Flashback Friday.

So in order to avoid an awkward post about being single on Valentine's Day (which I wholeheartedly avoided all day by binging on junk food and Netflix, of course), I decided it'd be nice to do a Flashback Friday post about a class I took last year called Nature & Outdoor Writing (it also takes my mind off of the huge storm we just got last night which makes me cold and sad).

Nature & Outdoor Writing is a course that counts as a Media Studies elective and a Creative Writing elective as well, so it worked perfectly for my schedule while turning out to be one of the most rewarding classes I've taken at SMC so far! It's usually only offered once a year and is taught by Professor Sultze (whom I recommend highly), and it focuses largely on discussing works based on nature while getting outside, exploring the world, and writing about, drawing, and otherwise documenting everything you see - what could be better than that?

I was looking back on some photos I took for the class and all of their beautiful green-ness, so I thought I'd share them with you all (hopefully they help you look forward to warmer times to come as well!)

I love the vines that grow on all the buildings around campus - they're a little touch that makes St. Mike's all the more beautiful!

This vine masterpiece can be found right next to the front entrance of Founders. If you walk by it in the summer or fall, you can hear tons of birds chirping and moving around - it's essentially a huge nesting ground for them!

This flower (among many others) grows in the gardens next to the word garden during the warmer months right here on campus! If you've never taken a tour around there before, I definitely recommend you do - it contains tons of well-documented, beautiful flowers!

The greatest benefit to this class was definitely getting out more and exploring not only on campus, but off as well in locations like the nature trail up by north campus and down by the waterfront. It's crazy how much people are so in a hurry that they often forget to take in the gorgeous world around them and detach themselves from their technology and busy lives for just a moment.

I hope this has helped you all as much as it's helped me with dealing with this winter weather (and hey, if you're enjoying it, more power to you! I'm just not much for the cold). But if you need me, I'll be cozied up by the heater looking through some more of these photos for the remainder of the night. Until next time, adios!

Happy Valentine's Day!