I’m not always happy with my choice to come to Binghamton University.
When I think of Sodexo, the skeevy bars and BU BRAIN I can’t help but feel some regret. But there is something that Binghamton offers that makes it hard to regret my choice too strongly: the Nature Preserve.
I really love our Nature Preserve, and am so thankful to the University for having laid it out before us to use any time we want. I’m baffled, though, by the number of people that I’ve talked to who have never set foot in it before. What are they waiting for?
I don’t know if I would even still be a student here if not for the Nature Preserve. College can be exhausting, but the Nature Preserve provides the perfect, meditative escape. I’ll never forget the first time I went to the top of the mountain and looked down at the school. It looked so tiny, and I think that’s a reminder college students need every once in a while: School isn’t everything.
It’s hard to find that kind of serenity and clarity when you’re boxed in on all sides. It’s difficult to be “in the now” when your inbox is filled with school e-mails nagging you about your future: “Smart Moves for Future Successes,” “Tips to Improve Your Resume,” etc. I think a lot of people could benefit from taking an hour or two to turn their phones off and just walk some of the trails, or sit on the bridge over the lake at night and watch the stars.
The Nature Preserve is, contrary to popular opinion, not just a great place to smoke weed. As I write this article, my roommate is there running. Beautiful scenery is a great addition to a run, as is having to think about where you’re going to put your feet. So instead of going to the gym and running on the treadmill, where all you have to look at is your face in the mirror and a bunch of sweaty people (including that girl you hooked up with and then never called, and now it’s really awkward), try taking a solitary run through the Nature Preserve and get some fresh air. Or just do some homework on a sunny day. Or go on a walk with someone significant.
It’s important that we all take time to garner an appreciation for the environment. It’s so easy to sit on your bed eating Pop-Tarts and watching TV on your laptop and just not give a shit.
It’s completely different when you’re immersed in nature, and you see a group of deer checking you out, or watch a salamander slowly work its way across what must seem like an endless frontier in front of it. There are only pockets of these untouched areas left, and so I implore everyone to go explore them. Take a good look and then decide how much you care, because one day the Nature Preserve might need someone to stand up for it.
Take a walk through the Nature Preserve after an ice storm and see twigs completely encased in ice and try to say it isn’t beautiful.
Decide if future generations deserve the same opportunity to be awed.