Coming back to school always means change. New food, new schedule, and, for most, new surroundings. This past summer I lived in Baltimore, Maryland, which was a pretty jarring change in scenery for me. Living on Long Island, I have always been surrounded by beaches and some woods as my main points of nature. In downtown Baltimore, there is not much of that to be found. Sure, there’s the Inner Harbor, but besides that, there is not a lot of green space or bodies of water. Needless to say, I was homesick for nature this summer, and in the couple weeks I had home, I tried spending it outside as often as I could to take advantage of the sun and trees. I went running in the woods, watched the sunrise and sunset at the beach, and overall spent more time outside. At Bucknell, we are lucky enough to be surrounded by beautiful mountains, trees, and the Susquehanna River. I have always appreciated these things, but they have a new meaning to me this year especially, after having spent the summer in a city as well as it being my last year here.
The first weekend after classes started, some of my friends and I trekked to Cherry Springs, a park and campsite about 2 hours away from campus to stargaze. I had already been feeling inspired by nature, and this experience made me feel even closer to it. I saw the Milky Way, a few shooting stars, and overall had an amazing view of the night sky. I had never seen the sky look as it did that night, and I was amazed. To add the cherry on top (no pun intended), this semester I am taking a class called Environmentalism and its Discontents, taught by Professor Ted Hamilton. This course dives into all things nature, what nature truly is, how we should be treating it, amongst other things. This class has made me feel even more aware of the nature surrounding me and has made me think deeply about where I am in the world.
Before heading to Baltimore for the summer, I visited Norway with one of my roommates who is from there and also got to encounter nature in a way I had never before. I hiked up a few mountains and hilltops and saw the world from a point of view I would never get to normally. Being there on those mountains and having the opportunity to be so at peace was something I’ll never forget. These experiences made me feel even closer to nature as well. I have always taken where I live and the nature surrounding me for granted, but after living in a place with a lack of nature, I will always try to remember to stop and look around once in a while and acknowledge where I am. In short, nature to me means being able to see the world without buildings, too many other people bustling about, and seeing life as it could be without any distractions or interference with the environment as it could, or even should, be.