By Kevin Doan
The rush from door to door or class to class is known all too well by Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) students. Even after classes, students struggle to complete their homework, hopefully get eight hours of sleep and still remain the same social, functioning human being they were before. Once we slow down, the curtain that we have once known to be everything is lifted and any beauty once thought to have gone extinct within the confines of our mind reappear in fashion comparable to a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
With FVHS’s unique natural complexion, it is not a surprise that a sense of awe is invoked to those visiting the campus for the first time. I recall that in my first week of freshman year, I would spend my mornings walking the school grounds taking in the fact that I was in high school. The campus was so beautiful, grandeur; I couldn’t get over the fact that I had reached high school. That was until I had REACHED high school.
The work bogged me down, I had never learned the importance of organization more than ever. The work wasn’t difficult, but it had been my own hubris that had made me under prepare and for that, I had to shut down the beauty around me. The curtain had been lowered over my mind. I no longer walked the campus like I used to or appreciated the beauty like before. Nowadays, I feel a burden lifted off my shoulders, but for those who feel as if you are in a constant uphill battle, I have compiled my high school “nature walk” for you.
For those who are reading this, I ask that you take at least 5 minutes to slow down and observe what beauty surrounds you whatever it maybe. For me, when I get the chance, I observe the botany that our school has to offer.
This is the beauty that I used to see when I walked the mornings; what beauty that I once lost can now live forever in this article. For those that have never taken the time to look at what this high school has to offer, I hope that this article changes the way you look at this place.
School is not just a place of your worst demons and fears, but a place of beauty with mangled oranges, pinks, yellows and whites that have been placed to complement each other in a way that invokes a sense of safety and comfort. It is these small details that we miss in day to day life as a student.
From small succulents to large Brugmansias, I believe that all of us should slow down and just enjoy our time here a little more, observe what else this school has to offer and be grateful for the care that this school has taken to make our days a little more colorful.
