No Seriously, Go Touch Grass
Written By : Hannah Corbett
I’ve always been a fresh-air person. Not in the “let’s go climb a mountain” kind of way (well sometimes) but in the “I need the smell of cut grass and the sound of birds so I don’t lose my mind” kind of way. Being outside has always been my reset button. When life feels so loud, stepping in the sun makes everything quieter in my head.
Except now, I don’t really have an “outside.” For the first time in my life, I’m without a backyard. I have a little park with a pond a few steps from my condo that I drag a wicker chair onto, with a tiny table to put my coffee on. And I make that my “backyard” for the morning.
And in South Carolina, August heat doesn’t play nice. By mid-morning, the air feels like soup, and I can practically hear my hair frizzing. So I’ve adapted. If I want my outside time, I have to go early—really early. The kind of early where the world is still quiet, the light is soft, and the air hasn’t yet decided to melt me. Which honestly, I prefer.
So there I sit, coffee in hand, watching the sun slip into the day. I think not having my own little private space got to me for a while. It made me think I was trapped. And recently I’ve gotten a laptop, so I can even sit outside and work. But for a while I was just typing away in my office, looking out the window, wanting to be outside. Whereas when I lived at home with my parents- I would sit on the deck, with an umbrella and a long wooden table, and re-fillable coffee just inches away. I think it’s just a part of growing up and adjusting.
But I've learned that the thing about being outside is, it doesn’t have to be dramatic. It doesn’t have to be hiking trails or sprawling backyards. But having to make it your own little routine is important. I’ve dove headfirst into work this past year, and I think I was so caught up in the world of social media, and writing and learning that I forgot that I really need to be outside. Walking everyday or five times a week, and taking my dog to the dog park, it’s important. And of course, I go to the beach (that's now only 5 minutes away from me) but that's different from what I grew up with.
It made me wonder…do other people feel the same way? And if you do, how do you change it?