Stockton has so much to offer, movies twice a week, shows that come here as well as shows that our own students put on.  All the different clubs and activities and sports games that you can join or go to, it’s easy to stay busy and meet new people if you just get out there and participate.  But with all the running around from the clubs to the classes to the homework to work to finding time to eat and hang with friends, sometimes a person just wants to get away from it all; at least I do every now and again.  And unlike the colleges in the middle of the city, or the ones that are so big they could qualify as a mini town, Stockton has something that fits me perfectly when I need to do just that.

We are lucky enough to be in the middle of a natural park reserve, which means beautiful trees and different trails that can take you anywhere.  When things get to be too much, I like to turn my phone on silent and just get lost in the trails with a friend.  We can just walk for hours breathing in the crisp autumn air, watching as the sun sets over Lake Fred with the bright colors from the sun’s goodbye reflecting off the still waters.  A finally goodbye to the day as the cool moon takes over the sky with her cloak of darkness like a favorite blanket a child would pull over her head when she wanted to feel safe and just lay in the total darkness.  Only this blanket is riddle with little wholes that can make pictures or lead you home if you look at them the right way.

With the moon as our light to guide us through the nature trails of Stockton (and a flashlight at hand just in case) we will walk for hours, listening to the rustle of the dry leaves in the chill breeze or the animals scampering around and the bugs singing the songs of the night.  It’s a whole different world, walking those trails at night, and when I’ve had a stressful day or week, getting lost in that world refreshes me and puts a genuine smile back on my face.  The feeling lasts long into the next day, I know I can handle anything that is thrown at me.  And if for a moment I forget that, all I have to do is go back to the peaceful trails and look up at the clear night sky as the stars wink down at me to remember again.

I am so grateful that Stockton has these little escape routes, these little trails that go nowhere in particular; they help me keep my stress at bay.  I realize that not everyone will agree or even understand but that’s ok because they have their own happy places and things they can do here at Stockton, just like I have.  People get lost in their music, a good book, their art, or a good game.  Me?  I get lost in the woods surrounding Stockton, and there is where I lose all my stress and worries, and there is where I gain serenity and a giddy disposition.  Thank God Stockton has that, I would go stir crazy if this college had nothing like that.  So when the white walls of my small dorm become too much, I know where to go to get away and breathe again.