Category: Two Hours Fall 2021

By: Grace Vaughn

I open my phone and swipe to what I consider the most mediated environment one can engage in… Tik Tok. Immediately a familiar sound blares through the speakers of my phone. The upbeat song of the summer is accompanied by a video of an influencer making a smoothie bowl. I quickly lose interest and swipe to the next. Now a student from the University of Flordia gives advice to students on where to find textbooks for cheap. NEXT a girl organizing her fridge. NEXT a dog riding a skateboard. NEXT a suggestion on museums to visit in New York. So on and so forth my eyes glaze over until my hour along timer goes off. As I sit down to write my assignment I struggle to remember anything from the hundreds of videos I watched.

My trusty dog Lucy and I set down a familiar path, Huntley Meadows nature trail. Just a few steps into my walk and I’m questioning when the last time I was surrounded by so much silence. Along my walk, I try to enjoy the sounds of nature and appreciate all the plants I pass by. Throughout my walk I encounter several different types of birds, a family of deer, and an entire meadow’s worth of plants.  My mind wanders and I get back into my car feeling refreshed. 

Being in nature has always been an activity I find extremely relaxing. I like hiking and spending time in parks. Social Media is also an activity I engage in to take breaks. However, this activity really made me recognize how different I feel after participating in both activities for an hour. While I received a lot more information watching Tik Toks I think I retained more walking the dog.

By: Anonymous

The media I spent my hour on is watching a few episodes on Netflix which is a little more than an hour. The device I will be using is my laptop and the title of the show that I wwatch is Chicago Meds. So this all started with me opening my laptop and then I just watch the show. Sometimes I multitask with homeowork listening to it in the background and sometimes I stop my homework to engage in the show. If I have something to eat then I just usually watch my show as I eat. There are times where I would check up on my phone, texting friends or looking at emails while the show is still going on. Each episodes are about 40 minute long, I usually skip the begining and the credits at the end, therefore it shortens it just a little bit. 

The other hour that I have spent is with nature. I have spent it in the backyard since that is the only environment that is at home and doesn’t require me to drive. The weather outside was dreadfully hot. It was a bit hard being without my phone since nowadays we are all on it but at the same time it’s a bit relaxing at first. Later on I start getting a bit anxious and then I just walked around back and forth. I have this patio swing chair so I decided to just sit on it and swing on it to try to keep myself cool. The hour have felt really long and I was still anxious to go back in and just be on my media. Besides me being anxious the sound of nature was pretty nice but since I did my hour in the backyard I can hear my neighbor’s talking and I know it’s bad to eavesdrop but their conversations were interestign even though I got no idea what they are talking about and I don’t understand what they are saying.

Overall, my experience with nature outside was interesting and my experience with media was the same s almost everyday on how I just use my phone and such. The one thing I can do again is be on media since there is a lot more to see and plus it’s safer to be inside than outside. Being in the nature was hard, it reminded me of how when I was little I use to like camping a lot just cause it was interesting to see how nature were even though it was in my backyard.

By: Michael Sengmong 

The first hour was media based. When I got home from school I grabbed my chipotle I got earlier in the day and turned on my TV to watch Modern Family on Hulu. I wasn’t really paying attention to it though because I was eating and also answering snaps on snapchat. Opening about ten snaps that were just their faces and then returning a snap with just my face. I also watched people’s stories on snapchat and saw that I was added to someone’s private story that I barely even know. I then switched through the apps like instagram and tiktok. I got a new follower from someone I met a day ago through a friend, but we already knew each other because we have matched on Tinder before. I followed him back and then continued on tiktok which I spent basically half my hour on because time goes by so fast on tiktok. Sometimes I will say that I am only going to watch a couple, then end up match a movies worth of them. I was still watching Modern family and then when it ended my hour was over.

The second hour was spent on a hike in Great Falls. When I drove there I put my phone in my bag so wouldn’t be tempted to take pictures or go on snapchat while walking along the trail. Once I was there, I realized I should have gone somewhere more natural because it was pretty crowded. But I still went along through the path. I didn’t really have hiking shoes so I could feel every little pebble I stepped on, which was kind of annoying but not too much. I also would get sand from the manmade paths in my shoe from just walking. But once I hiked further and more away from people all I could hear were the bugs, birds, and the water moving from the river. It was really nice to just sit on these rocks that were near the edge overlooking the water. It was pretty calming just watching the little swirls of white bubbles and watching people from afar doing what people do. It was pretty hot and humid but when you are hiking through the path and trying to figure out where the actual path is, you forget the heat. I saw some pretty cool looking rock structures where you can see basically the history of the rock from all the lines it has. 

