All my life I have lived in Salida. The vivid colors of green grasses and the indigo sky reflect off the clear waters of our lakes and rivers.
When I was born, in a cute little house on E street, two fawns had just been born in our back yard. White spots covering their backs, glistening in the sun. Sweet smelling flowers crushed beneath them and growing up the fence, surrounded them like a colorful and welcoming flower-embrace.
As time went on my love for flowers grew… their abundant colors and pleasing scents, all varying slightly. When I was eight I went on a camping trip with my dad where I was greeted with the abundance of flourishing wildflowers lining the ground in an unorganized pattern. As I marched through the trails, tilting my head as far back as I could to view the tops of the towering trees, I couldn’t help but smile. Continuing on, one hand gripping on to my dads and the other swatting bugs from in front of my face I wondered. I wondered how all these bugs, animals, trees, grasses and water worked together so seamlessly, while the human world had such a hard time working with nature.
When I was around ten, I went to Hawaii with my mom. I was amazed by the tropics. The grass and plants are even more vibrant and green than what I had seen before in my arid homeland of Colorado. The air, hot and humid, formed dew drops on my forehead.
My uncle took us on a ten mile hike that revealed waterfalls and streams. We climbed over boulders, scaling the edge of a rocky hillside. We were hiking with no shoes, meeting new people, and enjoying lots of laughter and smiles. On that hike I probably saw over a thousand different plants, most of which I was unfamiliar with. Hiking upwards and then hiking down a different path I was focused. I was challenged and I loved it. Out of the few people we saw hiking on the same trail that day, I was the youngest and the fastest, so I felt so proud when we reached the bottom, took a short walk back to my uncle’s house and finally laid down for a good night’s sleep.
Nature is everywhere. I am glad that I live in Salida where the community comes together to embrace the outdoors. And I know that wherever life takes me there will always be a constant and that is the presence of nature.