Author: kakerlof

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Virtual experience vs Nature experience

Kiersten Hoff

Virtual Experience

For an hour I jumped between Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.  On Instagram, I saw many neat photos, and really cute ones of animals.  I continued looking at pictures of places; areas that I would love to visit one day.  Some photos are of marine life; people who went diving, while others are of cultural or historic landmarks.  I also saw photos of places I have been to, and they brought back memories.  I also looked at posts that friends and family posted of recent summer vacation pictures.  I then went to TikTok, where I watched a few short videos, with some of them being from friends.  I spent the last thirty minutes on YouTube.  I had heard that NASA had a recording of the sound of a black hole.  I decided to look it up and listen to it.  It was eerie, but also cool at the same time.  I then watched a YouTube video on black holes to further educate myself about them.  I have heard of them, but never fully understood their importance or significance.  In the video, an astrophysicist talks to a child, a teen, a college student, a graduate student, and another expert; probing them what they already knew about black holes.  She would then tell them more, helping them understand them better.  I still have so many questions, especially on the physics of it all.  There is so much out there for me to learn.  However, I did wonder after an hour, “why haven’t I watched the news yet?”       

Natural Experience

I went to Green Springs Gardens and walked towards the pond overlook.  It was very green and there were plenty of flowers everywhere.  Knowing that it was going to be a very hot day, I sat on a bench underneath tress; mostly pines, by the pond overlook.  I heard the breeze, cicadas, and the fountain water splashing the pond along with distant traffic noise.   I could see the canopy of other trees with one snag tree in the center, that almost looked like it had been burned.  Sitting on the bench with pine trees around me and seeing that snag tree, I was immediately reminded of one of my favorite childhood parks in the north-central coast of California that burned in 2020.  The smell of pines reminded of me of the smell that park had before the fire.  A smell that is no longer there and that I miss so much.  I kept listening to the sounds of the wind and the cicadas before deciding to take a little stroll down to the pond. 

I walked through an area of forest and saw one yellow and one dark swallowtail.  I stopped to look at them for a while and was marveling at how big and beautiful they are.  I noticed the blue specks on each of their wings and observed them eating via their feet.  As I was walking through the forest of mostly deciduous trees, I kept hearing cicadas and heard this one very loud one.  It was also very hot and humid.  I was reminded of walking through the forests of Belize and Guatemala over the summer where there were plenty of cicadas and the temperature felt the same.  I also noticed early fall, yellow leaves on some of the tress.  Some were falling down as the wind blew the trees.  I then started to actively look for color change on other trees and shrubs and there was change occurring.  At the pond, there were very tall water lilies with a large pink lily at the tops.   There were also several dragon flies, some with a total of four wings, others with just two, but they were a pretty neon blue color.   I also heard a few birds and some of the walk paths were of wood chippings, while another was a wooden walkway.  There were also a few narrow dirt paths.  I continued to walk then went back to the bench overlooking the pond and sat there underneath the pines to cool off.  A pine needle fell on me.  A light breeze was blowing, and I could see all the leaves on the trees flowing with the wind.    

I learned that my mind wonders and makes connections better when I’m out in nature than when I’m on some sort of media platform.  I don’t even remember all the short videos I watched.  With social media, pictures of places I’ve been to may bring back memories, however, memory was stronger with in-person experiences.  One thing I learned is that memory is more than visual.  Audio and other senses are involved, such as smell or feel, like the smell of pine, or the hot humid feeling, along with sound memory.  I also really appreciated what I saw in nature versus what I saw virtually in media.  Media can be good, but it depends on how you use it.  I learned that I should be informing myself by watching the news instead of being on TikTok or Instagram only watching cute videos.  Watching or reading the news is always good but do it every day and don’t overwhelm yourself.  YouTube can be a good learning tool, but you have to be willing to learn.  Also, challenge yourself if you’re going to spend time on media.  I told myself a few months ago to try and learn something new on YouTube.  I made it a point to do so for this blog, learning about black holes.  I also learned that I should be doing an hour nature walk at least once a week with absolutely no electronic use during that hour.  

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News vs Nature

JM

For my hour of media, I decided to browse the internet and read news stories. What caught my attention was online information can vary significantly. A lot of news stories are believed by who, or what company, can get the story out the quickest; or who can get their story posted the most views. Many new sites can be biased and also only care about getting views and not about what the correct information is. Without some time spent researching it’s very easy to not get the entire news story. It really highlighted to me that it was important to understand what information I found, the websites I looked at, and if those companies have any biases. 

