The Reality of College Housing

Although I love the cozy little apartment I share with my two friends, I truly miss living closer to nature.  Sitting on my back porch, I examine the world around me. My view is of other apartments, exactly like mine. There are occasional small trees and bushes, but it is mostly a landscape of cement and buildings. The most green I see is the little patches of grass along each apartment. My view of the sky is a small one; I only see a little patch when I look up. The horizon is blocked, and I miss the days of being able to watch the sun set all the way down. The sounds I hear are mostly human. Traffic, construction, and the occasional chatter from a group of friends are most common. If I get out to my deck early enough I can hear the birds chirping, but even then it is against the backdrop of manmade sounds. For someone who could easily spend hours just absorbing the natural world, this is quite the disappointment. Luckily, there are many beautiful places right around my house that I can visit, but the thing I miss most is just being able to go sit on my porch with a cup of coffee and start my day by observing the nature around me. For now, I will have to make due with the little slice of sky and the occasional passing bird.