VERONICA KUFFEL

JANUARY – FEBRUARY, 2023

“Heat Above” – Greta Van Fleet, 2021

I don’t usually walk for fun. My mom is big on it. Growing up, it was all about walking–with friends, my dad, or alone. I’d go sometimes, but I was way too little to keep up. I made three strides for every step they took. But the main issue I had was that they never seemed to walk anywhere. Or, anywhere cool; just around the neighborhood and back.

I got into running in high school, but without competitions, there was nothing motivating me to continue. I tried some other outdoor hobbies, but still, nothing interested me.

They say you experiment in your twenties. You try new things, make plans and mistakes. They say you travel and settle and repeat, throwing your body and mind around and hoping they’ll stick to something. They like to say a lot of things.

It feels a lot like walking aimlessly. And as we’ve discussed, I’m not big on the aimless part. I’m a planner. I have to have some sort of final destination–an end game. Something tangible to signal the end and start to something new.

But this planning–this walking–has lead me to some dead ends. Here are all of my past plans, and how they changed based on different circumstances.

The OG Van Plan: Seasonal work on the Pacific Coast

When I arrived in Tucson, the plan was to apply to jobs in hyperdrive. I found a position at a grocery store and freelanced for the local paper. Amidst work and creative projects, I looked at several positions along the west coast. I applied to National Parks, tourist shops, lodges and even marinas.

I got a few hits, but interviews lead to more dead ends. If I kept going, I’m sure I would’ve found something.

Turn Around Point: I was cutting meat at my job in the grocery deli–large expensive prosciutto with the bone in-tact. I moved the slicer over, and over, and over, and over again. I pushed it back and forth as I had done for many jobs before, during and after college.

In that moment, I decided I would stop cutting meat for money. Or deal with any food for that matter. I wanted to write for a living, or at least give it another shot.

Settling: Moving to Colorado for career and school

After quitting my job, I switched my search to solely career positions in Colorado. I’ve looked at CU-Boulder for their Masters programs in media, and I decided I wanted to make a foothold in the state before I enrolled. I would officially settle–get a 9-5, move into an apartment and network. I would start school in the Fall of 2024 after working a year and a half.

I initially applied to over 100 jobs in 4 states before I narrowed my search to Colorado. I continued with around 50 more applications I put my all into.

Turn Around Point: At the end of the day, companies were looking for candidates who were already in Colorado. I realized I would need to save up and wait, come back to the idea with a more organized plan of action.

The Tucson Take: Maybe I could stay here for a while

I applied for a few jobs in Tucson and got interviews with almost all. I made an impression with Tucson Weekly, the paper I freelanced for, and I received an offer to join their team.

That’s right. Veronica Kuffel, Staff Reporter at Tucson Weekly and Times Media Group. After so many wraparounds, I’m back in the writing game. I had lived in the city for about two months when I realized it was a place I could get used to–that I’d grown to love, in fact.

The Weekly had me go on these fantastic adventures every other day, meeting with celebrity chefs and sampling ciders for a beer crawl. The other day I went to a high school construction competition. Yeah, I didn’t know that was a thing, either.

With that, I reached the summit.

Coincidentally, I also found a love for climbing mountains.

Tucson is chock-full of foothills and mountains, nothing like the flat wetlands and plains of Minne-Wisc (there are bluffs, but that’s about it).

I had an affinity for hills even as a kid. Again, I like that there’s a start and a finish. There’s also action–whether there’s a view or a challenging strip. So I looked at all of these mountains like a 2000s kid in a McDonald’s playground.

Every week, I find a peak to climb. I started small with foothills and worked my way up to a few smaller mountains. I recently discovered this contest by Social Hiker dubbed the “Six Pack of Peaks Challenge.”

With challenges in ten mountainous states, the organization lists six peaks to climb within a season–all at your own pace. I found their Arizona Winter Challenge and as of today (2/15), I have four more to go.

I’m starting to settle into Arizona, if only for a while. I’ve got a great family and an awesome cousin/roommate. My routine is back and I’m making progress toward my goals. I may even plan a trip up the West Coast when I depart.

Maybe for me, my twenties aren’t aimless walking. Maybe it’s more like how I see hills, and not just for the start and finish.

I always envisioned my inclines as every little problem or mental obstacle I’d ever faced in my life. Even after finishing one, I knew there would be another soon. It became a sort of therapy for me–a metaphorical start and finish and repeat. A conquered goal.

These plans are all hills. Ups and downs I will continue to climb until I find my way to a top. And even then, I’ll have more to conquer.

Last weekend, I summited Picacho Peak. It was hard, and I strained my neck pretty bad. But I sat up there with my usual sandwich, grinning ear to ear, and watched the mountains in the distance.

I’m coming for you.