     For my hour in nature, I decided to sit at a park near my house. As I sat outside, I listened to children playing, dogs barking, and the sounds of animals mingled with the noise from cars stuck in traffic nearby. Sitting outside without technology allowed me to focus on the environment around me rather than playing games on my phone, making shopping lists in an app, or listening to Spotify. The sun shining brightly, and the warm air provided a relaxing experience where I could just be and not focus on assignments, bills, or the dishes waiting for me at home.

What struck me the most during my two hours was how quickly time passed when I was browsing websites online; what felt like 15 minutes was an hour. In comparison, the time spent outdoors without technology felt like it had been an hour or more and was in reality only 15 minutes. Browsing websites online, or playing videos is a nice escape from reality sometimes but it’s also important to enjoy time outdoors without social media or technology.  

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My Art vs. Nature’s Art

Anonymous

My Art

Fine line markers, alcohol markers, Prismacolor colored pencils, and watercolors clutter my table. I sit down on a chair and lay my phone on the table. My black spiral sketchbook is happy to see me. I enter my passcode into my phone. My phone contains a magnitude of apps. I see an app; the app is YouTube. I enter it and see moving pictures that are vibrant, animated, full of life, and different from each other. I want to transfer one of these moving pictures into my black spiral sketchbook.

My phone suddenly erupts with a notification, it seems to be from the NFL app. I transport into the football world and receive intel that Jimmy Garoppolo’s contract is being restructured, he is still a 49er. With this alarming piece of intelligence, I rush to look up more about this contract. I learn through Twitter that it is a one-year contract that will make him NFL’s highest-paid backup. I go back to YouTube endlessly going through a treasure hunt to find the perfect video. What feels like an eternity, is only about 2-3 minutes. Nevertheless, I find a video, “How To Draw A Sunflower | Color Pencil Tutorial.” My fingers waltz towards this video. But I face horror, as an ad with creepy dolls and a family in a haunted house screaming is being projected, only for it to transition into a nice hotel advertising Hilton Hotel.

The tutorial begins with a soothing voice and a hint of an upbeat copyright-free jingle, nothing too distracting. I use graphite to outline a big circle with a smaller circle inside, it looks like a donut. Around the smaller circle, even petals are distributed, the petals are oval like an egg. The bigger circle outline is erased, and the artist brings the sunflower to life. I to bring life to a sunflower. I take the Prismacolor Black and in a circular motion outline the circle. Semi-circles fill the middle of the circle. I use Tuscan Red and Yellow Orange to color the entire circle. A white gel pen highlights areas in the circle. I then use Prismacolor Lemon Yellow to outline the petals and use Tuscan Red to create curved lines. I create small strokes using Tuscan red and Yellow Orange in the outer and inner part of the petals. I use Lemon Yellow to color the middle of the petals. Prismacolor White blends all the petals. I use Tuscan Red and Prismacolor Black to create more depth. I end up with a Sunflower that looks somewhat real. Only for it to feel nonexistent, waxy, and lifeless. I then cave into some TikTok videos. My phone is now the center of my attention.

Nature’s Art

It’s a hot scorching day; it feels like an oven. I’m ready for fall weather to begin. Nevertheless, I am at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. I wear a Capitals cap and blue Adidas shoes. My legs take me to the ratty old, wooded bridge on top of the pond. Whilst on the pathway, my eyes glaze over a plethora of lily pads. They are green like basil leaves, broad, and heart-shaped with veins. As I pass the pond, the lily pads ascribe a sense of pillows. I want to sleep on them. The pond is a mystery, as I am unable to see what is in the water. The sun is screaming with heat, but the pond whistles with coolness and makes the area slightly more tolerable. My legs leave the bridge onto hard land that is bare and full of dirt. Ahead is a stream and a picnic table, I wonder what nature will reveal next.

The picnic table ahead is old and woody. A family is at the picnic table enjoying the stream whilst devouring some sprinkled donuts. I see that the kids leave their donuts to play by the stream. I too waddle my way to the stream. In awe, my eyes gravitate to massive rocky boulders creating a pathway. The pathway is like nature’s stairs. The first block is rocky, grey, squared, and rough. My feet zoom towards it, and I hop and hop across the stream. As I embark on my journey through the pathway, I stop to see what is around me. I see blackish and greyish stones that create a small waterfall. The water flows through these stones creating ripples and all I hear is plopping and swooshing sounds. Nature’s music is soothing and relaxing, it hypnotizes me, and it calls my name. Next, my hands tiptoe into the water. It feels crisp, steady, and smooth. The stream water is clear, but the algae at the bottom leave a green hue.

