The Magic of Being Alone: How to Enjoy Doing Stuff by Yourself

Have you ever gotten the notion to do something new and fun, like going to see a band you like, exploring a different trail, or getting lunch at a new spot in town and really want someone to share the experience with? You ask a couple people to come, but for whatever various reasons they can’t make it. You could wait for them to have the time to come, but really there are moments that if you waited for someone else to be ready to do something with you, you’d never be able to do it! And how lame is that?! Well, let me tell you from personal experience… To think that you would miss out on doing something fun just because you don’t have any company to join you is lame. Maybe you have tons of friends with open schedules who are always up to go see live music. Congrats. I don’t. So you can look at these cute photos I took of Camellia and then go out with one of your friends. For anyone else who can relate to my experiences keep reading for a little pep talk and some tips to help you get over the idea that you need company to enjoy an experience!

• Embrace the feeling of being alone:

  I think it’s important to accept that you are currently doing something alone and be okay with it. You probably won’t love the feeling, but you can at least banish the negative connotations by just embracing the experience. Stop telling yourself you’re lame for not being with friends or that you’re isolated. Instead, try to notice the positives about being by yourself in that moment. I can remember times where I thought if I wasn’t with people often, then I must be a curmudgeonly hermit who isolated herself from people because she didn’t like anyone and was incapable of getting along with others. When I shifted the way I saw being alone, I realized this was someone else’s voice left over in my head. I had taken on someone else’s insecurities as my own and here they were affecting my life (more on this later)! Instead, I could see being alone as an opportunity to do what I chose to do. I didn’t have to entertain anyone else’s interest. I was solely focused on me and that mindset was enough to let me embrace the feeling of being alone. So, kick the negative words out of your head and connect to what is beautiful about not being with friends and let yourself embrace the feeling!

• Start with something less intimidating to you:

  Shows are usually crowded, which I find intimidating. However, I’ve been hiking on my own for so long now that I’m 100% comfortable being alone on a trail. In order to build up my confidence to do other things alone, I focused on being by myself in places I already felt comfortable. Those moments sort of acted as a reminder that I would be fine by myself anywhere. Maybe you feel less intimidated by going to a coffee shop and reading a book or going to the movie theaters where you don’t have to talk to someone. Or maybe you do feel more confident when you have the opportunity to talk to someone, so you want to seek out places that are busier. The point is to create an experience where you will feel empowered. Which is another reason I stuck to hiking at first. Being outdoors really clears my mind and allows me to see that I can do whatever I want. It’s a huge confidence booster for me. I always feel encouraged to go after whatever I choose to go after when I get to be out in nature (I’ve written a little bit about this before, if you’re curious). So, find an opportunity that will help you feel empowered and let yourself believe you can do anything.

• Force yourself to do it:

  At a certain point you just have to force yourself to go out and do what you want to do, ALL BY YOURSELF, even if it sounds really terrifying! Afterwards, you’re probably going to realize it’s not even that scary and your confidence will have gone up that much more. I can think of a few times I skipped out on certain events because going alone seemed so uncomfortable. I knew I would be expected to talk to people and I was at a point where I just felt so awkward trying to connect with others. When I finally told myself I had to go I realized I had missed out on quite a bit and for no real reason. My fears were rather unfounded. Sure, there were moments I felt uncomfortable, but I can bet other people at the even felt the same way. You’re probably always going to have a little voice in your head telling you that you’re being weird. But guess what? I was reminded that I could actually connect to people, whether I think I’m awkward or not. Shocker. Getting these positive reminders about yourself and making realizations is one of the reasons going out alone is beneficial! Being by yourself you don’t have to hear anyone else’s opinion or thoughts about you. Yes, you do have to hear your own, but this is a great opportunity to practice ignoring that negative voice inside your head and reinforcing the positive voice instead. When you’re by yourself you get to focus on you, what you like about yourself, and what your interests are. Just force yourself to do it and get it over with! It gets easier with each time too.

If you’ve been debating on whether you want to go do something or not just because no one is interested in going, then just go! Remember to embrace the feeling of being alone and find the positive about not being with friends. Start out with something less intimidating to you to help build your confidence and remind yourself that you are totally okay going out by yourself. Then, just force yourself to go to the event or place alone that is scariest to you. You’re going to get the chance to reconnect with yourself and your interests and start to learn a little more about yourself that you might have been overlooking before. Do you have any other tips you’ve used when going out alone? Let me know! 