What I learned from the first hour is that sometimes I do random things for no reason at all but just to pass time. Certain things like snapping pictures of myself, watching random people’s stories, wondering why someone followed me, etc. All those things really don’t matter and if I told someone maybe in their 30’s, they’d probably be confused why we just snap pictures of our face back and forth for 234 days. But it’s not like I don’t find enjoyment in these things. I like seeing people that snap me, it makes me feel like connected to them more, I like seeing what people do with their lives and I like being updated. Most of these activities make me feel like a regular person. The second hour made me realized that I need to go out more because sometimes seeing all these cool structures makes me feel less like I am in a routine. In nature things seem to be a little bit random too like sometimes you’ll see weird rock structures or a pool of calm water next to waterfalls. From this experience, I realized I like the randomness of both media and nature. 

By: Lindsey Hatcher

My hour of media endeavor consisted mainly of popular social media apps. Being that I am part of generation Z, it is not an uncommon task for me to be constantly staring at my phone. Nowadays, young adults my age use technology for almost everything. On Thursday August 26^th, I began what a normal day would be for me in my social media dive. At first glance of my phone, I saw no text messages, so I proceeded to check my snapchat notifications. Like most days, both of my sisters, some friends, and my cousins had sent me their daily snaps. Checking snapchat did not last very long once I quickly responded to everyone. Now it was time for my most time-consuming social media app to be opened; Tik Tok. The first thing that struck my attention was a live broadcast of individuals speaking at the pentagon about the recent suicide bombers at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan. Things like this had been coming up on my feed more often since the removal of American soldiers from that area. I spent most of my time listening to this live broadcast and watching the listeners comment back and forth on which presidential party is to blame for this happening. Later I found that even doing small tasks like making lunch or dinner I had to have my phone on. I either played a Netflix show, Spotify podcast, or latest YouTube video. This cycle normally goes on throughout a normal day for me in between tasks of school.

The next day was my one hour of taking in nature without the use of my phone or any social media. On most days this would be difficult because I normally rely on my GPS to get me to my destinations, but I decided to go to a very secluded lake that I actually visit often. Once I got to my destination the phone strike began. I decided to bring my dog Cookie with me as my source of entertainment besides the fact that I was engulfed in nature. Nature alone should have been my source of entertainment, but I figured Cookie should take on this experience as well. I had a rather short walk in the woods on a rocky path consisting of dead leave and pin needles. This short walk led me to my favorite secluded spot overlooking a small portion of the rather large lake. Once I sat down and began to take in the scenery for a short few minutes, I began to get lost in my own thoughts. This was partly because that was my way of staying busy since I could not use my phone. I began to notice small things I might not have seen in my past visits like a heron flying by, and the aroma that the lake gave off. It was nice to be able to have peace and quiet to really engage with my own thoughts. After a while it got dark, and I decided it was time to head to the car for my drive home. Once in my car I immediately checked my phone. To my surprise there were no notifications, and I probably could have gone way longer without using it.

This experience was very eye opening to me because it is a normal part of my daily life for me to constantly use my phone. The fact that I have to use it during very common things is kind of scary to think about. For once, it was really nice to shut my phone off and not worry about what is going on in the world. I really just enjoyed the present and the now. I hope that this experience will continue in my everyday life and that I choose to take a few hours to myself without any form of social media.

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By: Gillian Garnett

The first hour was spent on my phone watching YouTube videos. The first video I watched was a popular gaming youtuber try to make pretzels without a recipe and was about fifteen minutes long. I decided to go through the playlist that the video was in, and watched two more videos of trying to cook without a recipe. one video was making pizza, and the other was pancake art. After about forty five minutes, I got bored and went on Facebook. I learned that my cousin has gone into labor with her first child, a girl that she and her husband have named Molly. Molly should be arriving some time within the next twelve hours, and I’m really excited to meet my second cousin. I also saw that my coworkers have been posting about what is going on at work, and since I haven’t worked in a few days due to a nasty cold, I haven’t been catching up. They posted that the construction by the building has busted a sewage line, so all of the bathrooms are out of order. 