The pathway ends, my legs tired, but my eyes wide awake and eager to capture snapshots. Near the water is a bountiful of flowers. The flowers are bright and yellow and look like a ray of sunshine. My hand slithers away to touch it. The petals are delicate, fragile, smooth, and thin. My hands scare away as it does not want the petals to rip. The petals are covered in lines, to create elegance and depth. The anthers are brown, yellow, and fuzzy, like a teddy bear. The leaves of the flowers are green and sharp. Ready to battle if anyone gets close. They feel strong, sturdy, and waxy, but this wax is nature’s doing.

Summary

While creating the sunflower, I was unable to experience its beauty. I was getting distracted by notifications and going through a Twitter rapid hole. I was also drawing while looking through a phone screen. I was unsure of the size, which colors to use, if my strokes were messy and if I was highlighting the right places. I was frustrated because I could not physically touch the flower I wanted to draw. Once done, I did not care about what I drew. Rather than appreciating my artwork, I decided to watch TikTok videos. Looking back, it feels like I wasted my time as I did not care for what I created nor remember the tweets and TikTok videos I watched. What I realized was that my full attention and focus were not on creating the sunflower. Sometimes I wonder if my drawings could be better if I did not get distracted as much. While I was out in nature, I was able to experience its beauty without getting distracted. I was physically able to put my hands into the stream or touch the petals of the flowers. It also felt nice to be in a relaxing and stress-free zone. When I was in nature, I was able to explore the various areas of the park and have a physical memory and sensory-loaded experience. Something the media or technology could not provide me. Whenever I have taken art classes, my artwork has always been around nature and the environment. However, I always used a photo online and never thought to go out and use nature as my reference. I realized that I need to explore nature by being in it rather than looking at it through a screen. We go to exhibitions and museums to appreciate other people’s artwork, but we forget the art nature has provided us.

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Information Web

Carlos Leiva

Turned on CNN Replay from the Samsung TV Plus app. First thing I saw is the San Diego Zoo wildlife alliance had made a custom boot for a penguin. I wonder what was wrong with the penguin to begin with. Commercial! A guy won the lottery? Nope, it’s a bounty commercial. Is that what I am supposed to feel when using bounty paper towel? How interesting; weather. We are expecting some thunderstorm and extreme heat. When can I expect this? Let me check my phone. What this? Serena William played tennis. I thought she retired. But any who, she won her game. Portugal found a large fossil in Europe. What they uncovered a 2-meter-long vertebrate. Probably a sauropod. 

Great another commercial about some medication. I am not sure what it supposed to cure but these risks are a lot. Why would anyone take it? Great back to the news. Wait former president Donald Trump is still on the news. Oh, wait it’s not about him, it’s about his wife. Apparently, she is upset that the FBI raided her place of staying. I find it interesting that she lives in a separate apartment from her husband. What this! California tomato rig spilled over the highway! Thousands of tomatoes all over the highway. Caused four accidents, I hope they are okay. On to Mississippi. There is a flood but not from a storm but due to a broken pump? How strange. Oh, wow they are out of water. How does that happen? What is the protocol for it? You evacuate. 

Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge is very beautiful in the morning. The sun has just raised, and the sky is displaying all its beautiful colors over the Potomac River. I hear the Mourning Dove “cooing.” I can’t quite find him; I know it’s him from a previous class. But that sky is so beautiful! The glow warm of the sun feel nice on my skin and the sky is red; I remember something my girlfriend says. Red sky in the morning delight and night skies be weary. Or is it the other way around? I am not sure. Do you think it’s possible to tell that much information from the color of the sky? I thought it had to do with pollutants in the sky. 

You know what annoys me more than a rock in my shoe? A Blue Jay calling for attention. I’ve been hearing them for a while, and I’ve grown tired of listening to them yell “hey! hey!” You would think a flashy bird like that would not need to be as noisy. But I’ll move to a different location. As I walk along this path, I hear Grey Catbirds meowing and Pileated Woodpeckers making their spooky calls. As I walk along this path, I see Red-winged Blackbird hanging out, American Goldfinch being as bright as the sun and Turkey Vultures circling something from the sky.

