It’s been one mile – maybe two, I don’t even know. I’m gasping. Looking up the hill ahead of me, I see nothing but trees and more hill. A chipmunk scurries by, and I’m immediately jealous of his speed. Then, I focus in on Joe. He trudges ahead of me –way ahead of me—with his giant, professional-looking hiking backpack strapped on.
“I’m out of shape!” I yell to the back of his head.
“Ooh, what’s over here?” He responds as he darts to the left. Yes, I think to myself, a place to stop and rest. Thankfully, that is exactly what he found. When I finally catch up, he stands on a ledge overlooking the woods in awe. I just think to myself how happy I am that I can stop hiking for a minute.
Joe brings me along on his outdoorsy excursions quite often. It’s always an adventure, and I always ask him a million questions. Before we went trudging up that hill at Afton State Park, I called him asking what exactly I should bring on an overnight camping trip. Do I even need a toothbrush? Will there be clean water to brush my teeth with? He once asked to postpone a date so he could look at the blood moon (understandable). He has brought me to rivers, ski trips, fields to look at the stars, you name it.
Having a nature-loving, outdoorsy boyfriend has completely changed my perspective on a lot of things. He has taught me so much about the world around me that I never really thought to explore before. He walks around and picks up litter he finds – who does that? But hey, it sure has made me more conscious about treating the earth with respect. When he rants about people littering, I find myself getting angry as well. Since being with him I have noticed myself consciously holding onto my garbage more, and trying to pick up others’ that I find outside.
He dreams of going kayaking in the boundary waters, skiing in Patagonia, cliff-jumping in Spain, or exploring the fields where my family resides outside Nashville. And you know what? He makes me pretty dang excited to get out and do those things too. My boyfriend rants about sustainable practices and consistently shares articles on Facebook about them.
I have found myself learning so much more about cutting down on waste, good and bad materials for the environment, and what countries know how to be sustainable (hint: it’s not America). Joe has shown me the amount of crap inside the ocean, what birds make what call, and how to set up a campsite.
Sure, I liked the outdoors before I found him. I skied practically every day I could. I climbed trees and went on the lake. But having a person close to me so passionate about those things helped me to see so much more. Earth has so much to offer, and so many people treat it like crap. I’ll always thank God for bringing me Joe because his passion for this Earth has shown me all that it has to offer.
Find someone close to you with a passion for the world. They will surely show you a whole new perspective and bring you many adventures. Society has grown materialistic, attached to our phones. We all need a reminder to get away from that every once in a while.