The second hour I spent on my front porch, because I’m not feeling well and don’t want to go out in public. I left my phone on my desk so I wouldn’t be tempted to use it. I have a hummingbird feeder hanging on the porch and noticed three different hummingbirds come to the feeder. I watched workers put together a new modular home across the street. The land where the modular is used to be have half a dozen apple trees that provided food for the neighborhood deer. The workers were finishing up building the foundation for the home when it started raining. I noticed the mud from the construction run down the hill and into a ditch along the road. 

The first hour made me realize just how easily entertained I am, and that I spend too much time on my phone. It also made me realize that I dont keep up with my family as much as I would like. I also appreciate not being at work while the sewage line is being fixed, and I  feel bad for my coworkers who do have to be there. The second hour made me realize that the sediment from the construction of the modular is running into the nearby land and pipes. The neighborhood deer have also lost a food source due to the removal of the apple trees, as well as the pollinating insect population. It does make me upset when I think about this, as I haven’t seen any deer since the trees were removed. 

By: Irene M. Slusher

In his experiment McKibben in “The Age of Missing Information”, chose to experience two different journeys.  The journey exploring information he obtained through technology provided him interesting insights.  However, he was able to access so much information it seemed to impede his ability to fully understand things while painting a type of unreality.  In my journey hour through technology, I experienced a similar overwhelming influx of information.  YouTube tempted me with videos about the war/”exit from war August 2021”-war in Afghanistan,.  So many killed senselessly, reminding me of Hitler’s strategy of tyranny over human beings.  There were so many videos it was too much.  I turned to prayer videos to find some sense of hope in this hopeless world situation.  I spent some time viewing videos of friends and their lives unfolding.  That was more uplifting and inspiring.  It is good that I can choose what I view and strengthen my spirit with positive news instead of only viewing bad news.  I mean, it is important to know the reality of the world situation, but you need some rest in between all the bad news.  I switched to my email and getting caught up there.  A lot of spam mail, though.  I checked in with GMU for mail and class homework requirements.  That needs to be done often.  The hour goes by too quickly and I am tired of sitting.  I need to get moving.

McKibben chose to experience a day and a night on a mountaintop and discovered a nature that is remote but beautiful. Nature, to his eyes, is not something man can switch on or off or scroll through; nature is simply there.  I did not have the capability to spend my hour in nature on a mountaintop, or, my preference, a sandy beach.  However, my nature journey was in a beautiful garden of butterfly bushes, roses, rose of Sharon, impatiens and pink abelia.  The butterflies were presenting a colorful display of graceful, enchanting dances between the abelia, impatiens, butterfly bushes roses and rose of Sharon.  It was an experience of peacefulness and realization that beautiful things exist for us to enjoy in their season.  This was late summer, so it was also quite warm outside.  Even the birds were unusually friendly today. All kinds of birds were making themselves known by their chatter and songs.  There were even little brown wrens perching on tree branches nearby in inquisitive poses as if they needed advice on how to stay cool in the heat.  I even got the occasional visit from the hummingbirds who make it back to this garden every year.  I was enthralled by all of nature that was presented before me, but naggingly reminded that some hikers were found dead, probably from heat exhaustion, because the climate is gradually getting hotter.  Sometimes I think we are like the frog in the pan of hot water who will not realize he is in trouble from the heat until it is too late.  Today, however, I am hoping for it to start to cool off a little.  I wasn’t stung by wasps this time, and for this I was thankful.  However, after I had been out for the hour, I realized I had forgotten mosquito repellant and was being swarmed by small mosquitoes, which turned my excursion into a swatting battle to keep them off me.  I must keep moving to avoid their being able to land on me and bite.  Time for my hour in nature to come to an end.

I enjoy both technology and nature.  However, it is true that each journey has its time limits as to how much time I can comfortably spend in doing each.  You have heard the adage, “Too much of a good thing.”  Well, that is true for technology and for nature.