Like I said before, beautiful morning, the weather feels nice. What’s that bird call I hear? “Nun-uh! Nun-uh!” I walk around to locate this bird and I see a flock of multiple black birds. “Nun-uh! Nun-uh!” I know what it is! It looks like a crow. I know we have two different crow species. When it doubts, ask the crow if it is an American crow. “Nun-uh!” it replies. It’s a fisher crow! 

            The media consumption told me what to think and never let me use my brain. I felt like I was being spoon-fed. When I was in nature, I had to use my brain to make connections for what I was seeing and hearing. I also had a hard time remember everything I watched on CNN while I was able to remember in vivid details when I was in nature. I guess it’s true, TV really rots your brain. 

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The Age of Rain and Reconnection

TLC

An hour of media

“And if it’s Sunday, it’s Meet the Press.” This has become a Sunday tradition for my family. Every Sunday around noon my dad always turns on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd. Even when I’m not at home I tune in online in my dorm. There’s something comforting about watching this show. Even if the world is falling apart, if Meet the Press is on and making sense of the news from that week, then somehow everything feels like it’s being worked out. I chalk this up to hearing from professionals in the fields being discussed. The show makes me feel like there are educated people and groups working on pressing issues rather than ignoring them like most politicians seem to. I also enjoy listening to the discourse and discussions while reading up on headlines I care about. I usually have to look up environmental updates myself since the environment is a topic even Meet the Press doesn’t cover as often as I would like. This Sunday, I’m scrolling through my Twitter feed reading tweets from some marine biologists I follow about coral recovery programs in Indonesia. Chuck Todd starts off with, “This Sunday: abortion backlash… Republican concerns grow as Democrats show election strength after the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion…” [Clips of republican senators and President Biden are played between announcements of today’s topics.] “Documents found at Mar-a-Lago… Trump team attempted to obstruct justice… Also, war in Ukraine… [clip from Vitali Klitschko plays] … and return to the Moon… conversation with NASA chief Bill Nelson about tomorrow’s unmanned Artemis I mission and a new era of U.S. space exploration…” Announcer: “From NBC News in Washington, the longest running show in television history. This is Meet the Press with Chuck Todd.” On Twitter: Article on scientists recording unusual fish sounds in recovered reefs in Indonesia, sign of ecological recovery. Special guest, Kimberly Atkins Stohr, senior opinion writer for The Boston Globe: “Republicans are realizing that they are not doctors. They are not physicians. And they didn’t realize the consequences of what they were supporting…” On Twitter: Article with updates on coral restoration project in Indonesia. Chuck Todd: “We’re going to turn to what we learned from Friday’s release of the Mar-a-Lago affidavit.” On Twitter: Article on Great Barrier reef recovery being slow after 2020 mass bleaching event. Special guest, Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill): “I think you look into the intentionality of that… He claimed he either didn’t have them… And we know he didn’t. There is intentionality there.” On Twitter: Article on kelp forests and climate change’s negative impact on their ability to trap carbon. On Twitter: Article on extremely Dangerous Heat events set to become common. Special guest, Amna Nawaz, PBS NewsHour Chief correspondent: “It does not bring down the soaring cost of college… But it will make a difference in millions of Americans’ lives… The question is does it make a difference in the longer term and does it bring them out to vote.” On Twitter: Coral bleaching continues as ocean temperatures spike. On Twitter: Article on returning to the Moon. On Sundays, I catch up with the news cycle and the pressing environmental issues. My media consumption spikes on these days. I like using my Sundays to update myself and reflect on what is going on in the world, but I’m always left with a feeling that I still am not up to date on the pressing issues. I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the problems of the world and binging media in this way can feel stressful. That’s why I rely on my trusted news sources like Meet the Press, CNN, and NBC to keep myself updated when I feel like I can emotionally handle it. Being able to take my mind off these issues throughout the week and then catching up in one day seems to help.

