There is one thing everyone will fail to tell you about going to college. Between attending class every day and constant studying, you don’t realize how little time you spend outside. While everyone is probably too focused on finals right now to notice, let alone care about the difference it makes, I am driven insane by it. It is stressful times like these that make me long for the serenity that I have been brought by nature.
Coming home from college for the first time felt like something out of a dream. I drove down all the roads I’ve known for so long, and it felt as though I was experiencing it all like a kid again. Although my visit back home was short-lived, I made it imperative that I visit one place in particular: the forest preserve.
Just a short bike ride up the main road by my house led to a secret passage leading to the greatest wonder my town had to offer. Only a few people knew about its existence, which made it all the more special. Everyone who entered this magical domain though, came out completely different.
I could find the entrance to the forest preserve in my sleep, and when I came home, I did it with just as much ease. I walked up to the thicket of trees along the road and looked for a small clearing. After pulling back a couple branches full of leaves, I am led to the infamous “Forest Hours” sign with a purple spray-painted cross on it. Finally home. A small field lies behind the curtains of trees and welcomes me to three different paths I can take. I always take the far left. Walking down this path brings you to “The Field”. Everyone knows what The Field is, and it is my mission every time.
It was around September when I came home, so the colors of the forest were starting to lose their vibrancy. The leaves on the trees were starting to change colors, and the fluffy path of grass on the paths was starting to become matted down from months of continuous travelers. But, it never lost its majesticness.
As I walked down this path, I was greeted by the last survivors of purple flowers that remain from the summer. They were beautiful milestones in the long trek to my final destination. The brought me back to my early morning bike rides from the summer. Flowers with pink, blue, yellow and purple leaves reached out to you as you walked past them.The sun would come up and hit them in a way that made the dew on their leaves twinkle. The flowers always awoke at the same time I did, only they looked fresher.
The “left path” was about a mile long, with several paths branching off of it to the right. Walking a little farther down this path leads to a footbridge over the only stream the forest has. My curiosity derails me only slightly as I go on to check for the engraving of my name that I left during the summer. Running my fingers over the course and jagged wood brings the immediate nostalgia of hot summer days. During the summer though, mosquitos and bugs of all kinds used to hang out around here. Standing in that moment, with the absence of small hums and buzzes reminds me that the seasons are changing; and it's time to accept it. I move on.
Dead leaves litter the forest floor taking the place of the grass and sticks of the summer. Underneath these newfound sprinkles though, lies the path I have always known. Unlike myself, the life in this forest accepts its seasonal changes and adapts accordingly. Something it has been trying to teach me to do for years.
Turning the corner to The Field still brings me just as much satisfaction now, as it did every day in the summer. It was always the greatest victory after taking the left path on a hot and sweaty day. Just past a door-like frame of trees leads to about two hundred yards or so of rolling grass, barricaded on all sides by the high rising oak trees.
I find my old spot underneath the only tree in the middle of The Field - The Tree of Life. On summer nights, my friends and I would bring a blanket and speakers and sit underneath this beautiful tree. It offered shade from the hot sun, and a structure of support if we were tired.
One of my favorite things to do at The Field is meditate, but not in the traditional sense. One could sit under the Tree of Life watching and observing the life around them and this in itself would bring a sense of serenity.
Although the blissful feeling of summer was now gone, some things never changed. The birds still sang just as loud, and their chirps echoed throughout the trees. No signs of human in sight. The trees on the horizon still danced in the wind. The more things change though, the more they stay the same.
Sitting by myself in The Field makes me think. A lot. Perhaps the greatest thing the forest taught me was that we are all connected. Just like the forest changes, we all do too. Just as the stream, the sun and the trees use one another to keep each other alive, we as humans must too. Just as the animals used the forest as a safe haven from the destruction of man, perhaps we should find our own.
Yet, within a world of so much destruction, there's still lies so much beauty. Sometimes we as humans are too busy to appreciate this beauty though. Either that, or we are simply to distracted to acknowledge its presence. Amongst the stress that school brought me, coming back to this place brought me to a place of bliss. Even though my visit back to this hidden world was short when I came back home, its effect was long-lasting.
As I enter finals week, I am surrounded by stress everywhere. Stress passes from one person to another as talk of grades and exams becomes more prominent, creating a domino effect of unrest. At the end of the day, it’s always about finding my happy place and putting myself there. I think about your beautiful flowers. I think about your bright green grass. I think about the sounds of water and animals exploring. And I am brought back.
Thank you for showing the world a eutopia of beauty while it's in such a hideous place.
Kautz Road, I will return to you soon. Until then, I live my life through the image of your tranquility in hopes of spreading love to all that I come in counter with, as you have done for me.