Sometimes it can be hard for people to feel connected to the natural world; for some it is obviously more difficult than for others. Especially living in an urban environment like Charleston, the routines of everyday life can cause the natural world to slip the mind. I have always felt pretty connected to nature because I grew up hiking, camping, and fishing with my family, but I would say that living in Charleston for the past four years has made me feel a bit disconnected. However, every time that I get the chance to immerse myself in nature, I immediately feel that strong connection that I grew up fostering. For example, when I went to Colorado with my dad, a few summers ago, I was in awe of the raw beauty it had to offer. The red rock formations in the Garden of the Gods are probably still to this day one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. On top of this, the view from the top of Pike’s Peak was sublime. For my own eyes, it was very easy to appreciate the raw power of Mother Nature and how lucky we are to live on this Earth. Unfortunately, these thoughts generally only come into my head when I am immersed in nature, which is not very often as a resident of Charleston.

Over spring break this year I went to Costa Rica, which is a country full of natural beauty. My friends and I stayed at a resort in Tamarindo, which is a small town on the Pacific Ocean. One day while I was there, I decided to go sit on the beach without my phone and reflect about my connection with nature and the importance of having a connection with nature. As I sat there and watched the very large waves crash on the rock formations coupled with the palm trees swaying in the breeze, I decided that a personal connection with nature should be important to everyone on this planet. This is our home, and it is the only home that we have. As powerful as nature is, humans are infinitely more powerful due to our ability to affect change in nature. A lot of the damages to the environment and changes in climate that have been caused by humans came before scientific knowledge on the subject, but now the data is in and it is very clear that our actions are having a great effect on the planet. It is great that we now understand what is going on, but that doesn’t necessarily make it easy for policy-makers to effect change on what we are doing to the environment. For something to truly be done about climate change, people must hold themselves individually accountable and make changes in their own lives to help the planet. I believe that people who do not feel a strong connection to the natural world probably do not care enough to make these changes. In other words, the importance of having a connection to the natural world cannot be understated, especially in generations moving forward

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