An hour in nature

I live thirty minutes from Shenandoah, and I grew up hiking the trails in Shenandoah National Park. I wanted to go hiking on one of those trails for this assignment. Unfortunately, I didn’t recover in time to be able to go on a real hike and I didn’t have access to a car. Fortunately, I live pretty far into the forest that surrounds Shenandoah, so if you know the right walking trail then you can have some of the experience of being in the park without actually going there. I ended up choosing a trail that I used to explore as a kid. Something about reconnecting with nature where I first learned to love it felt poetic. The walking trail I chose is a deer trail that naturally stays partially clear enough to walk. I ended up going on a rainy day, but personally I feel that makes walks and hikes even more enjoyable. The rain brings out all sorts of interesting things that are easy to miss. It’s also easy to miss subtle changes in the forest if you familiar with the area. The bird songs are different. Snails and frogs that would normally hide away on a hot summer day are out in abundance. The forest seems to become more alive in the rain. Even the colors on the leaves seem to pop as soft light filters down from the overcast sky. I took the deer trail until it became almost impassible with encroaching brush and thorny vines. I back tracked some along the trail where there’s an off-shoot path that heads up a large hill. I took the path up to a small clearing where you can see the valley between us and the Blue Ridge. At this point, I felt myself hitting my limit because of Covid and couldn’t justify going any further. It was disheartening to hit my limit so soon. I’ve hiked entire canyon rim trails (>11 miles) while sick before. I’m fully vaccinated so I couldn’t believe Covid was able to stop me from going any further along this simple trail. However, I’m smart enough to not push myself when walking/hiking alone so this was as far as I went. The small clearing was made up of a slightly open area covered in tall grass and large boulders protruding from the side of the hill. I climbed up on a rockface near to the natural clearing in the trees, pulled my knees up to my chest, and sat there for a while. The rain had lightened up and the visibility had improved just enough to see a decent view across the valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains had become fully visible again. Large, rolling clouds completely filled the sky and a fine, light haze from the rain hung in the air. I never think to take pictures of these things. Usually, the pictures turn out nothing like the actual experience of seeing those views firsthand. I find it best to just sit and take in the view. I reflected on all the little things I noticed on my walk, like the deer tracks I saw, the frogs, the snails, the little brooks, the flowers, the interesting rock faces, the way everything changes in the rain, and the simple beauty of being one of the few people to see those things that day. I wish I had been well enough to take a hike. Blackwell falls are a beautiful hike in the rain, especially in an Autumn rain. The rain is such a lovely, beautiful thing and I find it sad that so many people never go hiking in the rain. Eventually, I tore myself away from my little viewing spot and headed back.

Reflection

My day-to-day routine is so fast paced that I barely get to spend time outdoors anymore. Sometimes I can get so caught up in current events, media access, my course assignments, and studying that I forget to take time to appreciate the natural environment. I’m an avid hiker when I have the time to go on hikes. Hiking and spending time in nature feels rejuvenating. There was a huge difference in how I felt after spending an hour catching up on the news and an hour enjoying a walk through the woods. After my time catching up on the news cycle and current events, I felt stressed. Any binge media consumption like that leaves me feeling stressed and exhausted. It’s good to stay informed but even when I’m catching up for the week I might need to pace my media consumption a little better. If I spent most of my days like this, I would probably have an extremely stress filled routine. When people consume media like this they can accidentally fill their life with stress and still be uninformed on important topics that don’t receive as much media coverage. To access all those environmental articles I had to search for specific updates on news articles. I had to know what to look for. The average person has very little access to updates on these topics because of the lack of media coverage and not knowing what to look for. Spending more time searching for this information each week would definitely increase the stress in my life. After spending an hour in nature I felt like I was able to reconnect with my passion for the environment. I’m extremely passionate about environmental conservation and protection. I first found a love for nature while hiking as a kid. I feel that same passion any time I spend out in nature. However, I hear about a similar experience from people who aren’t studying environmental science. In every National Park I’ve been too, most people there are incredibly respectful of nature and the environment and these people come from all walks of like. I feel that anyone can appreciate nature and benefit from it. When reflecting on my hour walking in nature I realized there is an inherent intrinsic value to preserving parts of the natural environment that everyone can experience and realize by being surrounded by nature. I think that it is one of the most natural things for us to appreciate the environment when we can connect to it in this way. It makes me wonder if environmental issues would be much more prominent in the media if everyone had access to nature in a way that allowed them to make valuable connections with the natural world.

