Unnoticed Surroundings | Teen Ink

Unnoticed Surroundings

December 15, 2014
By MysticMusic ELITE, Waterloo, Other
MysticMusic ELITE, Waterloo, Other
116 articles 0 photos 118 comments

Favorite Quote:
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” -Mae West
"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." - Leonardo Da Vinci


Have you looked up at the sky recently? Sometimes, at this age, we're so consumed by the things we have to do that we simply forget to look at our surroundings and relax. It's not just about finally getting to sleep in on a Saturday or hanging out with friends at the mall. We should take a good look at our surroundings, because this is the Earth we all share. Do the trees near your school look withered? Maybe it's the air pollution. Can you smell the air pollution too? It's a horrible odour when one notices. What about the last time you looked at the sky? Let me think- probably sometime in Elementary school. Whether we know it or not, we are consumed by stress everyday, and when we are finally released from the workload, we are consumed by the thought of "this isn't right. I should be doing something!" or simply lazing around doing nothing. 

 

The beauties of our world are something to be appreciated, because they might not be there for long. They're not just there for decoration either. They bring a sense of relief and deepens our connection to nature, something I fear many have long lost. Some animals are called "dumb", but they're more connected to nature than we are. They know better than to destroy the world we all share. They don't release constant greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, nor do they dig landfills and put toxic materials inside and hope it doesn't leak into the soil and water. No, they are much smarter than we ever were in treating the Earth. 

 

Wolves never go for the strong healthy prey, and those prey can continue to survive because of it. What do we do? Destroy species after species for our usage. That's not a worthy sacrifice for the continuation of mankind. In fact, I bet that's going to come back to bite us hard sooner rather than later. We speak of keeping invasive species away from habitats, but we're the worse invasive species this Earth has probably ever seen. Don't even get me started on litter and plastic.

 

Now I'm not asking you to drop everything and help the environment, because I know such extreme actions could result in disaster. Instead, I simply ask to enjoy the beautiful nature around you, while it still lasts, because this might not last to the next generation. Enjoy the beauties of the Earth, rather than the MacDonald meal. Spend some time immersed in nature, rather than playing a computer game or going on Facebook. We all came from Mother Nature, and we will all return to Mother Nature eventually, leaving behind the rest of humankind. Wouldn't it be a shame, to go through life in a hurry and not stop to enjoy the nature around you? Next time you're outside, trying looking up at the sky and take in the view of its vast beauty.


The author's comments:

I'm quite passionate when it comes to nature and its preservation, but on the other hand, I also think it's quite a shame for such beauty to go unnoticed by many. Being in high school myself, I notice that not many people really look up at the sky or the nature around them. Instead, they're studying, talking to their friends, hustling between classes and tapping their phones. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's really nice to appreciate the nature of the world, and it's a shame to not notice it for so long.


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