Over time, many people have given up their normal lives to live simply. Whether it's going out and living alone in the wilderness or giving up electricity and running water. “Sometimes the weight of civilization can be overwhelming. The fast pace… the weight of relationships… the political conflict… the technological complexity – it's enough to make you dream of escaping to a simpler life, more in touch with nature.” (Nelson) Some just can't handle it, but others can. Whether it's for criminal, religious, research reasons, or the world is just too much to handle, living in the wilderness happens for a reason, and there are a few things that influence it. Christopher McCandless was a well-educated upper-class adult who always dreamed of the Alaskan Odyssey. This meant living off the land far from any type of civilization. They basically live in nature, alone, without electricity or running water. Growing up Christopher was a very privileged child. She wasn't the kind of person you'd think would leave everything behind to go out and live alone in the wilderness. No one in his family really expected this. McCandless was very successful academically, but what drove him to do what he did was that he hated seeing how materialistic this world could be. He simply wanted to escape. McCandless traveled to Alaska and got rid of all his belongings. He arrived in Alaska and from there began hitchhiking into the wilderness. McCandless subsequently began his adventure by attempting to live off the land for the rest of his life. No running water, no electricity, no real source of food, no money and no people there to help him. "two years walking the earth. no phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. ul...... middle of paper...... the only reason. There are so many reasons why people they just go and run. It usually ends terribly, but for some people it's worth it" Which brings me to the most unpredictable need to give up on society: temper. What you need to stay sane in the woods might be shocking, embarrassing, and downright unpatriotic. After four weeks of shared solitude, an assortment of items I considered necessary became the basis of my immediate identity. Currently, the building blocks of my sanity are a handful of tooth-destroying sweets, lots of herbal tea, a crunchy snack (when I ran out of cucumber I resorted to air-popped popcorn), daily banter with someone who doesn't was my partner (thanks, internet) and cartoons (I studied animation until the recession). Could I train myself to live without these things? I guess so, but I want to try?