assateague island is a fun place to go if you want to see some wild ponies, go for a bike ride, go for a barefoot beach run, do some yoga by the bay, climb a tree, sleep out on the beach under the stars, get your breath taken away by bayside sunsets, cook on a campfire, and watch the first sunrise of the year come up over the atlantic ocean.
appalling facts from the blm (bureau of land management)..
- Unstructured outdoor activity is down by half from the previous generation.
- Children in the USA average just 30 minutes a week of unregulated time outdoors; however, their weekly electronic media exposure is almost 45 hours a week.
- Visits to National Parks have been decreasing since 1987.
- The amount of outdoor, environmental education programs offered in our local schools has been decreasing in the last 10 years.
- The average American child can recognize 1,000 corporate logos but can’t identify 10 plants or animals native to his or her own region.
- 71% of adults walked or biked to school when they were children and only 22% of kids do today.
- Approximately 16% of US children aged 6-19 are overweight or obese. Childhood obesity has doubled over the past 30 years for preschoolers and adolescents and more than tripled for children aged 6-11.
take it outside
since i’m avoiding my mountain of homework, i thought i’d waste a little more time on here spewing out more useless thoughts. appropriately thanksgiving themed.
i am thankful for the following:
- the usual.. family, friends, food, home, being alive. this includes:
- my family. we don’t talk much and aren’t that close, but they are just about always supportive of everything i want to do and will go out of their way to help me, and don’t even ask much of me in return
- good friends like nancy, zach, other zach haha, katie, and jaimi, and being able to see those from home not as often as i’d like, but when we’re home at the same time (it does happen haha) they’re not too far away
- a second successful thanksgiving meal for me as a vegan; i made mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, and bread, and also had acorn squash (which i messed up unfortunately) and sparkling apple cider and grape juice.. simple but delicious
- having access to good, healthy food and being able to make so many good things from said good food
- ithaca, my lovely second home
- shanti, my beautiful bike
- my other material possessions that allow me to experience the outdoors and enjoy life, such as clothing and gear
- good music
- being young and having a healthy, functioning body
- the beautiful weather we had today and this AMAZING indian summer we’ve had
- the inexplicably wonderful, beautiful, awe-inspiring, natural world and the magic it holds in every subatomic particle
- all the privileges in my life.. being able to go to school, live on my own in a beautiful place with an amazing community, sleep in a bed in a warm house at night, go to amazing places and meet amazing people and have amazing experiences..
..and i could go on and on. i don’t think i’ll ever be able to properly express my gratitude for these things (as i am notoriously awful at expressing any type of emotion), but hopefully at least the people on this list know by now my appreciation for them.
tickets to haiti are so cheap, if you look around. OH MY GOD I CAN’T STOP OBSESSING ABOUT IT
can i borrow $245 from someone? or from several people? i’ll pay you back, i promise. and make you baked goods.
