Keeping a strong relationship with the environment can be hard while living in the city as “doakrr” said. I live downtown and ride my bike to class every day but all I see is cars and sidewalks on a daily basis. Something nice about nature is the peace and quiet but all you get here is the sound of constant road rage.

I’m from Sandersville Georgia which is a very small town south of Atlanta. My father is a forester and would take me to cruise timber with him when I was younger. This is what I believe to be to the foundation of my relationship with the outdoors. He would take me out and let me tag the property lines and teach me the different tree species in Georgia.

In 2006, we moved to the suburbs in clover South Carolina. My house was smaller and surrounded by the constant noise of cars coming in and out. The forest was no longer my backyard and seemed to be like a 10×10 box that I was trapped in. My father was still a forester but was “promoted” to a desk job in Charlotte NC. This means he stopped cruising timber and instead sell the land he once inspected. I may not have realized at the time but my relationship with nature would start to deteriorate because of the move to South Carolina.

The move and new technology (such as an Xbox) had distanced my relationship with the environment. I wasn’t as happy as I was back in Georgia because when my friends asked me to come out and play, it was once to climb trees but was now to play in the streets. I had this desire to get out and go and so did my father. Me and my dad went to the blue ridge mountains to get away from the noise for a weekend. This was the first time I had ever been to the mountains and I had a blast.

We went to grandfather mountain and this was where I got reconnected to the natural world. I remember having such a good time that I never wanted to leave. Me and my dad began to go to the blue ridge every other weekend to hike and fly fish (I still suck at it). We began to get bored with that, so we then started flying out to the west coast to climb bigger mountains. We have climbed both Mt Saint Helens in Oregon and Rainier in Washington.

My relationship with the environment has had its ups and downs but I believe it’s here to stay from now on. I think it is very important for everyone to have some type of relationship with the environment. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should make it a lifestyle but should take some time to go out and hike or something of that nature. I especially think college students should connect with the outdoors because of all of the stress we go through. It often relieves me from my stress so it might also help anyone in need of a break.