While I was at Ashokan I got to try something new called blacksmithing. This is an experience I will never forget because of how hot the metal was. I remember how scared I was to get anywhere close to the burning metal. As we went through the line of people I watched everyone hesitate to pick up the hammer. I watched the fire slowly melt the metal and when the instructor took it out of the fire you could see it was just barely a solid. When it was my turn I grabbed the hammer and started to hit the melted metal. I look back at how the metal glowed yellow and even sparked because it was over 2,000 degrees. I thought it was amazing how the metal was so easy to bend, flatten and even twist. This is something mind blowing that I can’t believe I got to experience.