Reconnect With Nature

I grew up in and around the Phoenix Metropolitan area, which didn’t seem big at all when I was a kid. It was all I knew and came across so different from the bustling streets of New York City I saw in movies. We felt rather miniscule, actually. However, as I got older I realized just how huge Phoenix truly is (the 6th largest city in the nation)! There were lots of other things about Phoenix I started to notice too. The older I got and the more I saw outside my home I began to notice how I felt being inside a busy metropolitan area. I was constantly on the same rush hour packed roads, walking in the same crowded crosswalks, and sitting in my usual florescent-lit classrooms. I’d come back home to my house and be in, yet again, the same old surroundings. Often in our modern world, we find ourselves in the constant, familiar urban spaces; houses, offices, classrooms, and highways, and this is exactly what was happening for me.

I also started to notice how these settings made me feel; repetitive and stuck. These urban places all offer some kind of regulation, restricting our activity or enforcing societal norms. Without even realizing it, our urban lives put us in a completely different mindset. One where we feel obligated to follow certain standards and fit inside a specific idea of life. I had the same routine I had to follow, which allowed my mind to follow a routine as well. I found myself feeling a need to live my life the way people expected and follow a well-known path already laid out by people before me. It wasn’t always this way. I graduated with degrees in film production and non profit management, so I clearly didn’t feel a need to follow any predictable path at first. However, after awhile of being surrounded by regulations I started to feel perhaps I did to align my life to a more expected route. Urban life had began to restrict my imagination and dreams.

Even when I was living in Phoenix I wasn’t just in the city all the time. I still got out in to nature as often as I could, hiking, biking, or just sitting at the Salt River. I liked scrambling to some viewpoint and watching the sunset or lying in the grass at a park to observe the swaying trees. I knew the outdoors made me feel better, but I didn’t see a connection between the feeling of being stuck and my city life. It wasn’t till I started working outdoors that I really understood what made me love being outside so much. When surrounded by the natural environment every day I felt much more free to be myself, open to creativity, and relaxed. There weren’t as many negative thoughts floating around in my head telling me what I should and shouldn’t do. The idea that I had a certain plan I had to follow for my life seemed to fade away. Rather, I had a sense that I could and would accomplish anything my imagination could dream up. It was great to be in a place where my dreamer side could come out in full swing and talk myself up as much as I wanted to!

 When we’re in nature our mindsets begin to shift from the normality of every day city life. We’ve physically opened up to a world outside of what we’re used to when we step into the great outdoors and our minds follow suit. There’s a chance to live and think outside of the usual regulations and ideas. No bright yellow traffic lines telling us to keep in our own lanes. No red flashing hands forbidding us to walk forward. No loud, blaring noises filling our heads nonstop. Instead there’s winding, looping trails, wide open fields, and the soft rustling of leaves. These natural places give us an opportunity to hear ourselves again instead of all the city noises. We get to return back to who we are and in turn our imaginations get to roam, free of any limitations. For me, once I have the chance to think outside of the typical rules of our world, the society we’ve created, I feel the sense that anything is possible. I see a connection between myself and everything surrounding me. I come back home with new ideas and feeling at peace with my life. It’s such a great feeling that I think absolutely everyone should get connected to it!

Now, just because it took me getting out of the city and into the outdoors in my everyday life to connect to this part of myself, doesn’t mean that’s what you have to do! However, I do hope it shows you just how important it is to get yourself in nature however you can. When my friend Janet and I got together to take pictures in her beautiful backyard she told me gardening was her way of bringing nature to herself. It was her own oasis to come home to after being in a busy city environment and her chance to get to connect to the great outdoors. I think this is such a beautiful idea to bring nature to you! You get the opportunity to create the perfect, dream environment for you. One that will completely allow your beliefs of should and shouldn’t to dissolve and make room for all the wonderful, big, out-of-this-world aspirations you have for your life. There might not always be the time to make it out to your favorite hiking trail or spot by the river, but at any moment you can step out into your own yard and just let Mother Nature work her magic on you.

But now I want to hear about your experiences! Do you notice a difference in how you feel and your mindset when you get to be in nature? What are some ways that you bring nature to yourself? What kind of environment would you create for yourself if you had the opportunity? Share with me!

