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The Woods {2018}
2 months ago
A narrative I wrote in November 2018, back during my senior year of high school. It still means a lot to me today. It mostly focuses on how the woods was my escape when I struggled with undiagnosed AuDHD, gender dysphoria, and self discovery in other things. I am happier now but I do miss the woods at times. <3
~
Life can be a very stressful time for me. School takes up a majority of my time every day, and continues to take over my time even when school is done for the day. I am always pressured to do my best, take harder classes, study hard, and do great in school. This can be very stressful, and I often stress myself out so much that it brings down my confidence and wellness in school.
Another life issue is society. I am pressured to fit into one group of people, to act a certain way, and do certain things. I am much different than most people I know, and sometimes that is a bad thing. I am not accepted for who I am and I constantly have to put up with that every single day. Who I am is completely different than what society wants me to be. Although some people accept me for who I am, and respect me, most people assume who I am and expect me to be that way. Once they find out that I'm not the person that they thought of me as, they are disappointed and choose to isolate away from me. This makes me feel unwanted and unimportant, and often at times, I'm forced to bottle up who I truly am. I always appreciate the people who respect me.
Whenever I feel out of place in society and want to just get away from the stress and pressures, I go up to the place where I feel the safest: the woods by my house. The woods give me a home that my normal life could never offer, and I never have to worry about being put out of place. The wildlife roaming in the trees doesn't judge me for who I am, or who I identify as. The trees give me a path to go to; they're all different. One tree may have a hole in it's trunk, another may have fruit in its branches instead of leaves. Trees were all made to be different, and it makes me wonder why humans desperately try to be the same, despite that they're all different.
I often see deer and bunnies roaming around the woods; sometimes they're even eager to watch me, even if they keep their distances. They always seem curious about humans, even if they're afraid of our species. I see deer roaming around the fields nearest to my house, and sometimes they lift their heads and watch me. Once, a deer let me get close enough to take a picture of them with my cell phone and just stood there, watching. They continued to stare, and eventually trotted off, with their tail raised up into the air.
The woods are full of steep hills, and it's often a challenge to climb to higher areas of the forest. It's easy to slip and slide back down a hill, especially when it's wet. The most useful tactic for me when climbing steep hills is to find routes with a lot of trees; that way, if I were to start sliding, I could grab onto a tree and pull myself back up. It is especially challenging if it snows, and the snow isn't solid. I fell down a lot, and scraped my knees on trees I fell down on. However, it was worth attempting, and I learned a lot more about navigating up hills.
One problem that the woods have—that most forests may have—is thorn bushes. Thorn bushes are all over the place, and it's easy to run right into one without realizing it. Thorns remind me of needles, and they often make me very nervous. I used to carefully inch my way through an area of thorns that I couldn't get around, but I came to find out that running straight through is much easier and less painful. It's better to get pinched by a thorn for a second rather than have a whole branch stab you for as long as you slowly try to escape. I've slowly overcame my fear of needles and thorn bushes.
The best thing about the woods is that you can go at any point of day, and during any time of the year. I've managed to go through the woods during all four seasons, though my favorite time to go is during the fall. The forest looks so beautiful when the leaves are changing, and it's usually so nice outside. I don't often go during the summer because it's usually too hot, and I am less active in heat. Although I'm not a fan of the cold, either, I like going to the woods because of the snow. I can usually adjust to the cold quickly, so it's never usually a problem for me. I would find any excuse to go to the woods. Unless a situation comes up to where I can't, I try to go to the woods daily, after school ends. I like going after school because I can unwind, and take my mind off of any stress that school provided me during the day.
The woods have always been a special part of my life. Even before I moved to a place that provided nature, I enjoyed any kind of nature that I could see. As a kid, I would climb trees, collect rocks and leaves, and draw the views I'd see in nature. Once I moved out of the city and into a place away from human contact like a city would, I was so happy to finally be able to explore the places I had dreamed of. Nature has not only given me a place to be myself and admire the things that many people cannot see, but I have also learned a lot of things in those woods. I've learned about the peace in the woods, and how the animals didn't normally fight with one another. I've learned about how to tell the weather from the sky and the clouds, how the animals lived their lives and how not to disrupt them, and how to point out landmarks as I went so I knew where to go, even if I was unfamiliar with the woods itself.