By: Carl Malinsky

For my hour of media consumption, I picked up my phone and did what I’d normally do, scroll through social media. First I went to Instagram and saw a post from the GMU Patriot Activities Counsel about Mason Night @ The Nats and that they were selling tickets for $10.50 for the game this coming Saturday. I see some photos from some friends I know. One was at a concert, another went hiking, and another was doing a polo event. I see a post about the LEGO Star Wars video game officially releasing in Spring 2022 after its release date had previously been pushed back due to covid. Next stop I take is Snapchat. One of my friends invited me to a Labor day cookout which I’ll probably go to. I find out on my cousins story that she is visiting Tennessee and that one of my friends is currently in Spain. I continue over to Twitter to see what news I can find. The hurricane Ida hit Louisiana and is a category 4 storm with maximum winds of 150 mph. 500,000 people are without power because of the storm and many have been instructed to seek higher ground to avoid the incoming flooding. A photo of the water shelf of a grocery store during the storm shows a lot of empty space but lots of Dasani. This backs my personal belief that Dasani water is no where as good as the other brands and that the shoppers of this store seem to agree with me. I find that Kanye West has finally released his new album DONDA after its initially release window of July 2020 but was pushed back repeatedly so that he could finish the album. Cobrai Kai on Netflix has been renewed four a fifth season and its fourth is set to release soon. Actor and Emmy winner Ed Asner passed away today at the age of 91. I remember he voiced the Pixar animated character Carl Fredricksen in the movie Up, one of my favourite Pixar movies growing up. I see a post about a reserved table at a Texas Roadhouse to honour the thirteen U.S. soldiers who were just killed in Afghanistan. I decided to check the Campus COVID-19 Data to see what the cases were looking like after the first week of classes. As of Thursday, August 26th, there were 8 new positives, all being students and there were 54 students and 7 employees that were active positives within the past two weeks. Finally, there were 3,984 students and 329 employees who got tested in the past week. 

For my hour of being outdoors, I drove over to the Ohmic Stream Valley-Burke FÉ Trail, which is a little under five miles from campus. When I started walking out on to the trail, I quickly took notice of how closed off this natural area was when it came to sound. Yes, at times I could still hear cars from the surrounding road, but there was also an “extreme quietness” in terms of the normal anthropocentric noises one would hear while walking about on campus. I was exposed to the chirping on both insects and birds, singing their best hits. There was a small stream that ran alongside the trail and would, in certain locations, give off the babbling brook sound that I love dearly. In the stream I observed some small minnows and a few small fish that were a bit more developed, but that were unable to be identified. Every so often, I would pass another walker or jogger, but no words were ever spoken between us. A simple wave or head nod to keep that anthropocentric noise to a minimum. From this I learned that the trail is frequently used by others and that there is an unspoken greeting with courtesy to others. I noticed some train tracks running parallel to the trail which I imagine are used daily, bringing a rumble and vibration to the surrounding trail and stream, disrupting the natural noise. In the early part of the hour I kept an eye out for a squirrel or two, assuming the area housed a few, and towards the end witnessed one sneaking through some ferns, another playing peek with me from a tree, and one snacking on a nut who allowed me to watch from a few feet away. There was a small area off to the side of the trail where I had access to a rocky and sandy beach on the side of the stream. I went out onto the rocks to see if I could find any natural treasures. There I found a multitude of differently colored stones, a few bivalve shells, two yellow butterflies, and some deer tracks in the sand which showed me that there are indeed deer in this area and that they frequently visit the stream for a drink. 

This experience taught me a lot about the amount of time I spend on my phone versus being outdoors and the amount and quality of information that I receive from both. For starters, the hour outdoors went a lot faster for me and was honestly a lot more enjoyable. The hour of media seemed to drag a lot and despite the amount of content I mentioned seeing, there were other pieces of information learned that I did not add in order to save space. I did learn more information while being online though as I had access to multiple forms of media compared to being in an isolated area when doing my hour outdoors. What I liked about being outdoors though is that I could make a narrative for what I saw and heard rather than being given information like the media would. I titled this blog One Hour of Mind Control and One Hour of Controlling the Mind, because to me, the hour of media was more mind controlling and the information felt more forced whereas the one hour of controlling the mind comes from me being able to have my own thoughts and inquiries about what I saw while outdoors. I felt more free outdoors and enjoyed taking a break from the typical mind-numbing control from my phone. At the same time though, I now recognize how quickly large amounts of information are gained from searching through the media whether they affect my life or not when compared to being outdoors. 

