In this city, people always seem so busy, whether it’s on a weekday or a weekend, and the question I have for them and I are; are we happy where we are right now? Or the moment we stepped out the house at 7 a.m in the morning? While I was rushing to school, I notice there are many adults with their briefcases, students with their backpacks. New York City is a beautiful city and we, the young one always ignored the beauty of it. Yes, the young one, because of we still in the early stage of our lives and we got caught up with responsibilities. People in their late stage of their life are the one who notices the changes and the beauty of this city. When we are in our ways to our destination, our moods either tired, fed up, sleepy or annoyed. There are ways to boost up our mood early in the morning, and depends on if you have extra time for it. A walk through a path filled with nature or peacefulness can help you relieve your stress and achieve your inner desire for calmness.

   The route I take to get to my class is a common route that multiple people take. I’ve never notice any details as I rush to my class, the views from the first day became parts of my memories and I’ve never bother to go update or renew it. Weeks ago, I came up with the thoughts of walking the same route but at a slow pace. I stepped out the R train station, passed through the mall. When I looked in, I saw worker placing the food in its section. The steam from the food blurred out the windows and also my view. I walked the same path every day but never noticed the changes. Between the NYU building and the Chipotle, there’s a little road with light poles on each side. If you look carefully, you’ll notice the Christmas light decoration around the poles, waiting for night time to come for them to brighten up the street. Instead of making a turn towards Starbucks like I usually do, I walk straight to the other NYU building. There’s a little park on NYU’s campus when I was walking towards it, in the middle of the road stands a giant Christmas tree in the middle of the road. The Christmas tree is something that wasn’t there in the first place, the community put it up due to the upcoming Christmas season. When I enter the park, the leaves are resting on the ground, the trees are held bald, however, it does not ruin the peacefulness of this park. In the park, there are benches for passengers or students to relax. The views calm me down, brought peacefulness to my heart.

   There are researchers proving that taking a walk in nature can affect your brain’s function the way of thinking. According to Gretchen Reynolds, the editor of “How walking in Nature changes the brain’ states that ‘A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health, according to an interesting new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature.” Walking in a green area helps the human body feel relieved, which revolves changing our way of thinking and since most of our generation spend their times outdoor dealing with stresses and anxiety, seeing the color green gives our brains a break and drop all of the stresses. Experiments are made to prove the hypothesis.

  The color green define as safe and secure in our daily life, nature’s green can make us feel safe walking in that area. Lindsay Holmes, the author of ‘This is your brain on Nature’ said that “Research consistently finds that nature has a profound impact on the brain. A 2014 study found that participants who took group nature walks saw a host of mental-health benefits, including decreased depression and better moods.” Nature is like a medicine that heals us whenever we’re stressed or have the mental issue. It’s not just a saying, it’s being scientifically proven.

   There are multiple routes to the school but R train takes fewer times and more efficient but most importantly is because of the path that I have to walk through every day. Every season the decorations around the area are changing but the feeling of nature surrounding me does not fade away. There are times that the commute can be the death of us in the morning due to delays, that’s why we need to choose the right route for us to relax without stopping our legs. Every route you take has their own unique surroundings and aroma, you just need to take your eyes off your phone so you can spot it.

Work Cited:

1. “This Is Your Brain On Nature.” by Lindsey Holmes. Published; 08/10/2015 08:17.
   1. Gives evidences on how nature can affect our brains, helps us cure stresses, mental issue.

2. “How Walking in Nature Changes the Brain” by Gretchen Reynolds. Published; JULY 22, 2015