Matthew Cugnet

Looking Back on 2025  2025 felt quiet on the surface but chaotic underneath. Much of the work unfolded behind the scenes, often without certainty about how everything would connect. I spent the year turning long-held ideas into something tangible, and in that process The PlaidPath began to take clearer shape. The website launched, the early framework of The VAN to VIC Trek came together, and what once lived mostly in my head became something I could refine, share, and stand behind.  That...

Ten years ago, I was standing in a season of transition without fully realizing it.  I had just begun my career as an elementary school teacher and found myself at an early crossroads: choosing between a contract in Kindergarten or Grade One. At the time, it felt like a small, practical decision. In reality, it shaped the relationships I built, the skills I sharpened, the realizations I had, and the confidence I developed in those formative years of teaching.  I chose Grade 1.  We never get...

Some trails don’t go the way you expect. You start with a plan, a destination in mind, and then the path veers sharply, through dense...