By: Anjali Kumar

My first hour was sitting in front of the television and absorbing every commercial, breaks, advertisements, and the main show itself. The show I was watching was Animal Planet, and I watched the show explain the habitat of Cheetahs and their pack’s hierarchal structure. I watched at how the intelligent cheetah would sneak up to its prey slowly, and then bolt immediately for its kill. I learned that cheetahs can switch the degree of their run efficiently during their chase of the prey. I was actually very interested in the show itself and found myself distracted and focused on it for most of the hour. However, at times I noticed myself zoning out, unable to view the constant fast-moving images in front of my eyes. My eyes at around 10 minutes, before the hour was done, became tired and I would notice myself looking at other objects around my living room instead of the television. My family would walk by as I watched Animal Planet and would be interested in the show as well. My sister walked by and became engrossed in the detailed narration of the cheetahs and their daily lives. She sat down with me and watched until my hour was over. I continued to watch my show, and although it was television, and the stereotypical mind-numbing shows would be a channel away, I gained knowledge about the cheetah from Animal Planet.

My second hour of just being outdoors was a walk to the closest park near me. I visited Morven Park in Leesburg, VA and I felt very peaceful during this hour. All the worries and constant stresses surrounding me seemed to melt away as soon as I walked into this naturalistic environment. I walked through the park with my dog, Snoopy, and saw a very interesting building which looked like a house. There were mini houses inside as well, and I believe it was for the public to take tours of, as these were most likely historical sites. As I walked through the park, I noticed the slight wind brush against my face and flow through my hair; the atmosphere around me made me feel very calm, and I noticed that Snoopy also felt a lot happier sniffing through the grass and smelling new scents. I walked through a paved trail throughout the park and walked about 1.4 miles in total. I saw joggers on a mission, people strolling on the same trail with their pets, and families with energetic kids excited to be in nature. I found a beautiful area where the trees caved into a path and bent down and took a picture of Snoopy in the area. I continued my walk without touching my phone, keeping it with me for security, but not being distracted by it. It was a very relaxing hour and when we came back to the car, Snoopy did not want to leave! I stayed there for 10 more minutes and finally convinced Snoopy to get into the car and leave the park. As I drove back, I noticed how energetic and happy I felt after being at the park, and found myself wanting to go back.

I learned from this experience that being in the environment without any phones or devices is not only healthy for the physical body, but also mentally very calming. I have always been told that nature is healing, but never fully understood the meaning behind it until now. I also learned that as I was sitting and watching Animal Planet, my mental state switched to being not tuned into the channel anymore at the end of the hour. I was fully aware during my trip to the park, but as I was watching my TV show, I found myself zoning out. I was very interactive and energetic during my hour of nature, but wasn’t during the hour of TV.

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By: Shaila Vester-Skinner

The hour of media consumption was honestly not much of an experience. Let’s get into why-

The following apps were used multiple times: Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and regular text messaging. The idea that the average human with any form of technology spends an estimate of 20+ hours on social media per week. The information received from Twitter ranges from global news, personal blog posts, educational organizations, and etc. For example, the hurricane that is set to hit Louisiana has had millions of posts, some that are addresses to families that need relief or support during this time. Instagram is typically used for “influencers”, travel blogs, food blogs, wellness, etc. Personally, Snapchat is used for random photos, maybe big accomplishments and such things. Snapchat does provide blog posts from, for example, Buzzfeed or People, where you can keep up wth celebrities and other popular news. Kim Kardashian-west and Kanye are apparently reconciling after a divorce scare, which is what news “People” gave. A vast majority of the media produces miniscule news or kind of “fill-in” articles, which does distract others from what is more important such as global news. Media is only entertaining for the first thirty minutes and then after that it’s just aimless scrolling. 

During the hour of naturlistic environment, the location was a friend’s balcony. The setting is relatable to if GMU had a yard or somewhere where students would share a space outside with mini games and such. It was sunny and there was a slight breeze. I brought a yoga mat and a wellness book called “Clearing Emotional Clutter” by Donald Altman. The (much needed) yoga session was very mind clearing and soothing with all of the outside elements. For example, doing the “downward dog” pose with the slight breeze made the pose more tolerable as it can become strenuous. Doing a twenty minute meditation was relaxing and carefree as I was able to focus on the sounds of people talking, focusing on my breathing, and proceeding to listen to other surrounding sounds, as a pattern during meditation. It felt relieving to be one witht he wind and feel where tension needed to be released while also listening to the buzzing of the bees. It literally is all about taking an hour of your day to just talk a walk or going to sit outside wiht a hobby you thoroughly enjoy. 

