How Far We've Come

Chapter 11

Our next field trip came rushing at us out of the blue, so finishing classwork early was nearly unheard of. As a matter of fact, we rarely finished classwork early anymore. It was just more efficient to finish it late- when the teachers and students had already planned and completed everything.

Field trips began feeling like the norm now. We had so many, it was hard to believe there were only two a month. It was a field trip every two weeks, which went by plenty fast. This time, we were going to Reagan Island, an island with a diverse population of trees. I packed my bag as usual, the gray one that had already gone on so many trips with me, and threw in my Global journal without fail.

Every night, I would worry about something or the other. Often, it caused me so much stress, I tried to push the thoughts away and think of something else. And sometimes, I was successful. You would think that, if I didn't have classes tomorrow, I wouldn't worry, right? Wrong.

I always found something to worry about. That night, it was if the field trip was going to get canceled. What if it got canceled and I had to go take that Spanish test tomorrow? Or what if I got penalized for not having my homework? I tried to rationalize with myself, convincing myself that there was little to no chance that the field trip would be canceled, but I wasn't able to rest until we were boarding the bus the next morning.

We received one worksheet, but it would be extremely difficult to complete that in the natural environment of the forest with no tables or chairs. So, Clary and I spent the whole ride copying down all the information from the worksheets into our journals and setting up our pages.

When we reached the Island, after passing over a sparkling blue river, Mr. Marvin gave us the simple instructions. We were to find two examples of every type of tree on the worksheet. We could use the keys he handed out- pictures of the leaves and bark of every type of tree, but it would still be difficult. Only moments after he completed his instructions, Clary and I bounded off into the woods.

The Red Maples and Tulip Poplars were easy to find. We had been searching for them since the third day of school. We looked around in the possible areas, using the names for possible demographics. One of the trees we had to find was a River Birch, so we searched by the river.

The American Beeches were easy to find. They had a soft, gray bark that could easily be carved on, so we immediately found two trees at the edge of the patch with thousands of phrases carved into their bark. From hearts to names to simple hi's, carvings covered the tree. It was extremely beautiful.

I dug my nail, then my pencil, into the bark, but it made no mark. I frowned, and stopped my attempt, but not before I spotted a few recognizable words carved into the bark. Global Class of 2000.

I squinted, making sure that what I was reading was right and called Clary over.

"Look," I pointed at the bark. "Global Class of 2000."

Clary leaned in, close to the bark and traced her fingers over the words. "They graduated in 2000... that was so long ago."

I nodded. "I didn't know Global was such an old program."

"It was around since 1960, I think," she told me. "It's pretty old. Now come on, we have to finish the trees."

I followed her back into the underbrush, but I couldn't shake the tree out of my mind. We looked for a long time for the Paw-Paw tree, but we only found one. I even walked off the trail into a thick layer of vines and leaves to retrieve a leaf from a tree, only to find out that it was a Sycamore. We already had five of those.

Finally, we were walking across a bridge at the other end of the forest, still one Paw-Paw short, when we spotted Mr. Gandalf. We ran towards him and I pulled out my Global Journal from my backpack.

"Hi Mr. Gandalf!" I called. He turned around from the tree he was looking at and walked towards us.

"Hi Clary and Anasika," he replied. "Found all your trees?"

I shook my head. "Almost. But we're missing another Paw-Paw."

He examined my work, and looked up after a few minutes, seemingly satisfied. "Don't worry about it. Most of the other students found one too. Some didn't find any at all. You guys are good."

I grinned. "Thanks Mr. Gandalf!"

Clary looked at her watch. "We better get going. It's almost time to meet back at the Reagan statue."

We walked back to the center of the forest, crushing the fallen leaves beneath our feet, treading on the remaining snow, listening to the river gurgle beside us. We made it back in the nick of time, just as Mr. Marvin started explaining the journal entry. I swung my backpack down onto the wall of the stone dam and sat on it, my feet dangling into thin air. I wrote down the date, temperature, and time, wanting to remember every single field trip forever. Then, I began drawing.

I looked around me and tried to take it all in, as I did with every sketch. In front of me was a tall tree, blocking my view from the Reagan statue. I scooted over onto the rough dirt and focused on the tree. I drew every intricate vein and ridge of bark on the tree, crawling upwards and splitting into the many branches which split farther and farther, smaller and smaller. I drew each individual leaf, barely hanging on to the thin branches, with their curves and points and beautiful color.

My eyes darted to the ground where I saw the roots, slithering under the bed of leaves until they reached my dirt covered hiking boots. I drew them, too, and shaded in the rounding of the thick roots.

I looked back up and leaned slightly to the left to see the granite Reagan statue waving at me. I drew the general shape and added a few strokes here and there for details. I focused all of my heart on the drawing. Drawing, to me, was like writing and dancing. It was a different dimension I could go into and completely focus on, drowning out the outside world. I began writing a caption for the drawing, concentrating on the whistle of the wind blowing towards me and the crunch of the leaves every time a student shifted on the ground. I was suddenly aware of the damp ground beneath me, with the water slowly soaking in to my sweatpants. I shot up off the ground and desperately hoped my pants weren't visibly soaked. Thankfully, they weren't

I walked around the middle area and approached the wall of quotes. I read each and every one carefully, trying to find one I could identify with. Finally, I found one.

"I want to see you Game-Boys. I want to see you brave and manly. And I also want to see you gentle and tender."

I twirled my pencil between my fingers and began writing what I thought of the quote.

Nobody is perfect. But there are times where someone seems to be so. To be brave, yet gentle, takes effort, you were once that way. As a child, you are everything you could ever want to be... you can't imagine much more. So, enjoy it.

I looked around at the sturdy, tall trees that surrounded me and began writing about why they really mattered.

On the surface, trees do many things for us. Most people know how they provide shade, hold in water, produce oxygen, and serve as a habitat. Under that, though, lies the true meaning of trees. Any and every tree is special, whether it is a Bald Cypress or an American Beech. The feeling these trees give you is indescribable. A mixture of joy, optimism, and hope overwhelms me with a sense of belonging when I see trees. A true connection must be found to see why they really matter.

I meant every word. The trees filled me with optimism and made me feel like I could do anything. I sat down on the hard-packed soil and leaned against one, tracing my fingers on the ground. That's what Global did to you. It took you out in nature and made you do exercises that seemed ridiculous and pointless at first, but became understandable in the end. It let you experience nature in its own way and fall in love with it, and want to preserve it with all out had. I may not have been an environmental activist before, but Global just had that effect. And that's when I knew I wanted to change the world.