Ashley Irving: Lion's Bridge

Being out in nature is a different experience for every individual one comes across. Visiting the Lion's Bridge with the class reminded me of how very true this statement is. For some, being outdoors and interacting with nature is a part of their everyday life. They feel comfortable and at ease. For others, it is a foreign experience that they might wish to avoid at all costs. Then there are always those who fall in between those two categories where they don't dislike being out in nature, but it is not their favorite place to be under certain circumstances. I for one fall into that in between category.

I grew up playing sports outdoors and loved being outside whether it was in the summer running through the sprinklers or going to the park or the beach or if it was winter and I was building a snow fort in the front yard to have snowball fights with my little sister. While I enjoyed those aspects of nature and the outdoors, I was also the child that used to run away screaming when I found a worm when gardening with my mom in the spring. Ok, I may still be that person who freaks out over bugs.

Going on this field trip with the class reminded me of the varying relationships that people have with nature and the experiences that they can have through it. When asked what one noticed about a tree near the trail, one student responded with "it's ugly" and while he may have seen it as being ugly, others took into account the reasons for its appearance such as the diseases that it has and the fact that it is dying. Just as when we were given time to have our own experiences on the trail at the end of class, some took the opportunity to sit and write, to observe the things that could be seen such as the sunset over the water, the changing leaves, all that nature had to offer. On the other hand, other students took that given time to leave and head back to campus as soon as possible. While those students did not allow themselves the chance to experience all that nature had to offer them, nature is not a sacred place for them and therefore they did not feel comfortable in their environment and they chose to retreat to one that was more suited to them.

Not everyone has the same preferences, nor will they have the same experiences despite being in the same situation as others. If we had run across a snake on the trail, I would have had a very very poor experience that might have changed my complete opinion about the Lion's Bridge and the trail altogether whereas another student may have found it fascinating and may have wished to return to the location more frequently as a result. All interacts with nature vary from person to person and this class visit helped remind me of this fact.