This experiences has proven to help my personal consciousness of how much time I spend doing relatively nothing on social media/technological devices. Putting the phone down and being aware of the surrounding is an amazing feeling. I did find myself wondering what I could’ve been missing in that hour that the phone wasn’t being used- you’d be shocked to know that nothing was missed, even though it often feels like something is constantly happening in the media today. That realization of not missing anything “important” led me to think about the things human beings could indulge in, if not for the binding of our souls to technology.  

By: Bianca Sanchez 

For my first hour, I spent it at the Manassas Battlefield. Since I sometimes go running there with music, I wanted to see how much of a difference it would be to go there with no music or distractions at all. When I got there, I did my stretching and then began to walk. I noticed that there was not that many people there like there usually is. This was probably because it was a Monday morning so a lot of people were probably at work. Since I was by myself, I walked the trail that I am used too and more confortable with. It was so hot outside that as soon as I started walking, I already felt my skin start to burn. I was also wearing all black which made it worse. I did not run like I normally do because I had blisters on my feet from walking around in my heels that weekend, so I just walked. I could clearly hear all the bugs around me and I found myself quickly turning to the grass or the trees everytime I heard something. It was probably just a squirrel or bug but still, I was scared that something would jump out of at me. As I kept walking, I got to this one part of the trail where I remembered how last summer when I went running, I almost got hit by a deer who was running the same direction I was. As soon as I thought about that deer, a huge bug hit my face. It had to be a cicada or some kind of big bug because it felt big when I brushed it off my face. I said hi to a couple of people as we walked past each other. There was this one point where I was all by myself and I could hear some banging from the distance, probably from construction near by. There was one bang that was so loud that I heard some birds start to chirp and fly around because of the noise. I tried to run a couple of times but my blisters would not allow me. After my hike, I quickly checked my phone to check the time and I saw that I still had about 10 minutes, so I went to a bench and sat there. I had already been sweating, so the breeze that I felt from sitting under a tree felt amazing. I then just observed the trees around me and looked at the ants that were in the grass. The sky was blue and the birds were chirping and I just felt very at peace. I took some deep breathes and then walked back to my car. 

For my next hour, I spent it at my house. I had my tv on because I wanted to finishing watching The Shining, but I found myself getting distracted while watching it. As I was watching the movie, I kept having to pause the movie because I would go on my phone and look up the actors and see what other movies they are in. I always tend to look up the actors in almost every movie I watch for some reason.  As I was watching the movie, I started scrolling through social media as well. I would go on instagram and watch stories, and then I would come back to watching the movie. I tried to keep focusing on the movie, but I kept getting tempted to go on my phone out of habit. That is when I realized that my phone is a big distraction. I feel like I could enjoy a movie better, or anything in general, if I did not have my phone there as a distraction. Social media tends to bore me, and yet I get on it every single day. I dont stay on social media for hours at a time, but I always find myself getting on it at random times of the day just because, which is bad. 

What I learned from this experience is that even though social media is just a normal thing now, it made me wonder how it was like to be in your 20s before social media. I like social media because I like seeing my friends accomplishments like graduating, starting a new job, buying a new house, having a baby, or getting married. The other stuff on social media does not really matter though. Obviously you can learn a lot of things on social media, but social media also has a lot of pointless stuff.  My mom describes how when she was in her 20s, life was a lot more simple. A phone was made just for calling people, and you would’nt find things out about other people unless they called you or you simply saw them in person or if you sent an email. I was born in the late 90s, but I feel like it would have been nice to be in my 20s during that time. What I learned about my nature walk was that I need to start running more at the Battlefield again rather than at the gym. At the gym, I always get distracted with my phone. I have my music to listen to during my workout and even though music makes any workout a whole lot better, it was very relaxing to just walk in nature and listen to all my surroundings. It was also nice to just breathe in fresh air and feel the breeze when I finished my walk. The breeze felt as though it was taking off a lot of stress off my shoulders and I really did feel more relaxed compared to how I felt before my walk.