Before I moved to Charleston, I lived in a more rural area. Living in the city has been a big change. I grew up with a large backyard complete with extensive woods and a creek. I spent my childhood playing and exploring outside. I always felt I had a close connection to nature. Moving to the city was a big change. The closest natural area is Marion Square and that area only has grass and a few trees. I’m now surrounded by concrete day in and day out and it is hard to maintain that connection to the natural world. Being connected to nature allows one to stay grounded and levelheaded. Nature is beautiful and has given us so much. Remembering that we humans only make up an extremely small portion of Earth’s history is important. We tend to think that humans are the most important part of the Earth even though we occupy so little of it and have only lived here for a short time. Realizing this allows us to remember that we have a job to treat the Earth with respect as we are only visitors. Being exposed to natures beauty helps to remind us what we stand to lose if we aren’t careful. Scientists proposed the concept of the Anthropocene because humans have come to have such a large impact on the environment despite only being around for a small part of the Earths existence. The climate is changing and animals are going extinct because we are losing our connection to nature.

To reconnect with nature I went to an empty portion of the beach and sat for a few minutes. I could hear the waves crashing against the shore, the sand beneath me, and the sun shining down on me. There was no sirens, ringtones, or car sounds only the squawking of birds and that crashing of waves. It was very relaxing and reminded me about the beauty of the natural world. Leaving the city and entering nature allowed me to regain that connection to nature that I’ve lost. It put everything we’d been talking about in class into perspective. The relaxing sound of the waves is coming from a polluted ocean. The squawking birds could possibly be extinct due to said pollution in the near future. The sand beneath is littered with trash and is becoming overtaken by the tourism industry. Focusing on the development of sustainable practices will help us to fix these problems and protect the Earth from human actions. Reconnecting with nature allowed me to remember how valuable nature is and why we need to change our ways. Being in nature makes the problems seem more real. It’s easy to ignore a problem when it’s out of sight. Sitting on a beautiful beach and then looking over to see a water bottle and other trash scattered around ruining the postcard-worthy image is inspiring and encourages me to continue with my attempts to live a more sustainable life. A connection with nature reminds us of the importance of the fight for a more sustainable world.