For Those Who Enjoy Fellowship With Nature

When the weather is questionable and your body is on the verge of passing out, something in your brain decides that a preplanned hike just won't work today. This is the situation we found ourselves in this weekend. The time is 4:45 p.m. and Daniel just returned from drill. The clouds are ominous, our bodies are tired from a work out and sunning session, dinner is around the corner, and a lack of knowledge about the hiking trails around us made it difficult to get up from the comfortable bean bag and say "LET"S GO!"

 Daniel left it to me.
 "Decide" he said.
 "Let's Go," I said.
Enter Adventure.

This weekend I learned to say "Yes" in difficult situations, which might not always work out, but it is a step out of comfort for me. When you step out of comfort, you meet new people and grow to know those around you better. You find connections that you didn't know existed and possibly build relationships with that person you keep noticing on campus. You grow past stereotypes and judgements and break into the core of people, while breathing in the heart of nature. I think something that we all long for is a genuine experience and genuine relationships–leaving behind the plastic, shiny beauty of what can be assumed as man made environment and man made appearances. None of us are perfect, and those flaws are what make us real. While society yells that we must be shiny, new and perfect, nature is whispering to us how beautiful and meaningful we all are. These are the types of things I discover by saying yes to less-than perfect circumstances. One day I might not have the option to say "Let's go." My health may not always allow it, so I will use my abilities in these moments in order to have them forever.