Nature Observation

Serenity is right in your backyard...you just have to paddle there (or maybe paddle through it).

Though, as mentioned in my earlier submission, that I love the trinity river and love how nature isn't far away from Texas Christian University Campus, canoeing with my class gave me a different perspective on the river.

The river is not as clean as it looks when you get closer to the river. As I stepped into the canoe, the first thing that I noticed was that the water almost looked acidic because of the foam and bubbles surrounding the edges of the water. What could have been a natural accumulation of decaying leaves, twigs and animals in the river, I was apprehensive about the green, murky water. Still, this wasn't my biggest surprise as I had been warned that as you go along the trinity river, you begin to lose the initial attraction of the river.

As I began to paddle down further, I noticed that the sides of the river was not lined with rocks, rather it was mostly concrete; it looked as though it was debris from previous construction projects or broken up roads. Additionally, as I began to paddle down further, I saw ample amount of garbage that ranged from plastic chip bags to a tire. Sydney, my canoe partner, and I were shocked by this the most: that what we regard as nature, is polluted up with garbage. We even saw a white bird that had long legs (the name of the bird I am unsure) sitting on top of a tire. That garbage was surrounding and taking over the river, making it truly difficult to see the beauty above in the picture.

But, as the sun was coming down, we stopped to take a moment to see that while there was unnatural debris, there was still beauty in the river that reminded me of the first initial impression I had of the river: peaceful and natural. This gave me inspiration that even though there is pollution, there is still obvious beauty in the world, even in the parts that are sprinkled with the waste.

I can help fix this, we can help fix this. I realized that even being more cautious about your waste can help affect change. Every small change makes a difference. Seeing the floating garbage was proof that while maybe one person thought that throwing their bag of chips out the window wouldn't matter, it did and it does.

I am happy to be more aware and begin a new, pollution conscious lifestyle.