I sat on the damp grass, absorbing the beautiful autumn day. I saw purple, orange, yellow, and brown leaves on the trees and on the ground. I heard nothing but the wind; it was blowing my hair behind me. Many would view this wind as an inconvenience: messing up their hair, sending them a chill and a shiver, or ruining their tennis serve. Today, however, the wind became purity and freedom. The anxiety of taking the ACT that occupied my mind at every moment, instantly went away. For the first time during junior year, I was finally relaxed. It had been so long since I took a deep breath and enjoyed the outdoors without any distractions. I have always lacked an appreciation of nature, and I believe this is true among most teenagers and adults. People are too concerned with their fast-paced lives to stop and observe all of the beauty that surrounds them. On the rare occasion that they catch a glimpse of nature’s beauty, people hurry  to take out their phones and snap a picture instead of absorbing and enjoying it for themselves. I realized that technology can present an obstacle to human development because it places a focus on conformity (social media), instead of natural beauty.

As time went on, my mind started to wander. I was reminded of a childish game I used to play with my cousins. I laid on my back and stared at the clouds, looking for as many shapes and creatures as possible. In the clouds I saw a bunny holding a shovel, a basketball hoop, and a person riding a bicycle. My imagination was as full and free as it was when I was a child. Nature possesses this innocence that allows for imagination because it has no boundaries. In contrast to society, nature provides for creativity, which contributes to individualism. One often feels pressure to fit into society and conform to its standards, whereas in nature, one cloud can look like a different “creature”  to everyone that lays their eyes upon it. Therefore, I really enjoyed experiencing time in nature, without the demands and assumptions of society.