I recently went on another nature excursion to escape the harsh pace of everyday life. I love hiking and camping, especially with other people that are impactful on my life and my way of thinking. My mom, godmother, and I went for one of the most rigorous hikes I have ever been on down into a gorge. It was a great time to express my anxiousness about going back to school and how worried I was about the impact of the precautions being taken to prevent the spread of Covid.

My mom pointed out how the trees that we passed were survivors; they had "adapted" to a harsh and competitive environment. Even though they were in the shadows, without soil, they had sprung up from the rock that the river had carved down into over the years. I looked around and realized that all the beautiful things around me had to fight to stand where they were. My mom then said, "I think this is a good lesson to learn about how adapting to your surroundings and what youre given is extremely important nowadays." We moved passed the topic pretty quickly and talked about other things like work and exercise, but that stuck with me for the next week.

It seems lately that nothing is in my favor. I know how negative that sounds, but sometimes the hard parts of life are when we learn the most about ourselves. I turn to one thing after the next, and it seems that everything I've built my foundation on has been ripped away from me. But I've been focusing on how my mom said we have to adapt to our surroundings. I had to adapt to the pandemic. But now, I get to pick out cute masks to bring with me to college and actually see my friends (even if there is six feet between us.) I had to adapt to my online classes last semester. But now, I am better prepared for my online classes this semester, and have learned how to responsibly communicate with my professors. Long ago, I had to adapt to my parents' separation. But now, I couldn't imagine life without my stepparents and younger siblings.

Adaptability goes a long way. It can be applied to work, friendships, and even life in general. I can't run from the fact that not everything will go my way. But I can do my best to adapt to what I am given.

God gives us what we can handle, but he also gives us free will to choose how we respond to the situations we are put in.

I also believe that the idea of adapting to your environment goes hand in hand with being resilient. I want to be able to flourish in whatever situation I am placed in, but I need to bounce back when things go awry in order to be useful.

My goal is to challenge myself to adapt to the changes around me during this transition period as I return to college so that I can reflect back in later months knowing that I did my very best to make the most of any unfortunate circumstances.