I believe that nature taught me that life can quickly change in a moment.  What is clear bright and beautiful one minute, can quickly turn dark and gray the next.  When standing on a mountain top in Vermont one day not too long ago I stood there and admired the sky.  The blue and white clouds seemed clear and pure.  I could see for miles and it was peaceful.  But it only took a few moments for the sky to change.  The wind started to pick up and soon the sky changed, the fluffy white clouds quickly floated away and the dark clouds moved in.  The dark gray sky changed the mood in nature.  From that day forward I realized that you have to accept change for what it is.  Even the most sunny day can change to the darkest day.  Sometimes change is a good thing and a dark day can turn bright.  Changes in life will always happen.

My creed is that nature has shown me to accept changes in life and that is something I think about daily.  The way nature changes so fast is just how my life changes.  Whether it be preparing for college and knowing that soon my high school years wil be over.  Thinking about a career and where I plan to attend college.  The path to college is coming quickly and every day there's something else to think about and decisions to make. Coming to the realization that everything I've known, my routines, the friends I hang out with, my family life will soon and quickly change.  Sometimes its just the simple daily plans that change in a moment.  It's basic stuff that doesn't always go as planned.

The importance of my creed is knowing that change is often good and positive.  Change helps me to grow and understand that in life you never know what can happen.  Sometimes changes makes me happy or gives me a positive experience and when it does it helps me to grow as a person.  "I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order", there was a time not too long ago when I was having a bad day and I knew I needed to find that place.  I took a drive with my fishing pole in the back of my truck and found that perfect spot to fish along a quiet pond.  I sat on a smooth large rock and once again watched the sky as the blue clouds traveled slowly and passed by me.  A soothing peaceful moment, the one I needed.

When nature creates a negative experience it seems to heal the negative quickly.  Like the time we lost a tree in our front yard during hurricane winds.  The negative sense in the sky was scary.  Not knowing what would happen next, that feeling is the worst.  We were standing on the front porch and in an instant our tree uprooted and went down quickly but quietly.  At first we were upset but quickly realized how fortunate we were that the tree landed perfectly on the ground and did not cause damage to our home or anything else around it.  The next day we cut the tree into sections and used it for firewood that winter.  Nature had taken care of us.  Quite often you may not have a choice in what happens and sometmes it is what it is.  The negative can in fact turn to positive.

The valuable lesson I learned that day on the mountaintop in Vermont taught me about life and change.  I thought about life and it put things in perspective.  Seeing how quickly the sky went from sunny to blue and white puffy clouds and how quickly the sky turned dark and gray gave me that sense of change.  Life is all about adjustment and adapting and it changed my way of thinking.  To appreciate the value of change positive and negative.  So whether it's a big life change like college, or just day to day adjustments, having a bad day and needing to find a peaceful place in nature or having a tree fall in the yard, life changes in an instant.  It is a value I appreciate having at such a young age, it will help me in my adult life.