and lose it, but then when it all comes together and you net a 20 inch trout, it was all worth it. In the same way, I began by making mistakes in photography. Through these mistakes, I learned how lighting and composition will affect the end product. I took a lot of bad photos, but then it would all come together, and I would capture a beautiful moment in a unique picture. Absolute ecstasy. As those mistakes become fewer and farther between, as we grow and learn, photo has been a way of expressing those things inside myself, and those things in the world that I can’t put words to.

All in all, 2018 saw change, growth, failure, success, highs of the mountaintops, and lows of the valleys of death. For Boundless Company, we saw a new expression of mission and passion. We were pushed to be Boundless, and we hope to have pushed you to be Boundless as well. But we’re not done. With the first podcast out and new writing coming, there are a lot of opportunities for growth, stories to be heard and told, and questions to be answered.

So… now go and chase your passions and crush this new year folks. OUT.