When Professor Brandes told us we would have the first 15 minutes of class to just sit in silence I was thrilled. With all of the homework that I have and extracurricular activities that I balance, I never can find the time to just sit and not think about everything that I have to do. I picked a small spot right on the edge of the park that was the last piece of manicured grass before the tree line.

First I focused on touch. The grass tickled my bare legs and I could feel the small bugs itching my skin in a way that it felt they were crawling all over me. I normally would get up and shake off that feeling but I was dedicated to take advantage of my alone time at the Park.

Next, I focused on sound. I close my eyes and I felt that all I could hear was the whirring of cars and the clicking of bugs. I was disappointed that I could hear the footprint of man when all I was trying to do was breakaway from reality. I spent some time thinking about this frustration but I told myself that I shouldn’t be frustrated by this and that I had to refocus my attention. I had to accept that I was not very secluded and that it is so rare to not find the presence of humans. So I started to think about how the bugs were just as loud as the cars. They seemed to be competing for the attention of my ears and I shocked that the bugs were capable of fighting off the sound of cars.

As I opened my eyes I focused on sight. When I was sitting I saw the bushes in front of me shake. I watched the tree tops and focused in on the squirrels and birds that carried along with their tasks without even realizing I was there. I sat and looked for a while thinking that I could see it all from my seated position. Despite this thought I eventually I rose up and walked even closer to the edge of the woods. As I did this a deer scurried away, unlike the birds and squirrels it realized that there was an intruder. I saw the bed of a seemingly dried up creek but as I leaned in I saw a subtle trickle of water in it, something that I would not have noticed had I stayed in the grass. I wanted so badly to climb through the brush to get a closer look but growing up on the beaches of Long Island I know that ticks are always lurking nearby and that lymes disease is no joke. A tiny voice told me I could not explore more and I knew that I was not living up to the expectations of this class by stopping due to a redeveloped fear. However, I could not shake this fear that I have had since I was a child and so I never made it to explore the creek in Sullivan Park.

Instead I looked up to the sky and found a bird circling over head. At first I thought it was a vulture but before I could get a better look I heard Professor Brandes calling for us to return to home base. When I looked back up to find the bird it seemed to have disappeared- if only I could have followed that bird like I wanted to follow the creek that was hidden in the brush.