Nature

This morning I woke up in rural Kernville, California and walked down to the riverside. I sat there for thirty minutes. (see picture)
It may seem random and quite convenient for this assignment that I was in such as place this weekend, but there is a very valid reason. I played guitar and sang for my cousin Michael Shawn's wedding. His fiancee Mikaela chose the peaceful location of Kernville, with a population of approximately 2,000 people. It was a really nice wedding with the ceremony right on the campgrounds by the Kern river. I felt very campfire-ish (in a good way) as a designated rock was chosen for me to sit on while I played for the ceremony outdoors. This is where I had my first Emerson-like reaction. Warning: this is going to sound phony. I was really nervous before the wedding about whether or not I was going to screw it up. I knew the music pretty well, but I had not spent as much time on it as I would've liked because as we all know, last week was a really busy week for school work. Yet as soon as I sat on my rock and started testing out the sound system, I felt more at ease with the sound of river pulsing behind me. It's what nature does to me, I guess. In case your wondering, I've been assured by my people that I didn't screw anything up. In fact, everything turned out just fine.
On to my experience with nature in solitude. The wedding was on Saturday, and I woke up at 9:00 this morning. I went to have a home-style breakfast at the lodge and then I told my parents I was going for a walk. "Don't get eaten by a bear." my dad joked. I first gave myself two rules: 1. Go where you feel more connected with nature and stay there. 2. Let your mind wander, but don't think about your school work (especially that AP Chem test on Wednesday). I came to a cool conclusion following the first rule. When I headed into the woods, I was immediately drawn to the river. I wondered why I thought I would feel more connected to nature there. I think the reason is instinctual, like survival of the fittest. I'm naturally drawn to the river because I subconsciously think that it will be a good water source for survival. So I finally found a rock close to the riverside where I could watch it flow for the remaining minutes. My mind drifted back to the summers of seventh and eighth grade when I went on the school rafting trip down the Kern River in the exact same region. I remembered how much fun it was and how different that time was from my current stressed-out state. It made me realize that nature is the best way to calm oneself down. I think that's why people build parks. Why did they leave space for Central Park in one of the most expensive real estate areas in the US? Parks simulate the calmness of nature, which is very much needed in the busy, crowded life of a New Yorker. Nature kind of lets you put your problems in the back of your mind for a moment and just stop to reflect. It was really nice to get the chance to do this.
This experience really changed one of my decisions. Prior to this, I had thought that I didn't want to go to college anywhere besides an urban area. Now I realize that a type of natural surrounding would be good for the sanity of my mind. I will now consider areas with nature that are in close proximity of urban areas, so I can have the calm and the excitement of both types of locations.