We (humans) take advantage of nature and the environment. Though this is the information age also known as the digital age and computer age, without nature we couldn’t survive. We are a part of nature. Not everybody has the blessing of feeling connected to nature. People find a connection with it in different ways even, in outdoor sports, hiking, mountain climbing, fishing. My connection with nature becomes stronger when I am hiking, it’s something my family and I love to do whenever I am outdoors all my senses feel awaken. I see things that I didn’t know where possible. It makes me feel such a great appreciation and love for nature and the environment. There is such a stillness in the wilderness that can’t be found in most places.
Since before I was born my parents went hiking together and now we go as a family. Their first road trip together was to Colorado to go hiking. My dad says that’s when he knew he wanted to marry my mother when she felt the same about hiking as he did. Each year my dad had my mom pick out a place she wants to hike and explore. They made it a priority to go, it was there getting away from life, stress, bills. They found such comfort together in nature and exploring. I Believe that since my parents had such a strong bond and connection through nature they wanted their kids to feel it. With my brother, they started taking him hiking and camping with them when he was seven, and he also fell in love with it. I went on my first hike when I was nine, but before that, we were always camping, and outdoors. Every single weekend I was outdoors, either way, so I loved it and was so used to it and I always remember telling my parents to take me before then, but I was too little. I remember how much I fell in love with it, I loved exploring the woods, mountains.
I didn’t realize how a lot of people don’t share the love for nature until I started staying a night at a friend’s house and all they wanted to do was stay inside. Like how boring is that? When I was 14, I was finally allowed to bring a friend with me on our yearly summer trips. Her name was Marie, she did to love the outdoors. We went to Colorado and went on a 45-minute hike, and we loved every minute of it we talked, laughed it’s a lifelong memory I will forever treasure. Around this time, I got into photography, so it made my love for nature grow even more. I would take the most amazing pictures, that didn’t even look real. Nature its self-brings me and my family closer together more than anything else can. I feel that it connects us in such a unique and special way. The conversations on the trails are so honest, genuine and so relaxed. There is no cell signal, so they can’t withdraw into their phone if they aren’t interested. It’s only us and the mountain and nature, we all feel so connected as if we are all one. My family and I went on a hike this summer, we bonded more than we ever have. We saw things that were so beautiful, waterfalls flowing upstream because the wind is so strong, the clouds doing amazing things. You feel on top of the world.
Reflecting on all the amazing times I had on the trails, hiking makes me grow such a deeper and stronger appreciation for nature and the environment. I grew up in Houston Texas, It’s such a man-made environment. Being outdoors surrounded by nature, and non-man-made things are such a reviving departure from the city life. Nature gives me such an intense happiness, I would choose to hike and be outdoors any day under the sun than going out to a bar, or a movie. I found joy and an emotional connection with nature since it brings my family and I closer together. I hold a deep appreciation for it that not everybody has.
People take advantage of the environment. We need to treat it with respect. We don’t live forever, to see our great-grandchildren, what kind of earth do you want them living on? I want them to be able to experience nature as I have. If it’s through hiking or photography outdoor sports, activities it doesn’t matter. I want them to feel what nature has truly given my family. Now that I have a little one, I take her outside all day. She loves to be outside, I see it in her little face, it doesn’t matter to her if she’s sleepy or just woke up she loves being out there and will not whine once. I wonder if she feels the same connection I do. she loves running around in the backyard, once I try to bring her in to eat she cries. I want my child to feel the say I do about nature and the environment and experience this same feeling with her little one, or significant other.
I’ve grown to really admire and embrace nature and the environment. Personally, I feel a comfort in being out in nature. It keeps me peaceful. I find it disappointing when people think that their actions are going to add up to anything. We need to come together and be environmentally friendly. There are simple things we can so, when it comes to clothes simply, reduce the number of times you go shopping, turning off the lights. Recycling correctly. We must be thoughtful about how our actions will affect both us and the environment. Not everybody is lucky enough to feel a deep connection with nature. For them to know how deep it is, we must forgo luxuries for a few days simply go for a camp in the woods. No amount of comfort can give you the pure sense of happiness that nature can give you.
