The past year was rough. In the beginning of 2025, I lost my house in the Eaton Fire and then a few months later, a couple of my family members. It was hard for my entire family; not just my mom, dad and sister, but all my cousins, aunts, and uncles too. I was surrounded by loss and it overwhelmed me so much that it was all that I could think about.

I have learned a lot since then, about the world and about loss. The one thing that saved me was being in nature. I believe that spending time in nature makes you less stressed about your life.

For example, when I was nine, I was walking in the woods in Michigan when it was snowing. It was so quiet that I could hear myself breathing. All of a sudden, I felt this feeling of floating in the air because it was so calm and relaxing. I was able to notice tiny things like the wind in the trees and the vast blanket of snow I was surrounded by. Being in nature truly is a gift from the world.

My family traveled to Michigan after the Eaton fire and I found myself in the same forest. Remembering that feeling when I was nine was something I wanted to go back to. It was a feeling I wanted to chase down as quickly as possible. As I walked around I noticed a rock. I sat down and took some deep breaths. When I opened my eyes, I watched the squirrels scamper up the tree to its home, and seeing the birds fly to their children in the nest made me hopeful that my life will return back to normal eventually.

Being in nature and going through loss teaches us something important; when you are in nature, there is this immediately calming effect. It is difficult to describe but a person who takes in the nature around them feels more peaceful.

This matters because when we go through loss and feel stressed out, we can find nature to help us relax. I believe that spending time in nature makes you less stressed about your life. The world is a beautiful place, and when you take a closer look at it, it may just make your life better.