It’s been my dream to live in New York City since I was a child. Truly, the idea of a daily stroll down to Seaport or Central Park seemed like a luxury that certainly only the best (or the wealthiest) could come across during one lifetime. Any store is a matter-of-minutes distance, and a Broadway show is just a ticket sale away. Sure, the inevitability of an interesting lifestyle was glowing through the eyes of a child that wanted the city.

The suburban lifestyle is one that is so common for the average-joe American family. Most suburbs are safe, most suburbs are clean, and most suburbs are close in proximity to a small town or outlet where all your life’s possible needs can be bought. Suburbs are also, more times than not, littered with trees and nature.

Honestly, it came like an electric shock to me that I would miss the surrounding trees of my home in Howell, New Jersey. Being so focused on getting away from the students I knew from my high school and eager to take on the big city, I forgot what it was like to just sit at the window and glance at the woods which was my backyard. Occasionally, a deer would cross the lawn and glance at me for a period of time until it became skittish and darted away, sometimes followed by little fawns. These small pieces of nature served as an unconscious source of serenity and peace that I could not understand at the time.

I didn’t realize what I was missing until I got to school. On an overcast and white clouded day, the city view from my window looked depressing and dull. The gray walls of the once beautiful skyscrapers almost blended in with the otherwise dismal attitude of the environment. Then, just below it all and sitting in the corner view of my window was a small patch of trees and benches, petite but welcoming. The contrast between the buildings and this little patch of trees was fascinating; the leaves of the trees did not blend with the gloomy air, but the green pigments actually rose from the fog, looking even brighter than they do on a normal day. While feeling quite dismal myself, I found time to breathe while looking at those plants, and it brought me back to some sense of contentment.

Once one has reached a point in life where serenity is hard to reach, it becomes important to recognize the effect that little things might have. Sure enough, the phrase “it’s the little things” has a lot more weight than one might assume. Little things can provide just one more breath to my day, and if I’m being honest, that’s enough for me in a stressful college environment.

Despite the odd truth that to look for peace in nature is quite a “hippy” lifestyle, I must insist that natural remedies are always the most effective. In the end, when surrounded by concrete buildings, man made complexes, giant gloomy contraptions, we have to find the trees in order to be reminded of what here is truly real. Don’t get me wrong, New York City is a dream and I’m loving every moment I spend here. I just didn’t expect my love for fresh air to grow so much once I had been exposed to the big apple.