Science in the Park | Flagstaff Festival of Science

Saturday, September 22nd, families, students, supportive community members, and tons of awesome organizations gathered at Wheeler Park for Science in the Park. What’s Science in the Park? It’s the annual kick off event for the Flagstaff Festival of Science, a 10-day free affair full of field trips, hands on presentations and exhibits, and open houses in the community. Science in the Park had booths packed with hands on activities and experiments for the future scientists of Flagstaff and beyond. Actually, there were so many cool people, organizations, and opportunities gathered in one place for the event I don’t know where to begin… Let’s start with the people!

I started the morning at the Camp Colton booth since I love camp! We had some awesome 6th grade volunteers, who had just completed their week of camp last month, to lead experiments and answer any questions about Camp Colton. However, as more and more kids started coming up to us asking questions I just couldn’t sit back and take pictures, I had to talk to them too! They’re so funny and smart; I love getting to talk to curious, little minds. One boy came up to me asking what Camp Colton was and as soon as I told him it was an environmental science camp he exclaimed, “I’m going to be a scientist in the future!” From then on out I introduced all our young visitors as “future scientists” to our 6th grade volunteers. Watching little faces light up with enthusiasm when we asked if they would help us collect data or make a hypothesis is cute enough, but also watching our previous campers lead experiments is so sweet! They presented information with so much passion and excitement that even adults had to stop and listen to them. I’m so grateful they were there to fill future campers with the same kind of zest for camp and science. I really can’t wait for all the new little campers we’ll get to teach over the years!

The kids weren’t the only fun faces to observe either. Seeing a parent’s expression as they watch their own kids discover the wonder of science is just as exciting. There is so much pride and joy that flashes through their eyes when their child is filled with curiosity after running a new experiment. Sometimes our young visitors would shy away when we asked them to make a hypothesis, but their parent would encourage them to take a guess no matter what. Support is so important to our students and I loved how much parents offered during Science in the Park. We also received lots of support from other community members who stopped by to tell us they helped build tents at camp, or that their children went when they were 6th grade and soon their grandchildren would be coming to camp too. I love that Camp Colton is a tradition in the Flagstaff community. I’m proud to be a part of it!

Science in the Park also featured so many amazing organizations in the Flagstaff community and through out Arizona. USGS showed up with fish, turtles, and salamanders, and so many other activities packed into all their booths.  The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera came out from ASU to show off some rad photos of the moon and hand out free postcards and posters (which I happily accepted, of course). Grand Canyon Youth, Willow Bend Environmental Center, Bookman’s (who has a fun coffee shop by the way), Tynkertopia, and so many more were all there with fun activities for the public. Each giving visitors a chance to connect and learn about nature and our history through science, which I think is my favorite part of Science in the Park. Our young “future scientists” need that opportunity to create a connection with nature and the outdoors in order to encourage a life long commitment to preserving the land and history through their love for science. I look forward to seeing what their curious and enthusiastic minds create very soon!

5 Tips for Hiking During Monsoon Season

It’s currently monsoon season in Arizona and I love it so much! Finally the dust settles from all the rain, the smell of the creosote lifts into the air, and the hot temps lower a bit. As wonderful as it is to feel the rain falling onto your skin, I’ve also been caught in rain/hail the last few times I’ve tried to go on a hike, which can be a little nerve-wrecking when you know how serious a monsoon storm can become. A nice steady downpour can quickly turn into thunderstorms and flash floods. It’s a little more stressful to me now that I’m up north where lightning is more common too! If you’d like to still get in some fresh air during monsoon season like me, then here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Stay Updated on the Forecast: This one seems pretty obvious! Yet, there have been times where the forecast is clear and the sky looks sunny, so I head out only to get caught in a hailstorm. Rather than just check the forecast before you leave, bring a radio or your smart phone with you so can tune into your local weather and keep updated along your adventure. On my phone I’ve installed the Weather Channel app! There are other similar apps you can choose from, but this one is free, which is a perk to me. The Weather Channel app has a radar map to keep you updated on where storms are moving and real time alerts to notify you of any weather warnings. I even received an alert right now as I’m writing this, warning me of a severe thunderstorm! The notification includes how long the storm will last, how far away it is, which direction and how fast it’s moving, campgrounds and highways that are in it’s way, and what exactly makes this storm hazardous. If I were planning a hike out in that area or already out there, then I would know to make different plans or turn around to head home before the storm reached me. These alerts are a lot more reliable than the ones already built into my phone (which rarely ever pop up) and help me make decisions on where is and isn’t safe to be. They’re also the same alerts you’d hear on the radio, so if you don’t have a smart phone (I didn’t have one until a couple years ago, so I understand) grab a radio and tune into the weather station. Now, you’ll be able to make informed decisions through out the day as the weather changes!

