Journal #17- Nature

During the summer of 2010, I spent most of my days outside. We had a hammock in the middle of a bunch of trees. The branches and leaves created a canopy above the hammock. It felt so amazing to lie on the hammock in the summer sun. Because it was the summer before freshman year, I had several books I was assigned to read for Honors English class. I would lie on the hammock and read the novels. Hours would fly by, and I wouldn't even realize it because I was so into the stories I was reading. It felt good to know that I was spending my days outside instead of inside being lazy inside.

I have always liked to think of myself as an outdoorsy person. A trip to Calgary, Alberta in Canada two years ago taught me otherwise, however. I was not prepared for the amount of 'outdoorysyness' that was headed my way. We spent every day of that 10 day trip outside. We hiked, canoed, kayacked, hang glided, climbed a waterfall, and even walked across an iceburg. I quickly realized that I was underqualified to use the word 'outdoorsy' before visiting Canada, especially when it came to describing me. Although I didn't always enjoy every minute spent outside during that trip, I came to really appreciate the scenery. The trip also made me thankful for living in Springfield, Illinois. I believe a place like Springfield makes one appreciate other geographies so much more. We don't have mountains or beaches, so when we visit places that do, we find it so much more magical. A person that lives in California, that sees the beach every day, doesn't see the beauty of the ocean or enjoy it as much as someone who sees it for the first time in years, or even for the first time in their life. It is common for people to make degrading comments towards Springfield, Il, but I see it in a different light. Yea, I get sick of corn fields too, but it just makes be dream about a different scenery even more. When I finally get the chance to see that dream first hand, I enjoy the rarity so much more. However, when I have seen all there is to see, nothing sounds better than coming home to these corn fields.