The Good Life Gap Semester in Maine

I attended the good life gap semester in fall of 2022 and it was an incredible experience. I made amazing friends and our little community was so loving and connected. We had very interested and engaging classes that allowed for creativity and exploitation beyond a typical classroom setting, and we went on endless adventures that I will never forget. All of the staff were so caring and it really felt like a family together in beautiful maine. I carried many passions away from my semester, including a love of mushrooms, indigenous studies and activism, and poetry. I would be 100% recommend the good life semester for any type of gap student, we had a very diverse group and everyone benefited and loved it.

My time at Seguinland was incredible. The staff is amazing and so supportive in every aspect of the experience. They created a very accepting and nonjudgmental environment that made me feel excited to participate, share my ideas, and step outside of my comfort zone. I made great friends, and living, traveling, cooking, eating, and creating together every day created a deep sense of community. Being constantly surrounded by nature was one of my favorite parts of the experience. I loved exploring outside every day, but being immersed in the natural environment while reading, writing, and making art also helped me rediscover my love for learning. Mindfulness practice and the way the staff ran the courses helped me be more intentional and focus on process rather than product. I am going back to Seguinland for the winter term, and I can't wait! It has been a truly life-changing experience.

Seguinland Institute is a magical place. A strong, tight-knit community comes to life and thrives. There is a level of vulnerability, unlike any I have witnessed, and there is no shying away from deep conversations. The faculty is engaged and truly shows that they care about every student. The days look drastically different, but there is a strong underlying stability. These are people you can rely on. A vibrant landscape is the backdrop for powerful conversations and the starts invite many warm laughs. Everyone is accepting and inclusive, if you are willing to bring your full self, everyone is welcome, especially as we share a warm and delicious meal. A group motivated by shared values, rather than interests is rare, yet that is exactly what this is. An escape from the distractions of life, where you can learn from others and reveal to yourself what you need to live a good life.

I feel so deeply connected to this place and everyone here. Philip and the staff welcome you into this little island in rural Maine and turn it into a home with their energy, passion for teaching, and genuine love for the program. Through plunges into freezing cold water, discussions about the meaning of life, campfire songs, and cooking together, the faculty are always pushing people closer and showing how much they care. Seguinland cultivates such a level of comfort and togetherness that I hope I can bring even a fraction of to my life outside. There's no way I could have predicted how fast and deeply I'd fall in love with this place.

I love Seguinland! When I came to Maine, I was feeling burnt out, uninspired, and exhausted. Everything about this experience was exactly what I needed. The classes inspired me to start thinking bigger and bolder about how to live, the activities were new and exciting, and the lifestyle was fresh and revitalizing. This isn’t to say it was easy, but every challenge I faced was one that pushed me to grow in ways I haven’t experienced in any other scenario. The staff was the most supportive while still giving me room to grow from challenges. My fellow students were some of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine people I’ve ever met, and they are a big part of what made this experience special. My favorite memories include a 3 am hike, spotting 7 bald eagles on a boat ride, making food with foraged ingredients, candlelit mindfulness, town days, late night chats in the cabins, and lots and lots of bananagrams! I’m so grateful to have found this program that I know will have a lasting impact on my life.

My experience at Seguinland has been nothing short of a dream. While at times it was incredibly difficult, I always felt held and supported by the community here. Everyone conducts themselves with generosity and vulnerability in mind. Everyday was an adventure, a local one like exploring the Dawnland Trail, or my day of solitude, or a big one like hiking Cadillac Mountain to see the sunrise. My favorite part of this semester was the art class with Marsha- everyday we explored a new form of creativity and her emphasis on process over product made it a welcoming, expressive, and fun space for everyone. I will always remember the joy and wonder I found here in people, places, and art.

Among the white pines and the laughter and the biggest sky you will ever know, Seguinland lies in the heart of a world so beautifully far from the one most of us live in today. It is a place where you can let go of everything you have been wanting to, and where that freedom is encouraged in order to make room for the new ideas you will create and discover yourself. I found a stillness inside me that I didn't realize I was missing, that felt like it was handed to me by the trees right outside my bedroom window. There was singing and tea-brewing and walking barefoot on the forest floor with our eyes closed, but above it all, there was just being. I lived fully. And I felt so incredibly loved during my 4 weeks there. It was easy to commit myself to finding The Good Life, with a family of strangers around me taking the same leaps I was, even if in vastly different ways. I made friends that I will never forget, and who walk beside me every day, whether near or far, because it was them who I opened my eyes with. Who I jumped into deep Atlantic waters with, and who know, like me, what an unforgettably real journey we began together.

