I hear it quite often from students and even faculty: "There isn't anything to do around here!" or "Ugh there is nothing to do in Stillwater."

I'll be honest, compared to where I grew up, Stillwater is a thriving metropolis filled to the brim with restaurant options and things to occupy my time. To paint you a picture of how tiny my hometown was, I have said the phrase, "We don't just have a Wal-mart, we have TWO here in Stillwater!" We didn't have paved road leading up to my house, and at the time I was living there, we didn't even have a mailing address that was recognizable by Fed-ex or UPS. The closest chain restaurant was thirty minutes away, and they consisted of a Sonic, Taco Mayo, Pizza Hut and a Subway in a gas station. The closest Wal-mart, Starbucks or shopping center was almost an hour away. The closest grocery store or even hospital was even thirty minutes or so away from where I lived with my parents. The only thing one could maybe describe as fun was a movie theater that played one movie at a time, and nothing rated over PG-13 and that was thirty minutes away. We played eight man football and I graduated high school with around twenty people who I had known since we were five.

When I moved to Stillwater, I was excited that I was almost equidistant from Oklahoma City and Tulsa depending on if I drove the speed limit, compared to the three hour drive to Tulsa and two hour drive to OKC I was used to from my parents' home. I would drive to Edmond on weekends just to spend a day at Target because a 45 minute drive was nothing for someone who grew up having to drive an hour at least to go shopping most places and a half hour or more to go out to eat. Don't even get me started on how many pounds I've happily gained because of all of the resturants conveniently close to me here. (Mom, I can actually order pizza to my house here!) I have days where I want to escape this town, but most of the time I absolutely love it here.

However, for most people who I've met here, Stillwater is tiny to them, and if they grew up here, their boredom is even more amplified compared to the other students I talk to. For the next few articles I wanted to show people that there are fun events and places to go in Stillwater, as long as you're willing to look for them!

This week, I wanted to tell you all about my first trip to the Botanic Gardens near Oklahoma State University's campus. I went for the very first time with my family after the football game this week, and I was so impressed! The only thing I'm upset about is that I didn't go sooner.

The best part about the Botanic Gardens? It's absolutely free! Donations are appreciated, but there is no expensive flat rate to go in, making it a good spot for people on a college-kid budget like myself. According to their website, donations help support student internships, new gardens, new programming and their volunteer program. The gardens are currently having their biggest fundraising event of the year by selling mums and pumpkins. They are cheaper than what you could find elsewhere (for pumpkins at least), the mums are gorgeous and they support a good cause.

The gardens offer a variety of events throughout the year such as running events, free concerts, yoga in the garden, educational events and much more and most of these events are absolutely free. Just in the month of October, you can expect a concert with local artist Tyler Siems, Pumpkin Palooza, a gardening class with a free dinner, a wreath making class and more!

The garden itself is beautiful, and is filled with a vast variety of plants from gorgeous colorful flowers to unique trees and succulents. If you ever find yourself needing to escape the stress of school for a bit, it is a perfect place. I think that mental health is just as important as physical, and getting outside is one way to focus on your mental and spiritual health. Once you walk onto the 1/2 mile loop path of the garden trail, it feels as if you've entered an entirely different world away from the traffic noise and busy atmosphere of the college town that surrounds it.

There are a variety of different gardens such as the Butterfly Garden, Japanese Garden or the Sensory Garden. The Sensory Garden has gorgeous plants that appease all the senses and you are free to touch, smell and taste the plants in this area. Interactive gardens, rest areas among the plants, educational tidbits incorporated throughout the gardens and calming water fixtures make for a unique and relaxing experience. There are benches everywhere that look perfect for studying or taking some much needed time for yourself. My phone picked up OSU student wi-fi so I assume that studying could definitely happen here!

If you're a runner or walker, you might be burned out on the regular places to go running or walking around town, and I think the Botanic Gardens are going to be one of my new favorite places to go in the evenings!

The garden filled with succulents was one of my favorites, and all of the featured gardens are so much prettier than I thought they would be! I thought the area would be much smaller than it actually is, and I was definitely impressed by the variety of plants that are in the space. The Botanic Garden is even featured on the television show Oklahoma Gardening on OETA.

While I understand that the thought of a garden as something fun to do might not be exciting to everyone, the Botanic Garden of OSU was a beautiful calming place that I think every student could benefit from visiting before they graduate. It is free to visit and free to participate in most events, making it a unique place that college students would be able to enjoy regularly, and because of the no admission fee, you have nothing to lose by giving it a try on the next beautiful fall day!

Directions to the gardens and hours of operation can be found here or by calling (405)-744-5404.