If you aren’t a teacher you’re going to be wildly annoyed by the following sentiments, but I just can’t help myself—it’s summer break. After just finishing my third year of teaching, I have dubbed this post-school bliss as the “summer glow.” Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching and enjoy teaching high school students (cue shocked scoffs and eye rolls), but these periodic breaks are what keep my enthusiasm for teaching, and my sanity, firmly in tact.
Nonetheless, the “summer glow” is in full swing at this point. I’ve enjoyed days in a row of no alarm clock, time to drink coffee in my sunroom, and having no real plans. It’s an adjustment for teachers at first—we go from always having too much to do to having nothing to do. I almost feel guilty for it sometimes. Maybe.
But this summer glow sure has me feeling nostalgic and reflective. The best part of summer breaks for me, then and now, has been being outdoors. I can say wholeheartedly that I love being outdoors.
You could say that this love for nature was bred into me. I grew up on an acre full of trees and space to run free. I remember being happily covered in dirt and eucalyptus oil for most of my childhood, though I doubt my mother will be happy to know that I am sharing that publicly in a newspaper. Summer breaks from school meant time to play outside, build tree forts, go hiking, and camping. For me, this was normal life; I was most relaxed and comfortable outdoors.
As I’ve grown older, the desire to get outdoors, explore, and connect with nature has only become stronger. I’ve also come to realize, through my own personal experiences, the importance of maintaining a connection with nature. The biggest learning experience came from my students at work.
This year at school, I helped co-advise a hiking club on our campus. Aside from coaching, this was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had thus far in my career. We hosted periodic meetings as a club (we are called the PV Trailblazers) to vote on hikes, discuss hiking protocols, and plan school fundraisers. We were pleasantly surprised and energized by the 40-plus kids we had involved in our club throughout the school year.
While some of these kids had hiking experience, many of the students were new to the activity. The head advisor and myself decided the club was a perfect opportunity to show the kids the beauty of the area they lived in as well as teach them self-sufficiency, and to get them outside and active. It was amazing to see some of my own students who were in the club transform in the wake of trees, sunshine, and trails. Perhaps the most surprising thing is that the students were the least preoccupied with their cell phones than I have ever seen. Of course, there were the selfies, SnapChats, and videos, but the kids spent most of their time having conversations with one another and asking questions about their surroundings.
It was even more uplifting to watch the students encourage and guide one another during some of the more difficult hikes. The reward came from watching the joy light up their faces when they finished a hike they never thought they could. I want more students to have this experience. I learned from these hiking club kids what being outdoors can do, and I watched them change as people because of it.
Maybe I am too nostalgic and unrealistic for the generation I teach, and maybe one day I’ll end up as jaded about it as some of my more seasoned colleagues. But for now, I am going to go on believing in the power of the outdoors and encouraging students to get outside and enjoy it. I want to ask kids what they did on their weekends and hear they want on a walk at the beach or on a hike with a friend instead of hearing they slept or stayed inside at home all weekend.
After a year full of my stories and adventure pictures, I am sure my students think that I am cuckcoo for hiking the remote places I purposely take myself to. Over Memorial Day weekend this year, I went camping with my roommate way up into the eastern Sierra Mountains. We are talking windy mountain roads, no camp bathrooms or showers, build your own fire ring, and bring your own water type of camping—no cell phone service whatsoever.
Whenever my students hear that I go without service for three days, you would think I had told them I committed murder every weekend by the shocked looks on their faces.
“Well what did you do?” one brave student always inquires. It mystifies me; they get literal anxiety when their phone is at 50 percent battery, let alone being without service completely.
These students cannot read a map, they struggle with entertaining themselves without a device, and they have no idea how to conduct themselves in nature. Now, I understand and appreciate the conveniences that technology has provided, and I use them avidly myself. The difference is, I know I can be happy and self-sufficient without these devices. I don’t think many of our students can, and that makes me sad for them. Maybe they will never need to know how to read a map, but they do deserve to feel the independence that comes from being able to do so because it will have profound ripples throughout their lives.
There is something to be said about returning from an outdoor adventure dirty, stinky, and scraped up, because while our outsides look rugged, our insides are smooth, calm, and at peace. I think that is something that every child and person should experience. The bravery, peace of mind, and independence you gain from outdoor adventures outweigh everything else.
That’s what I’m looking forward to most as I embark on my backpacking trip in the Virgin River Narrows of Zion National Park with four girlfriends (yeah, we’re pretty badass). I’m also telling myself that all of the metaphysical and mental bliss I am experiencing on this trip will outweigh the blisters and aches from a 50-pound backpack. I did some important research for this trip, like learning that the elastic band of my underwear makes a good sling shot should I need to go into wilderness survival mode. I’ve also had to accept that human waste is environmentally damaging and therefore I will be carrying around my own poo for a couple of days. But, that’s the price we pay for enjoying the beauty of nature, disconnecting from the trivialness of everyday life, and reconnecting with ourselves.
You don’t have to believe me when I say that being outdoors is one of the most rejuvenating, rewarding, and cost-effective experiences you can have whenever you want—hit the “off” button and opt for outside, your adventure is waiting.
But what do I know? I’m just a Benchwarmer, currently backpacking in Zion, Utah.
Sports columnist Kristina Sewell has the blisters to prove it. She can be reached through Managing Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 22-29, 2017.