Sophomore Year Research Paper

There are many alluring opportunities to witness nature, such as local trails and protected woods, but even a peaceful park or a backyard pond can produce such a feeling. As for me, I enjoy hiking the Appalachian Trail, the longest national park and a 2,200 mile stretch of elegant woodlands. From the summer of 2013, my father and I have established a tradition of taking two or three days to hike twenty mile sections of the trail. Though hiking the whole trail is unrealistic, the trips are most significant to me as a chance to hike, forgetting about homework, extracurricular activities, and other stressors. Admittedly, I am always reluctant to believe that climbing up rocky mountains with a twenty-five pound backpack will is a form of relief, but somehow, it always is. We typically sleep in hammocks, which allows

Time flies. I will soon finish high school and move to college. The first semester of senior year is the most important period during my life, but I still have a Dragon I need to beat. The Dragon is called Procrastination. He has troubled me for my whole life, and I have never killed him before. During my senior year, I have to try to combat him, beat him, and destroy him.

I just came back from a camping trip all the ways from Yosemite Nation Park at central California’s, feral Nevada, the mountain range in the US. It was an amazing trip and I had learned a lot from it. Mostly, I had been awarded that Mother Nature had created us amazing scenery and left us only one mission, which is to watch over her creation, in order for it to be last forever.

I am still not 100% sure where my life is headed or what is in store for me, but I think that’s the beauty of life. Growth is what makes us who we are. Growth in our relationships, growth in our thought process, even growth in our faith, they all make us. Even though many of us may not know exactly where we are headed, it’s the experience and failures along the way that form the path of life and

I was lonely, empty, anxious, and bored. I had gone through the same thing every day, every year for the past three years. I knew that this year was the big one, the home-stretch. I knew I had big decisions to make, life-altering decisions. I had a lot of work ahead of me. Filling out college applications, finding scholarships, the SAT, getting good grades so that I could graduate with high honors and get into a good school, the list of responsibilities is endless. I could feel the pressures building up, like lava underneath Earth’s surface. I could feel all the expectations that everyone had for me. For the first time in my life, I didn’t know what came next, I didn’t really care. I just knew I desperately ached for novelty. I needed new experiences, not lasts. For me, when stress builds up, I evacuate. I detach myself and then the loneliness seeps in and takes charge. It was then, during my desperate need to escape from my responsibilities and the need to fill the emptiness I was feeling, that I

In my life I experienced many things and the most important thing that I learn is that life is like a box of chocolate . I say that life is like a box of chocolate like Forrest Gump said because, you never know what’s planned for you next. You don’t know if you're going to get a good outcome, or a bad outcome because it’s different flavors in chocolate. My freshman year of highschool I was lacking not doing my work and just slacking but, now I regret it because freshman year is the most important year of your high school years . In these 17 years of my life, it been has been like a box of chocolate I never knew what was going to be the outcome of me making the the decision I made my freshman year. If I would’ve did better my freshman year it wouldn’t be so hard how it was my 10th grade year.

The most memorable time I felt a deep connection with nature occurred during a field trip last April. The days were becoming warmer, mid-winter rainstorms were fading away, and spring flowers were just beginning their stage of life, tightly bound blossoms growing erratically through soft grasses. Several months of planning had gone into this event, with extensive applications, volunteer work, checking supplies off a list till every item was packed. It was time to journey into Yosemite National Park. Our stocky, off-white bus rattled down a beaten highway for seconds, minutes, hours, the chattering of young adults filling the space in between each moment. It felt like a mere blink of the eye and seven hours at the same time, and then we had arrived.

Eventually I spotted an old bench made of logs which someone had built before my husband and I had bought this property. It was hard to resist taking a break as the bench sat on the edge of a field and the sun was beaming directly on it. Sitting back, I felt immediate comfort. This had become a safe haven for me where I liked to ponder about life. My legs hoisted themselves onto the bench. I laid back closing my eyes listening to the sounds of the forest. Feeling the gentle breeze blowing on my face I closed my eyes and sighed.

My sister, Bab, and I hiked in the forest in serene silence as small bits of sunlight pierced through the forest foliage. Our whiskey jack flew among the trees as she sang her beautiful song while the whispering wind whistled their own tune that formed a heavenly harmony. She beckoned for us to follow; landing on a branch every now and then for us to catch up to her. We couldn’t dare to lose sight of her, otherwise we would fail our duty; our mission; the only reason for our very existence. We continued to stroll down the dirt path savoring all that nature had to offer.

At approximately eight thirty in the morning, I started on the trail. The temperature was warm and inviting. The skies were a clear blue and the sun glistened off the lake and it appeared silver. The beautiful sight of nature caused me to marvel and imagined how blessed I was to experience this and by the time I was half way through my walk I felt calmed. I continued my walk, unhurried and deeply inhaling to intentionally fill my lungs with fresh air. The walk left me feeling refreshed, energized and renewed.

After three minutes, Isabel and I stand and push through the rest of the trail. The path remains constant for the rest of the time. Trees sway back and forth and the sun shines through the leaves making marks on the ground. As we come to reach the end of the trail, I cannot help but feel an immense sense of satisfaction for the adventure we have embarked on. I feel such a great deal of happiness. Not the happiness that comes from small, everyday tasks, but an internal joy that becomes my own. Isabel and I share this special joy. We understand nature’s values and that our own adventures lie within our reach. For most, it is hard to imagine a life away from screens, but to us and the hundreds who walk through Benson’s Animal Park everyday, it is only two minutes

When I reminisce regrading my life over the past six years. How I conquered some of my seemingly unfeasible goals. Like passing the General Education Development exam and enrolling into college. When I was younger never fully understood the importance of an education until now. Despite the multitudinous times my parents and high school teachers would stress the importance of having an education. My senior year of high school is when I dropped out. With much procrastination and self-doubt earning my high school diploma and enrolling into college are my life’s most rewarding experiences.

Walking through the trail full of mud and leaves always made me think about my life. It was always there when I needed to walk and get things off my mind. Looking around watching the leaves fall off tree after tree flying like butterflies, all different colors. When they stopped, they immediately died and they were not coming back alive again. Piled leaves filled up under trees and children ran and jumped on them like they were pillows. These trees tripled the height of humans with numerous branches holding hundreds of leaves. While walking the river flows and it is such a beautiful view with the sun shining right off of it. The ducks and little birds chirping and floating through the smooth water puts a joy to my face.

This time that I spent out at hunting camp in the nature gave me an appreciation for the earth that we live in. I loved the vast wilderness and all the wildlife. However, this was all just a cover for the events yet to come into our lives. I was naïve to our financial well-being, my mom’s well-being, and my family relationships. I

Life isn’t always what it seems to be. It’s always changing, no matter what. Even if you’re stuck in the past. It’s like it just happened yesterday, I’ll try my best to tell you about my life and how it made me who I am today.