Why Nature?
Bryce:
Growing up, we didn’t have much. Me and my siblings never knew it. Our parents were the best I ever could’ve asked for. We had family and that kind of unconditional love was all we needed to call ourselves rich. What we did have (other than being love rich) was a little bit of land to roam around on. With little material things and no TV, most everything else was left up to the imagination. Nature was my outlet. I could walk out my front/back door and immediately have a hundred acres to explore and a creek to fish in. I would take my fishing pole and head out for the day. Sometimes it would just be me walking down in the creekbed looking for interesting things to observe. Other times I would be joined by my brother and sisters in a joint effort to build little hovels we deemed to be magnificent holdfasts as you see in Game of Thrones. No matter what the day held, I knew that everyday would be in the great outdoors. I was once asked by someone (spoiler alert: it was Kaylee) what my favorite sound was. Without hesitation I spat out “something with nature, most specifically running water.” Sitting, listening to water trickle by in a slow moving stream. Observing how the water moves, how the rocks affect the motion of the water. It sets me at peace, it brings me back to my childhood (I am only 21) and how I used to play in the creek for hours. Nature isn’t just a place to be, but an experience to be had. The best part: nature is different to everyone, but everyone can think nature is beautiful.
Kaylee:
Growing up in the suburbs, I didn’t really spend much time in “nature”. My time spent outside would consist of softball, softball, and more softball. I was spending time outside, but I wasn’t appreciating all of the beauty all around me. It really wasn’t until I met Bryce that I developed a love for it. I was asking him some of his favorite and his favorite color, sound, and a few others had to do with nature and the abundance of things that came with it. He would tell me about his childhood and trips he would take with his friends and family, and I couldn’t help but think about how I wanted to do those things with him. (Fun Fact: Since Bryce and I have started dating, my screen time has significantly gone down and my time outside has gone way up.) He has pushed me to be better in so many, and this has got to be one of my favorites. Even taking a simple walk in the park, there is always something new to see and explore. I pay more attention to the sites in front of me. I don’t go for walks and just stare at my phone the whole time. Yes, I do still carry my camera with me; I want to document every moment of it, but that’s so I can continue to admire and remember the things I have seen.