I initially planned on going for a brisk 30 minute walk around campus to kick off the 30X30 challenge. That plan changed as soon as my partner realized that today was the start of said challenge. He encouraged me to go to the knoll with him to identify bugs for his entomology class, so I joined. It was during peak sunlight hours and I was already dreading the walk over. I felt like I was going to be slightly miserable the entire time I was there since I knew the knoll was going to be bug central. The heat, the distance, the bugs, and my jeans all contributed to my feelings of despair. I remember thinking “these next 30 days will be tough.”

Along the the trail, my partner stopped every 10 steps in search for bugs and asked me to do the same. I did try to explore a little but I was also impatient, I wanted to get the walk over with. The closer we got to the knoll I realized that I had made no plan on what exactly I wanted to get out of day 1. Was it to touch a bug? I did not feel ready. Was it to sit on the grass and stare at the sky? The sun was blazing against my face. I had no idea what day 1 should’ve looked like but as we settled into the knoll, my partner kept searching for bugs while I explored on my own. I was in search of bugs but found very little that were interesting enough to take a picture with but I did realize that I quite enjoy recording how nature moves (video of flowers swaying in the wind). As I continued to walk around solo I felt more and more calm– I only took my phone out to record or take pictures and I felt concentrated on appreciating the knoll and less on the expectations of the challenge. I found all the veggies growing to remind me of aspects of home that I wouldn’t have felt in a supermarket.