References

Meet the Press—August 28, 2022. (2022, August 28). NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-august-28-2022-n1298390

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Information Values

Emma

This girl on tiktok has found a very simple way to put her hair into a twist/braid-thing using her index finger and her thumb on one hand. I’d love to learn how to do that, I don’t think I could. The show I’m watching plays its theme song, I think the song is probably called Greenback Boogie, but I’ve never heard it outside this context. The main character, Harvey, has brought a lawsuit on his firm that they have to prep for, but his apprentice is digging for dirt to blackmail the opposing lawyer into a reasonable settlement. Toyata will take you on a trip along a beautiful winding mountain road with your family; go places. A twitter thread is detailing the bizarre events of the 1904 Summer Olympics Men’s Marathon. People drank rat poision, there was only one water station, some guy ate rotten apples and took a nap and placed fourth. They’re doing a mock trial within the firm for practice, and Harvey’s former secretary shows up at the last second and then gets humiliated in front of everyone for the good of the trial. Blackmailing works out, they end up accepting the settlement. The managing parter is challenged for her position and must figure out a way to get the votes she needs to stay. Would you like to watch the next episode?

I’m walking along this forested trail with my dog, just 20 yards from a road and yet it feels like a completely different place. We walk the dirt trail along the creek, surrounded by trees and almost completely shaded the entire journey. The birds and bugs take turns drowning each other out with their chirps and cuzzing and cries. My dog wades intor the creek, sniffing rocks and leaves with equal intensity. I look down and see the familiar schools of minnows swimming along, some smaller than my pinky, others the length of my hand. The rocks, dirt, sand, and old leaves crunch beneath my feet. The sun shining onto the water reflects wavy patterns of light onto plants hanging over the creek. There is a bench that has been destroyed and is wrapped in caution tape; a tree fell on it from the looks of things. There is a missing cat by the name of “PawPaw” that was lost on August 19th. Please call Wendy at the number on the sign if you see him. I throw a stick into a deeper part of the creek for my dog to swim after, and as he leaps in, a holes made by critters along the bank make gulping noises as the water laps in and out. As we walk back along the trail, a single crow calls out from somewhere in the trees above us. 

From this experience I learned the different kinds of information that can be recieved in different ways and how they carry different value. Before starting this experiment, I was sure I would have much more information/things to say about my one hour of media, and wondered how I would be able to fill a solid paragraph with information from walking through the woods. After completing this exercise, however, I find that the information I took in as I walked through the forest with my dog was much more impactful and valuable to me, and it is not just information but a memory that I will hold with me. On the other hand, the information I took in from media including twitter, tiktok, and an episode of a TV show, is really not that important to me personally and I will defintely forget it in a fairly short amount of time, or at least I would’ve if I didn’t specifically need to retain it for this assignment.

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Unforgiving Technology

I sit down after a long day of classes, work, and life. This next hour would pass by quickly as I am always distracted by a new screen every few seconds. Sometimes I wonder; where does the time fly. I look at my phone and two minutes have gone by. I start up my laptop and take a look at the work I need to do. I already have a headache and a throbbing sensation between my eyes. I start to read my online textbook and start taking notes on my ipad. Sometime passes by and I get lost in th words of texts swimming on the screen. My phone vibrates and I look over to see there is a notification from my email. The time shows thirty minutes have gone by. The email flashes on the lockscreen of my phone, another reminder that I should be thinking about going to law school and studing for the LSAT. I groan and throw my head back. My headache now has increased and I just feel like laying down. I put my head down and try to plan out my day to manage my time. I hear another vibration from my phone. Looking up I see an hour has passed and I’ve only read seven pages of my textbook. 

I sit down at the park bench. I drove to Burke Lake park to take sometime to relax myself. It is already starting to get hot even though it is morning time. I start to walk around the park, trying to stay in the shaded areas. There is a pleasent breeze blowing and the smell of the lake fills my nose. I go over to the body of water and stand by the bank. The geese waddle by me and I crack a smile. I wish I had brought some food for them. I start to walk around a diffrent part of the Lake where there is a park bench. I sit down on the bench and take a minute to look around. The green trees and blue water is so pleasing to the eye. I get up and walk over to the bank to see little tagpoles swimming and small fish. Walking on the sandy slope of the lake, I notice there are shells and I pick them up to add them to my collection. 

From this experience, I have learned that it is nice to take a break from technology and the stressed of life. In the hour where I was using my technology as usual, I was stressed as usual. But when I turned off my phone and was just in nature, I was able to relax and forget about my problems. It is important to put your mental health first and seperate sometime just for yourself. 

