Mar. 18, 2005
www.guilfordian.com
Once upon n drive through Mexico: Roadtrip tribulations
Continued from Page 8
his wife, mother, and three beautiful children for the
better part of two days until we could get the car
fixed.
After repairing the car, our confidence soared and
we hit the road anew. Our next destination was
another beach town, this one closer to the border.
While driving down the highway, we heard a
bumping noise from the rear, passenger-side tire.
Our spirits were too high to let it really bother us.
Eventually the noise stopped and we attributed it
to a stick or something caught under the car. We
reasoned the noise had stopped because the foreign
object had fallen out.
About two minutes later, Morgan noticed a bright
light coming from the back of the car. I rolled down
the window and took a peak.
"Dude, you got to pull over right now," I yelled at
Kyle. "Your car is on fire."
Flames grew bigger and bigger from the inside of
the tire. This would be the same tire located under
the gas tank.
As we pulled over, all four of us jumped out of the
car. I poured a jug of water over the fire to extinguish
it. Unfortunately, the smoke rose into the jug, tainting
the remainder of our water.
Anne Belott, making the best of 'daunting situations'
Charlie McAlpin
Staff Writer
Anne Belott is just a
random Guilford stu
dent. Like all of ours, the
ongoing novel of her life tells
an absorbing story.
But as Anne turned the
pages last fall at a steady
pace, a stunning plot twist
threatened to knock the book
from her grasp.
"She was faced with a pret
ty daunting situation last
year," said Lynn Moseley,
Anne's Environmental Studies
advisor.
But Anne doesn't want that
chapter to define her life. To
respect the intricacies of her
plot, we should back up a few
pages to when she applied to
Guilford.
Anne is five feet five inches
with curly auburn hair and a
scrappy attitude. "She's
always an upbeat person,"
Moseley said.
She went to high school
outside Atlanta in Stone
Mountain, GA. She planned
to stay in-state like her friends
but "freaked out" as a senior
in January 2002 and started
looking around.
"When I came here I just
felt like this was the place
where I had to be," Anne
said.
She applied the same
week.
At Guilford Anne has two
majors: "History is because I
love it," and, "Environmental
Studies because that's what
I'm passionate about."
"Her group is above aver
age in efficiency," said
Moseley.
In science classes where
excellence is measured by
accuracy and productivity, this
is a high compliment.
Anne knew she was inter
ested in environmental stud
ies but was afraid of science.
But after taking Moseley's
General Zoology, she realized
it was her route.
"I've always
known that I
wanted to
make a differ
ence in my
community,"
said Anne.
"But I really
didn't know
what the best
way to do that
was. I think
Environmental
Studies is
really my out
let, especially
since I've
started gar-
CHARLIE MCALPIN/GUILFORDIAN
Random profile: Senior Anne Bellot
FEATURES
We spent the night in the car, as no one would
stop to help us and we were nowhere near any signs
of civilization.
In the morning, Kyle and Aaron began the long
walk toward the last gas station we passed. Morgan
and I stayed with the car.
While sitting in the just rising sun, waiting for our
friends to return, a pickup truck pulled in next to us.
A man, Francisco, and his entire family - a wife
and four daughters - approached us and asked us if
we needed help.
While he only spoke Spanish, and neither Morgan
nor I knew more than four words, we were able to
tell him about the fire, and our friends walking for
help.
This man was kind enough to pick up Kyle and
Aaron, drive them to the nearest town, buy the nec
essary parts, and fix our car.
On a highway where no one stopped, this man
was willing to do so much more than that.
At this point, we decided to head back to the bor
der before anything else could go wrong.
Just as we made it to the border town of
Montomoros, the brakes in the car wore out.
Some slick driving by Kyle brought us to a stop at
a convenient store, conveniently located next to a
dening and looking at sustain
able agriculture. That is so
important to me."
Anne lived in the environ
mental house for the last
three semesters with fellow
environmental enthusiasts.
She is also involved in
Forevergreen, the organic
garden, and Fancy Feet and
Fingers.
"She is a very hard worker,
which I think comes from a
sort of perfectionism," said
junior Parks Marion via e
mail, who lived in the Pines
with Anne.
That perfectionism led Anne
to continue college during her
sophomore year even after
her life went into a tornado.
.
mechanic. The gentlemen there were able to fix the
car and send us on our way.
Seven days, seven different mechanics, and close
to 4,000 miles later, we returned to Greensboro.
I set out looking for an adventure. I certainly found
one. And while there may be a fine line between an
adventure and a nightmare, our trip never crossed
over it, thanks in large part to the kindness of
strangers. 3§
Anne was diagnosed with
Hodgkin's disease in
September 2003.
"It was weird, but it wasn't a
big deal at the time," Anne
said when all she knew was
that there was a lump on her
neck. "Then they said 'oh, it
might be cancer,' and I said
'Oh-shit."'
But Anne resolved not to let
the cancer affect her life and
stayed in school.
"This probably exemplifies
her best and worst trait which
is her stubbornness," said
Marion. "She can achieve
anything she puts her mind to
but sometimes she makes big
sacrifices to do so."
Anne agreed she was fool
ish to think she could contin
ue her life unaffected, but was
glad to have school as a dis
traction from her sickness.
"I was just so impressed
with the way she handled the
situation," Moseley said. "The
level of maturity she exhibited
is a lesson to us all."
Anne got through the year
only dropping one class
despite regular chemotherapy
and radiation sessions along
with the ensuing fatigue they
caused. Not only did she stay
on track, but she is actually
graduating a semester early.
Anne is a third-year student
Page 9
Greensboro. N.C.
KYLE BREBNER/GUILFORDIAN
Once upon a drive in Mexico
with senior status.
She finished her treatment
at the end of March one year
ago and her scans have
shown up clear since then.
"That's the best I can ask
for," Anne said.
Looking back, Anne real
ized that her sickness has
opened up opportunities. For
her independent study Anne
researched gardening as ther
apy, "More for myself than
anything else." Now she is
growing a garden for a
friend's father who has brain
cancer and another for an
assisted living center.
"It seems like the right
opportunity," Anne said.
Right now she is enjoying
college and trying not to think
about what comes next. She
has considered joining
AmeriCorp for a year or the
American Horticulture
Therapy Association.
Anne lives off-campus with
Heather Doyle, a former
Guilford student who trans
ferred to UNCG to major in
Dance. She is trying to calm
her life down.
The girls are living a slightly
bohemian life, and for now
they only have one bed. "It's
actually fun," Anne said. "It's
like every night is a slumber
party."*