We’ve all been there. So tired, fed up, and annoyed at the world that all we want to do is to curl up in our room and not talk to anyone for a solid three weeks. College is tough, and trying to get through it while trapped in a massive city is much more difficult. Anyone who tells you that the bright lights and numerous unidentifiable sounds (any of which could very easily be gunshots) are not just adding stress to your day is lying. You know deep down that you would trade almost anything to be asking yourself what kind of night-dwelling animal the sound you just heard came from instead of wondering if that loud popping sound was another gunshot.

Coming from a small town in rural north Georgia, maybe I’m a little biased against the city. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in the city. There are just definitely days when I need to get out. Days when driving past the buildings all lit up at night on my favorite stretch of I-85/I-75 just doesn’t quite give me the respite I need from my hectic everyday life. On days where I need relaxation, I leave the city. Maybe I only drive 30 minutes and hike a nearby trail. Maybe I drive three hours and end up in Tennessee for the next two days, hiking up mountain tops and camping overnight at the bottom. Maybe I’m a bit extreme when it comes to escaping the city, but I believe that everyone (even those who refuse to step foot in nature) need to take off their heels and walk somewhere where there isn’t pavement.

Remember what they used to scream at us as kids? “Go outside,” or something crazy like that. Well, they weren’t wrong. We still need to get outside. College kids are infamous for spending too much time inside, staring at a computer screen, focused either on studying or, let’s be more real here, Netflix. We avoid using our free time to get outside, and even if we do we call the one hour we spend in an on-campus garden “being outside.” I refuse to count breathing in smog-filled air and listening to the sounds of cars narrowly avoiding each other on the highway while taking in the sights of the skyscrapers I see every day as I walk to class as "being outside."

Being outside means being where there aren't people who come and blow the leaves away. Being outside means being able to walk ten feet and not see anyone except the people you came with. I don’t want to hear cars or other people’s conversations. That’s what I listen to every day. Big city people need to get out of the city that they have found themselves trapped in, saying they simply don’t have time to leave. But it's time to lay down our excuses. You have time. You can find a ride out of the city or a way to go on a trip somewhere other than here. Nature won’t kill you. You don’t even have to go hiking — go to a petting zoo for all I care. Cows can be just as therapeutic as waterfalls in my opinion.

So stop complaining, city-goers, and find your way somewhere where you won’t get lost on a one-way street. Trust me, it will be worth it.