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My Time Divided, Two Hours of Information

Emily Meakin

For my hour of media intoxication, I sat on my bed and opened the app that has a death grip on my time, TikTok. Even writing now, I couldn’t tell you what I was watching. I probably scrolled through a thousand videos in one sitting, just mindlessly scrolling. I went down a few rabbit holes, D.C. TikTok, single mom TikTok, and probably a few others. Ironically, as I was on the app I got a notification on my phone, telling me my screen time was up 21%, at 11 hours a day. 11 hours. A day. 46% of my day is spent on my phone, or at least with my phone turned on. It was an embarrassing statistic. While scrolling, I noticed my contacts start to irritate me. My eyes were dry and stressed from looking at my screen so close to my face without a break. Even though I was already sick, after my hour timer went off, I sat up and was even a little dizzy. Being so vegetative had such a negative effect on me I had to go to the roof of the parking deck, and just stand in the sun to try and make up for my laziness.

For my hour of media isolation, I choose to do a solitary hike at Great Falls Virginia state park. I drove about 30 minutes north and parked at my favorite trail head. It wasn’t unbearably hot yet, and the breeze had an inviting sense of urgency to get me to lace up my hiking boots. I started on my usual trail, which had an easy flat walk for the first mile, following the meandering water the waterfalls I was heading towards emptied into. My only hiking companions were the turtles and pumpkinseed fish in the basin below. I spotted a rat snake making his way off the path, his black body glistening in the early afternoon sun. After about a mile of walking uphill, I started to hear rushing water that told me I was getting closer to my destination. My trail came out to a small sandy beach cove, where I would be going up from there. The billy goat climb always made me the tiniest bit nervous, but on the one day I went by myself, there was a small blue skink, climbing up as well on the rocks in front of me. I followed the tiny climber until the top of the bluff, where our paths diverged. I carried on, taking a mental count of how many lizards I saw the rest of the way (the total count ended up being 6). Walking along the cliffs edge I could see the white water below swirling and tossing kayakers around. There was an impressive pair of blue herons standing hundreds of feet below, at the edge of the water fishing for their lunch. After another mile or so had gone by, I had reached my destination, the cliffs directly above the most impressive waterfall of the trail. I sat and ate my lunch under the scrub pines and watched the world go by. When I was done (and more sunburnt than I would like to admit) I walked down the rocks and along the shortcut back to the parking lot, where my loving boyfriend was waiting for me. We had done opposite trails and decided to meet each other back when we had finished our respective solitary walks. I was kissed by the sun and got to leave with a clear head.

I do not mind my name being included in the class’s blog post. After embarking on this little experimental journey, I reinforced what I already knew, I spend way too much time on my phone and I genuinely feel better, mentally, and physically, when I am outside. Having an excuse to go out in nature and just be reminded of why I chose this major, this field to spend the rest of my life in. Because I love it. I love being able to identify species as I see them in their natural habitat, I love being able to act as an observer to their natural world, not as an intruder. Being out in the world without being burdened by my device has a sense of freedom with it. A sense of accomplishment, like I can in fact disconnect if I try, I just have to put it down. I will admit, I did cheat and take a picture of my scenery, but I promise, I put my phone back in my backpack as soon as the moment was captured.

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A SIGH OF RELIEF

Kathryn Hammond

  I sit down on an outdoor chair in our backyard, letting out a deep sigh of relief. I let the fresh air fill my emptied lungs, the faint smell of flowers bringing a smile to my face. Finally, a break from math quizzes and microbio homework. I’m surrounded by potted plants, some a vibrant lime green, others a deep emerald, many speckled with brightly colored flowers. To my left, an ant scuttles across a bright red flower, sprinkled with water droplets from being recently watered by my mom. She loves gardening, and built this entire magnificent paradise herself, so seeing flowers always reminds me of her. Nearby, water trickles calmly into a small pond, built brick by brick by my mom’s skilled hands. The lotuses have already finished blooming, and now it is almost entirely covered in a variety of aquatic plants. Bees hover above the water, occasionally taking a rest on a leaf and drinking from droplets on its wet surface. The sun finally peeks out from behind a curtain of clouds, and the loud hum of crickets and cicadas intensifies with the new warmth and light. A bee buzzes by me, checking out the red flowers before changing her mind. I close my eyes, letting a light breeze play with my hair. A bird calls from a nearby tree, breaking through the orchestra of white noise created by the water and insects. I look down to my phone that I had set down beside me, its glittery case sparkling in the summer sun. 

