Nature provides escape from Tech stress
It's so easy to walk to class while listening to your iPod, wearing your sunglasses and simultaneously shutting yourself off from the outside world. Nothing else exists and social interactions start to fade away as you overlook saying hi to a friend you pass on the sidewalk or decide against talking to the attractive guy or girl sitting across from you on the Stinger.
Be careful not to get too sucked into your world of music, because there's so much going on all around you if you'll only pause a moment and take a look.
There is a lot of life around campus; more than meets the eye upon first glance. Peek inside a flower bed and you may witness some ladybug-on-ladybug action. Look in another and you'll see plump bumblebees buzzing between flowers. Look in yet another and you may just see a praying mantis silently stalking its prey.
Dragonflies like to zip around over open, grassy areas. They're especially easy to observe in the morning while the sun slowly warms their bodies.
If you keep a watchful eye, soon enough a red-tailed hawk may swoop down over your head. There are several nests scattered around campus.
Squirrels are easily one of the most common creatures scurrying about Tech. We've all seen them scramble up trees holding their newest prize acorn in their mouth.
Every now and then you feel an acorn bonk you on your head, and when you look up a squirrel is directly above eyeing you and laughing at its success.
The largest collection of kangaroos outside of Australia, amazingly enough, is a kangaroo center a mere hour and a half north of Atlanta. There you'll find large red kangaroos, small wallabies, kookaburra and the pocket-sized dik-dik antelope.
Head a bit farther north into the Smoky Mountains and you will find elk, wild turkeys and black bears. Careful with the bears though, as they definitely will charge people who approach too closely. Take a look around and you'll find some really interesting creatures.
Coming back to our city, there's plenty to see around here. Of course, we have Zoo Atlanta and the Georgia Aquarium, which exhibit many other exotic animals.
Animals aside, there's lots of scenery nearby as well. From a high enough vantage point, you can watch the sun rise from behind the Bank of America building. In the evening as the sun sets, an orange glow is cast along the Atlanta skyline. After a thunderstorm, the cloudy sky will lead to an especially brilliant sunset.
Fall colors recently peaked here on campus and most of the leaves have fallen back to earth. Covering the sidewalks is now a blanket of leaves that display every possible shade of reddish-orange.
Piedmont Park is a nice place to go and spend a few quiet hours. The Botanical Gardens is another beautiful place to visit. Their gardens are a treat for the eyes.
There's so much to explore and an infinite number of possibilities that open up when we break free from our routines and bust out of the repetitive life that is Tech. Life should be more than a routine.
We all get our fair share, and then some, of late nights studying, yet still getting shafted on tests, of constant levels of stress, and of never-ending streams of homework, projects and labs. Everyone needs a way to relax and relieve the pressures that this school dishes out.
Listening to music between classes can definitely be a great way to temporarily free your mind from academics and balance your life with something more right-brained. Of course there's nothing wrong with this, but make sure you don't completely shut yourself off from everything else.
Next time you notice someone walking around on autopilot and listening to their iPod, take a moment to look to your left and to your right. See what's above you. Note what is behind you. After all, half the world is behind us.
Life is everywhere and it's only visible when we take time to observe and truly appreciate what's been around us all along.