The woods are my go-to place whenever I feel stressed, sad, or wanting to get away from society. It's the place that I feel the safest, and nothing in my life could make me feel happier and more content. The woods will continue to inspire me and teach me the things that life could never teach me, and I will continue to learn more about nature as time continues on.
~
Life can be a very stressful time for me. School takes up a majority of my time every day, and continues to take over my time even when school is done for the day. I am always pressured to do my best, take harder classes, study hard, and do great in school. This can be very stressful, and I often stress myself out so much that it brings down my confidence and wellness in school.
Another life issue is society. I am pressured to fit into one group of people, to act a certain way, and do certain things. I am much different than most people I know, and sometimes that is a bad thing. I am not accepted for who I am and I constantly have to put up with that every single day. Who I am is completely different than what society wants me to be. Although some people accept me for who I am, and respect me, most people assume who I am and expect me to be that way. Once they find out that I'm not the person that they thought of me as, they are disappointed and choose to isolate away from me. This makes me feel unwanted and unimportant, and often at times, I'm forced to bottle up who I truly am. I always appreciate the people who respect me.
Whenever I feel out of place in society and want to just get away from the stress and pressures, I go up to the place where I feel the safest: the woods by my house. The woods give me a home that my normal life could never offer, and I never have to worry about being put out of place. The wildlife roaming in the trees doesn't judge me for who I am, or who I identify as. The trees give me a path to go to; they're all different. One tree may have a hole in it's trunk, another may have fruit in its branches instead of leaves. Trees were all made to be different, and it makes me wonder why humans desperately try to be the same, despite that they're all different.
I often see deer and bunnies roaming around the woods; sometimes they're even eager to watch me, even if they keep their distances. They always seem curious about humans, even if they're afraid of our species. I see deer roaming around the fields nearest to my house, and sometimes they lift their heads and watch me. Once, a deer let me get close enough to take a picture of them with my cell phone and just stood there, watching. They continued to stare, and eventually trotted off, with their tail raised up into the air.
The woods are full of steep hills, and it's often a challenge to climb to higher areas of the forest. It's easy to slip and slide back down a hill, especially when it's wet. The most useful tactic for me when climbing steep hills is to find routes with a lot of trees; that way, if I were to start sliding, I could grab onto a tree and pull myself back up. It is especially challenging if it snows, and the snow isn't solid. I fell down a lot, and scraped my knees on trees I fell down on. However, it was worth attempting, and I learned a lot more about navigating up hills.
One problem that the woods have—that most forests may have—is thorn bushes. Thorn bushes are all over the place, and it's easy to run right into one without realizing it. Thorns remind me of needles, and they often make me very nervous. I used to carefully inch my way through an area of thorns that I couldn't get around, but I came to find out that running straight through is much easier and less painful. It's better to get pinched by a thorn for a second rather than have a whole branch stab you for as long as you slowly try to escape. I've slowly overcame my fear of needles and thorn bushes.
The best thing about the woods is that you can go at any point of day, and during any time of the year. I've managed to go through the woods during all four seasons, though my favorite time to go is during the fall. The forest looks so beautiful when the leaves are changing, and it's usually so nice outside. I don't often go during the summer because it's usually too hot, and I am less active in heat. Although I'm not a fan of the cold, either, I like going to the woods because of the snow. I can usually adjust to the cold quickly, so it's never usually a problem for me. I would find any excuse to go to the woods. Unless a situation comes up to where I can't, I try to go to the woods daily, after school ends. I like going after school because I can unwind, and take my mind off of any stress that school provided me during the day.
The woods have always been a special part of my life. Even before I moved to a place that provided nature, I enjoyed any kind of nature that I could see. As a kid, I would climb trees, collect rocks and leaves, and draw the views I'd see in nature. Once I moved out of the city and into a place away from human contact like a city would, I was so happy to finally be able to explore the places I had dreamed of. Nature has not only given me a place to be myself and admire the things that many people cannot see, but I have also learned a lot of things in those woods. I've learned about the peace in the woods, and how the animals didn't normally fight with one another. I've learned about how to tell the weather from the sky and the clouds, how the animals lived their lives and how not to disrupt them, and how to point out landmarks as I went so I knew where to go, even if I was unfamiliar with the woods itself.
The woods are my go-to place whenever I feel stressed, sad, or wanting to get away from society. It's the place that I feel the safest, and nothing in my life could make me feel happier and more content. The woods will continue to inspire me and teach me the things that life could never teach me, and I will continue to learn more about nature as time continues on.