    I pick it up. 3:16 pm on August 27th, 2022. It is currently 86°F outside, partly cloudy. I am greeted with a slew of notifications: a discord dm, texts in the family group chat, a twitter post suggestion, instagram replies. I tap on the instagram notification, opening up my notifications page: people liking my comments, post suggestions, ignored follow requests. I go to my feed. My friend’s adorable dog fills my screen, the caption reading: “Did someone say #internationaldogday ?! Always ready to celebrate with my best boy and adventure partner!!” I didn’t even realize it was national dog day, maybe I should post something too… swiping through the other photos on the post, a collection of adorable dog photos makes me smile. I double tap, the white heart flashing before I scroll. My friend hugs her boyfriend, laughing brightly at the camera. Double tap. Another friend poses with a drink at a cafe, her blonde hair swept effortlessly to the side. Double tap. An ad pops up for the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, a catchy beat accompanying elegant models demonstrating its features, using the watch to track their heart rate as they work out. I keep scrolling: a friend got a new tattoo! Double tap. A girl in a body-tight pink dress poses in front of a restaurant. Double tap. A Six Flags sponsored post reads: “Best deal of the year! New annual membership starting at $5.99/month!”. I scroll faster, but just slow enough to register faces and settings. Double tap, double tap, double tap. Finally, a pink check mark notifies me that I am all caught up with my feed. 4:06 pm. I let out a sigh of relief. 

    Nature is so deeply connected to the human experience, and as someone who loves being outside, I cannot imagine life without it. Being outside made me feel so refreshed and calm, and I felt present, able to tune into bird calls, insects, water trickling. Turning on my phone, my experience outside was immediately summarized as data: 86 degrees, partly cloudy. I was bombarded with social media notifications, each tempting to click on. But I easily felt overwhelmed. By the end of scrolling through my feed, I was relieved to see that I was all caught up. I felt obligated to like every single person’s post, and it felt strangely isolating to see each of them in perfect, manicured photos. I was also met with many advertisements, which at this point I scroll quickly past subconsciously, but show the amount of subliminal messaging present in social media. The stark contrast in experiences made me really appreciate my beautiful backyard, and the safe haven it provides away from the constant influx of information technology brings. I learned to remember to live in the moment and take breaks to go outside and get some fresh air, tuning in with nature.

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The Age of Temporary Sanity

Clouded.

1 am, time for some TikTok to escape reality for a bit. My eyes prepare to glaze over, and my pointer finger prepares to scroll. The light of the app opening hits my face, and I know I’m going to find some decent content to laugh about if I scroll long enough. My head is almost completely fogged as I take information on how to make “easy college dinner recipes”, how Sprite is changing the green bottle to clear, gentle parenting and trauma healing techniques, and that corn kid ordering only corn from Chipotle. I have Alan Walker’s “End of Time” song playing in my head nonstop, only to pause momentarily for the song, “It’s Corn!” While I want to stop to do something else, I don’t, and such results in an endless mayhem of scrolling, acknowledging, and moving on. My mind is clouded, my thoughts are clouded, but at least I know how to make the perfect black buttercream without using cocoa powder.

Lucid.

12 pm, struggling to walk in the humidity and heat of a summer afternoon. I settle for sitting under a large tree near the Music Building in the courtyard area, as Mason Pond didn’t have any shade. I forget to bring my blanket to sit on, so my tiny Mason sweatshirt will do for now. I begin to open my sushi I bought minutes beforehand, and I already spot ants, flies, and creepy crawlies habituating upon my leg. Wonderful. I munch on my cream cheese roll, and look around, not gathering much from my surroundings besides observing students rushing to class. I hear crickets flooding the sound environment with the occasional blaring of a construction truck from time to time. I later realize the cricket sounds come in waves, similar to a bee or fly zooming past an ear back and forth. I lay down ready to experience the wonders of nature, only to be drowned out by my own thoughts. In a place so quiet, who knew my brain could be quite this loud? Minutes pass that feels like hours, until my thoughts begin to grow quiet. For just a second, if not a few minutes at best, I feel serene and sane. Like everything surrounding me is at peace and I finally become lucid to the importance of stepping away from reality. Everything is as it should be. Until my alarm snaps me back, informing me my time of peace is over.

Thoughts.

The different impacts of media and nature as forms of escape is incredible. One filled with information designed to overstimulate the audience, and one with minimal information, as means to calm the mind. Both are used for distraction in one way or another, and one is more rewarding than the other. Immersion into nature is a great way to calm the mind and get information that isn’t designed for overstimulation. Although it is difficult to get to that point, where you can’t just turn off your brain unlike media, it is overall much more rewarding and grounding. It is temporary sanity in the sea of insanity.