A Peaceful Escape

On Monday September twenty-fourth, I made my first trip to the Penn State Arboretum. For those of you who do not know what an arboretum is, it is a collection of trees, in short. Before Monday, I did not know what an arboretum was, but a quick trip to Wikipedia fixed that in a matter of seconds. After knowing what an arboretum was I still did not know exactly what to expect from the one on campus. I clearly have never been to one before but was interested in the new experience.  When I arrived at Penn State’s I was impressed even overwhelmed a bit.

I have always had a tremendous appreciation of nature. However, I do not think I would refer to myself as a nature-lover. I have never really gone out of my way to truly observe nature and give it the respect it deserves, although, I have in fact given small bits of my time here and there to nature. In general, whenever the opportunity to go on a hike or sit along a creek presented itself I would accept. I have always found nature very much relaxing and a great way to clear my head. By going to the arboretum I knew I would at least be able to get this much out of it.

As I was walking to the arboretum I continued to conjure up images of what it might be like. When I actually got there it exceeded all my expectations and amazed me. The peace and tranquility presented by the enormous garden overwhelmed me. There were many others there but as I walking throughout it felt as if I were the only one in the massive area. The interlocking and circular pathways seemed to come out of nowhere and were so inviting that one has to venture down them. These pathways scattered throughout made the whole garden almost endless and eternal. This greatly added to the feeling of being in and of oneself and had an incredible calming effect that took over and intoxicated me.

In the future I can definitely imagine myself coming here again. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and honestly cannot find any negatives to the entire experience. I was able to clear my head of all troubles that developed throughout the previous week. While in the process I also got a lot of fresh air and some exercise from the rather lengthy walk. The whole “field trip” was a huge positive and gave my day a great start (yes, my days typically start around noon). I now have a very accessible and reasonable place to go to whenever I need an on-campus escape.

During my voyage to the arboretum, I found myself wondering if I would in fact bring a friend or two to this wonderful place. The answer is a yes with a few exceptions. I would without a doubt take someone here if I thought they would appreciate its beauty and tranquility. However, I would probably not bring someone along with me if I were looking to get away for a little bit. That escape time is for me and I do not think I would be able to feel free while having to entertain a guest.

The arboretum was a great place to venture to and a would definitely recommend it to all those, nature-lovers or not, to explore and experience for themselves.