Thien Ly's Treks and Texts

 

  If you asked me what my nightmare was, I would most definitely saying being hated by everyone in the world. Loneliness, rejection, and also random weird things like cats freak me out. But something I did not realize until this experience is that I have a huge fear of lack of control. It keeps me from a lot of things: memories, living in the moment, spontaneous adventures, late night talks with my sister when she knocks on my door…all because it is not what I had planned. Spending hours outdoors while I am stress-free sounds like a dream to me, something I yearn for yet out of reach, but during the school year, it might be one of the things I dread the most. An outdoor experience does not invoke thoughts of moments of magic in nature but rather anxiety from being away from my studies. I plan almost every second of my life to a T. I have google calendar, planner, daily planner, alarms, and phone reminders. Some might call me OCD, and I would respond by saying they are likely absolu...

During our last class, we spent a couple hours taking down fences, putting up posts, and setting up trails. I was on post and concrete work and can confidently say I have a newfound appreciation for the workforce that does this. It is tough work and very tiring. Our project was extremely rewarding since, we were constructing the new home for the buffalo! It was cool to hear about their vision for the viewing deck and the future of the nature preserve as a whole. I am so sad I cannot make it to the herding because it is such a once in a lifetime experience, but unfortunately, skipping my shift would not be the most responsible thing to do. Privets were definitely my favorite out of the three activities we have done so far, but digging holes and putting in concrete was pretty cool to learn how to do! The tampering tool was also really fun, so that made the work more enjoyable as well as being with friends and enjoying each other’s company outside with beautiful fall weather! The workers ...

  After two weeks of clearing out some chinese privet, the Fort Worth nature reserve sent us out to the mesquite. It was a hot day outside and a sliver of shade that soon disappeared as we cleared more and more bushes. The mesquite were definitely harder to take out then the privets as there branches were more resistant to the tools and they had plentiful thorns to protect them and poke us. Because it was so hot out, we definitely took more breaks as a class together to drink some water and stay hydrated. I did not know what to expect enrolling in this class, but I definitely did not envision this last spring when I enrolled. I am now even more glad I signed up because I would never had known about any of these restoration efforts and nature sites had it not been for this class. I am glad this class has pushed me to be more present, be outside, and make the most of every situation. Even though it was really hot and tiring this week, I still had an amazing time with the other studen...

I spent a nice long weekend of fall break in the middle of nowhere Kansas aka Atchinson, Kansas to visit my friend from high school at Benedictine College. I have gotten so used to Texas weather that I forget other states actually have seasons. I did not bring a sweatshirt or anything thicker than a light fleece and wow that was definitely a harsh wake up to reality stepping out of the airport. I was talking to some of her friends and could ot believe that temperature in Kansas got below 0!! TCU goes crazy anytime it snows and cancels school! I was lucky to have a friend with lots of sweatshirts she was willing to share and a heated house to stay in. It was nice to be forced to do nothing since I did not bring lots of homework and fully be in the moment. I cannot even remember the last time I slept in until noon and I did that without feeling horrible(such a great feeling!) After enjoying a classic college breakfast scrambled from an empty refrigerator, we enjoyed the cool weather and ...

  Today was our second time at the Fort Worth Nature Reserve and it was quite a time! I honestly did not what to expect when we got there and was feeling quite tired. I was feeling pretty ready for fall break and not in the highest of spirits when we were told we were getting rid of chinese privets again. The lady in charge told us that we were done after we had a clear view of the pond and I was tempted to tell her I already had a good view and call it a day. But, after the fastest 2 hours ever, I was so glad I came to class. It was nice being outside and therapeutic like last week. It was cool to see all the progress we had done as a class. This really helped me realize that I should push myself to do things I don’t feel like doing more because it could end up being really fun. In life, most of the times it’s my sister dragging me to do things and hang out with people and me going straight to my room when I get home to go to bed or get work done. I definitely see more that there ...