Flash Back!

by Ashlyn
(Stockbridge, Michigan)

While preparing to hike back to a waterfall, I had a flashback. It was August of 2007. I was a normal 12 year old girl with nothing on my mind but thoughts of adventures to come.

My dad decided it would be a great time to go camping. "Camping!" I said with excitement.

I was giggling because I thought he was gonna start laughing and admit he was joking. He wasn't!

Being excited to be presented with an oppurtunity to leave my house, I decided to go. We started preparing by packing clothes in our backpacks. I remember rolling up my sleeping bag and the whole time thinking about nothing but what I was going to do apon my arrival. It wasn't my first time camping but I still loved the smell of the trees with a cool breeze.

As the car came to a stop in the pull off of the trail, I jumped out of the car ready to hit the trails. My dad and I put on our loaded backpacks and took the trail head on. About 2 miles back we arrived at our location. It was a cleared out spot right next to this gorgeous lake.

That's the moment when I realized how badly I needed nature. I needed the calm tranquility and peace of mind that nature provided.

Yes, I was only 12, but I didn't realize how much of a blur I was living in until I went backpacking into the woods that day.

To this day, nature is my escape from a world driven by technology, and it's my time.