Get Started Early: My dad and I were talking a few weeks ago when I noted that the storms only came about in the afternoon. I’d wake up in the morning to beautiful southwest skies, full of fluffy white clouds with bright, blue patches peaking through. Then by the time the afternoon rolled around, a mass of dark gray clouds had as well. My dad told me that’s usually how monsoon season goes. I truly thought I had made this wonderful observation, but turns out it’s rather common knowledge. I might have been a little disappointed to know I’m not as modern with my observations as I’d hope, yet I was excited to know there’s a real opportunity to get out before the monsoons start! Rather than wait until the afternoon or evening to hike, get started in the morning when the skies are clearer. The weather is probably a little cooler anyways!

Keep Level: Lightning makes higher elevation and exposed tops a risk and on the other end, flash floods make canyons a risk. If there’s a storm in the forecast it’s a good idea to keep your hikes on level ground, without too much of a change in elevation. Stay off peaks or ridges and stay out of washes, canyons, and large bodies of water! Monsoon season does make many risky hikes enticing since washes and creeks start to fill with running water, even creating some waterfalls, making this advice hard to take at times. Yet, you really have to know when to go and when to take a “rain check” (too much?) for your hike. Rains during monsoon season can be heavy and create a lot of run off, which quickly turns into rapid flooding. Sometimes these floods happen in a matter of minutes, so it’s best to practice caution when you want to hike low-laying area if rain is in the forecast.

Listen for Thunder:                                                                                                                        Rain isn’t really the issue for me during a monsoon, especially since I avoid flash flood areas. Lightning is the part I’m really worried about. I know we all count the seconds between the moment we see lightning and the moment we hear thunder. It’s a comforting thought that we could know how far away the strike is and confirm that we’re relatively safe. However, lightning can strike up to 10 miles from the center of a storm. So, if you can hear thunder, then you’re considered close enough to be struck by lightning. If you’re out hiking and you hear thunder it’s best to head back indoors as soon as possible.

Change Your Plans: The best mindset to have when it comes to enjoying the outdoors during monsoon season is a flexible one! Don’t be afraid to change your plans or postpone them to another day if there’s a monsoon storm in your forecast. It can be disappointing to miss out a trek you were really looking forward to, but life can be unpredictable and it’s good to learn to adapt. You’ll have more fun with that kind of willingness anyways! Everything indoors seems to get a little more fun in the rain too, so I’m sure you can think of something new to do. My mom use to let us bake brownies when it rained (it is pretty rare when you grow up in Phoenix!) after she read us “Thunder Cake” by Patricia Polacco. So, I think it’s really fun to bake during stormy weather!

Is there an activity you like to do when monsoon season deters your plans? Share them with me for some inspiration!

Lessons From the Desert

The desert is hot, dry, and vast. Driving through, you'll look out your car window into an expansive stretch of brown dirt, reaching back towards the horizon. Waves of heat rise up off the pavement, shimmering. Lizards scurry along the rocks in search of shade. To the untrained eye, nothing seems to be thriving in a land so parched. Yet this place has lots of secrets to share, hidden in it's dusty patches. As you look closer you can see the bright colored fruit of the prickly pear and the soft, white blossoms on the saguaros. They offer nutrients to the roaming families of javelina and nectar to the whizzing hummingbirds. When you accept the invitation of the brown, rolling hills and venture further, you'll stumble across tiny oases, reminding you beauty doesn't fit into one definition. You start to see yourself reflected back you in the desert. You're seemingly small and insignificant, but in fact you're so much more to the world around you. If you take enough time to pause and listen, then the desert will pass down it's wisdom to you too.

I love helping others capture their story to share with the rest of the world, but it all began with knowing my own stories. Going back to what's meaningful in my own life allows me to see the beauty in what's meaningful to others. Here's a bit of my own story through an ode of sorts to a place that raised me.