I absolutely loved my time at Seguinland, and found it to be an incredibly valuable experience. My love for Seguinland can be broken down to the lessons, the surroundings, and the people.
During my gap semester I wanted to continue learning and growing, but take a break from the traditional model of classes. Classes at Seguinland can vary from day to day, but usually feature a seminar-style discussion about a text that everyone had read the night before or discussing a main theme of the day. At least once a week (and often many more times), classes would include a trip to locations around Maine. Sometimes this meant hands on agriculture work or spending time in nature, other times we visited artists' studios or attended lectures. Classes were always varied, and always encouraged us to be more curious and engaged in the topics we discussed. You do still have books to read and responses to write up, but it is all to enrich discussions and curiosity, not just busy work for a grade. I found this to be a refreshing break from college lectures, and other students in between high school and college loved reconnecting with the feeling exploration often missing in high school classes. A number of the themes we discussed have stuck with me even after leaving. Concepts like self-reliance became useful, actionable skills, and discussions about mindfulness and attention have changed how I spend my time after Seguinland for the better.
As the number of trips we took alludes to, Maine, and nature as a whole, is an important part of the program. For the first few days of staying in our cottages, I was truly in awe of how beautiful the marshes and forests were. As the program goes on, we really learned to see the woods and marshes as a part of campus, and we enjoyed finding nooks and hideaways to read or spend time outdoors with friends. Sometimes guest speakers would lead us on walks in the woods or marsh (make sure to bring water-proof boots) to get a better understanding of the ecology or philosophy of nature. This extended to camping trips in various national and state parks in Maine which were always a fun way to shake up the routine, and everyone always had an incredible time. The staff made sure that both veteran and brand new campers had a good time and were comfortable. If you're looking for where to start exploring the outdoors more, Seguinland is a great introduction. The camping trips are where many of my best memories were made, mostly because of the different ways it lets you interact with Seguinland's biggest draw, the people.
When I think about the people at Seguinland, both staff and students, it is astonishing how close we all grew over such a short period of time. The other students were wonderful, and key to the experience itself. There is of course that anxiety the first few days when you realize you'll spend the next three months with the same 20 or so people, but pretty quickly that becomes a benefit, not a negative. With a small cohort that is always eating together and doing tasks together, there really isn't the space for cliques to form or people to be socially left behind. Everyone was a part of one large group, and that meant you really got to know everyone extremely well, and there wasn't the pressure to find your group right off the bat. You find pretty quickly that while the cohorts are definitely selected with a variety of personalities and interests, all of the students are also there because they are genuine and curious people looking for something different. The staff were also wonderful. I was worried that a program like this could attract a lot of camp-counselor types or very new-age people, but everyone was very down to earth. The teachers were all highly knowledgeable and passionate about what they were teaching. They also doubled as general staff that you would eat with in evenings and go on trips with, breaking down the barrier between teacher and student. The 'student life coordinators' who handled events outside of the classroom, managing the cottages, and generally helping students get the most out of the experience were two of the most enthusiastic and good-natured people I've ever met. We were truly blessed with Matt and Elin. In addition, Katie, our food-life coordinator, was wonderful at getting people engaged in and excited about cooking. If you have never cooked before, or love to cook whenever you get the chance, Katie helps you find ways to grow and contribute to dinner in your own way. There were a number of other people in the Seguinland orbit that would come in for certain events or trips, which really gives the whole program a village community feel. The program itself is fantastic, but it really is the people that you remember best, and that make Seguinland what it is.
I really can not recommend Seguinland highly enough. If you are looking to get out of the routine of high school or college and willing to try something new, Seguinland is for you. You'll sometimes have to leave your comfort zone, but the wonderful community is always there to support you when you do. I hope you enjoy your time in Maine!