https://Voice.club - She’s taking away our cell phones. Can you believe it?
“Forget emojis and acronyms,” she tells us. “Find new ways to communicate. The world you long for isn’t going to be found in online social media.”
You see what I mean? Ms. Robertson is wacky, right?
She takes all our cell phones, and hands each of us a bag lunch, a blank notebook, and a mechanical pencil. What can we do? She’s our teacher. Besides, it’s 6 a.m. and most of us are half asleep as we board the bus.
“We’re all going forest bathing!” she exclaims.
Forest bathing? What planet is she from?
“We’re here!” she announces, two hours later.
All I see is a bunch of trees. Where’s the pool for bathing? What are we supposed to do?
“Listen,” she suggests. I lean against a tree and close my eyes. It’s so quiet in here. No pounding music, no blaring traffic, no cyberbullies, no need to impress anyone. This place is like a huge cathedral. I can hear the slight breeze - barely a whisper - and the scampering of squirrels. I feel my body relax; I didn’t even know I was tense.
“Smell,” she tells us. I breathe in, tentatively. Clean. Fresh. Invigorating, like all of a sudden I’m really alive. I take big gulps, filling my insides with this new fragrance, refreshing and soothing. What is this wonderful perfume?
“Red spruce, white pine, balsam fir, white cedar, blue spruce …” She keeps calling out names, finally finishing with a one word summary: “Evergreens.” I write the names in my notebook.
“Look!” I follow her gaze up, and up, and up. These trees touch the sky! I use my jacket for a pillow and stretch out on the ground, letting the sounds and fragrances and sights of the forest wash over me.
Shafts of sunlight filter through the top branches and rest on my face - warm and tender, like a kiss.
I like the way I’m feeling right now.
I wonder, can people really change?