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Author, tapping the mic: “Oh, hey, hi, hello there. How are you?”

Over this past Spring Break, I had the privilege of traveling to Washington, D.C. Why I decided on the District Columbia, I really couldn’t tell you. The AirBnB was a steal, with very lovely people, warm weather, a pretzel place up the block, and, dude, there was so much to do.

Yet, between the bustling city life and museums, I found that my favorite part of the trip was leaving at 7 a.m. to go hiking at the beautiful Great Falls National Park. Was it cold? Yeah, it was only 48° F, and we were armed with trail mix, Smartfood, stickered-up water bottles, and pure determination to complete the hike. For those who are also hiking junkies, we had about 600 feet of elevation (my poor legs), steep cliffs, and decently narrow pathways.

When I originally got into hiking, I kinda hated it. I’d always be the person, y’know...

Author, hands on her knees and dying: “How much-” wheeze “-ŽÚČč°ùłÙłó±đ°ù-” wheeze “do we have left?” wheeze

Needless to say, my cardio has gotten a lot better since then.

I’m not sure if this is a common thing, but does anyone else shove themselves into random hobbies because you know that they’re good for you in some way, shape, or form? Hiking was my form of shoving myself into a new type of wellness, one that benefitted my mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing.

It’s pretty obvious that we’re a fairly phone-centered world. I haven’t seen someone (including myself) pick up a book in a very long time, or any non-fiction article in a very hot minute. Apparently, the average screen time in the U.S. is around 7 hours and 3 minutes per day (Backlinko). That’s not fantastic at all. That's negative fantastic if anything. It’s also not a big secret that screen time is impacting our mental health, and that’s including our access to social media and news platforms. The solution?

Touching grass.

According to “Nurture by Nature” by Kirsten Weir, “...exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders, and even upticks in empathy and cooperation” (Weir). Have you ever felt as though when you go outside, you feel a bit of yourself relax?

Some random person in the back: “No, I hate nature.”

Author, three espresso shots deep: “Dude, just- just play along with this, okay?”

I’m not trying to play the Lorax or anything, but the environment helps us as much as we’re supposed to help it. The bottom line is: we’re all mammals. No matter which human being you talk to, we’re all pretty much the same genomic soup, with some slight alterations. Imagine it as the same basic cookie recipe that can be used to create different types of cookies; the only question is, do you want raisins or chocolate chips? Regardless of which, we’re all cookies coming from the same master recipe that was also used to create the Earth somehow.

The author is quite partial to oatmeal raisin, but she understands that not all persons may hold such a dignified, existential cookie opinion.

With that being said, I’d like to introduce the concept of the biophilia hypothesis. As described by Marcia P. Jimenez, “...humans have evolved with nature to have an affinity for nature” (Jimenez). Essentially, we are a part of the natural world around us and will forever hold a deep connection to it at a physical, emotional, social, and spiritual level. We’re going to more likely enjoy our time within, interacting, and sharing nature with others than not. The biophilia hypothesis also considers that the Earth provides us opportunities to discover creativity, take risks, master skills and techniques, and truly better our brains” (Jimenez). Looking back, I think many people were the I’m-going-to-run-around-in-dirt-no-matter-what-mommy-says kids. Dudes, I was a worm freak. I love earthworms! They’re great for the environment, don’t eat you, don’t suck out the nutrients from your intestines, and, I don’t know, they can multiply when they’re cut? Isn’t that great?

Okay maybe it’s kinda freaky, but, hey, man, gotta reproduce somehow 😎

Author, looking in the depths of her laptop and muttering to herself: “...who was the father.”

Gotta ask those questions, people.

When I looked out over the view at Great Falls, everything seemed inconsequential. The water, according to the plaques on the trail, was capable of hitting you with the force of ten thousand basketballs. (That’s a lot of basketballs!!). I forgot I was in college; I forgot that my job was to drive an ambulance and help people; I forgot everything I’d ever done for a brief moment and enjoyed what it felt like to just be me.

Just Beatrice.

“Hey, Bea.”

Of course, we couldn’t stay there forever. With sore legs and full hearts, we headed back to the truck to grab some breakfast before going to the Botanical Gardens. Great Falls, looking back, was a great representation of perseverance and hard work. Was I sweating? Yes. Was it cold out? Yes. Had I woken up at the crack of dawn to go on a little walk through a bare forest? Yep.

But, was it worth it?

Absolutely.

I hope this blog has given you some motivation to go out and about into the world (albeit I know the weather has been awful lately) and remember that getting messy can be a good thing. If anyone’s interested in some good hiking spots in Connecticut, may I recommend:

• East Rock Park
• Sleeping Giant
• West Hartford Reservoir
• Nathan Hale State Forest

Of course, some of these are a bit more out of the way than others, but they are all worth the walk, run, bike, or maybe even climb, if permitted 🙂. Make sure to bring snacks!

Stay safe and warm out there, and I’ll see you in the next one.

With peace, love, and peanut butter,
Bea

Works Cited

Backlinko. “Revealing Average Screen Time Statistics for 2024.” Backlinko, 11 Mar. 2024, backlinko.com/screen-time-statistics. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Jimenez, Marcia P. “Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, no. 9, 30 Apr. 2021, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8125471/, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094790. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

Weir, Kirsten. “Nurtured by Nature.” American Psychological Association, vol. 51, no. 3, 2020, www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.