From hiking in the Swiss Alps to celebrating Holi in India to snorkeling in Belize and touring the Amazon Rainforest, the Earth offers some tremendous beauty for all to explore. I recently watched a travel vlog on YouTube on some of the tourist destinations in the world that were slowly being destroyed by pollution and it made me sad that we have a time constraint on visiting them because of a problem we caused ourselves. The importance of the environment can never be stressed enough- especially in a time where certain politicians think otherwise. It is crucial that we do what we can to decrease the effects of climate change- we only have one planet. You can’t go enjoy a day at the beach on Saturn… LOL. The importance of “reduce, reuse, recycle” and taking shorter showers is something that can never be stressed enough. While I do not have much advice that we all haven’t heard a hundred times before, I do have some tips on how you can enjoy the Earth’s irreplaceable beauty that will hopefully inspire everyone to be kinder to it. The world is beautiful. It is home to so many different natural wonderlands, cultures, languages,  religions, fascinating historical places, different animal species, among many other things. Given all this natural beauty, it is a shame that it is being compromised by human actions. Here are some fun ways to celebrate the beauty of this Earth!
- Go hiking. Up Mountains, through forests and deserts, along the beach and under the sun. You can hike pretty much anywhere and the views will be unique and beautiful. Hiking gives you the opportunity to explore the beauty of the world while also providing an opportunity to get exercise and improve your overall health. Sounds like a win all around!Â
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- Experience the mountains in the winter! Even as someone who prefers warm weather, I can honestly say that there is quite nothing that compares to the beauty of just being in the snow-capped mountains in the winter. Who knew there were so many fun activities to do in the snow? Skiing, sledding, snowboarding… the list goes on and on. Just being out there in the snow is so nice and peaceful. Don’t like exercising? No problem- just go sledding!
- Travel- You do not even need to go outside of the country (although I HIGHLY encourage it) to travel. Exploring different places is one of the most fulfilling ways to experience the diverse beauty of this Earth. As someone wise once said “Life is a book and those who do not travel only read one page”  #truth.
- Picnic at the beach. Obviously there’s way more to do at a beach than sit down on a towel and eat. However, when you picnic at a beach you can enjoy good food while also getting a tan (or in my case, a burn). Or you could lay down and read a book while listening to the waves crash on the shore! It’s a sweet escape from social media and the stresses of everyday. The good news is there are so many beaches not too far away from Cal Lutheran:  Malibu, Santa Monica, Ventura, and Santa Barbara are all within an hour (more or less) from campus! PS: the ocean doesn’t like your trash, so please throw it away where it belongs (if you can’t reuse or recycle it).
- Learn a foreign language- I am biased since I love learning languages, but what I can say for sure is that learning a foreign language expands your horizons. Not only does it give you the ability to communicate with more people on this Earth, but it also introduces you to new cultures, norms and experiences you may never have known about otherwise! Yeah conjugations, grammar, and pronunciation can be a severe pain, but watching as native speakers react when they realize an American can speak and understand their language is honestly priceless. Â
- Volunteer or participate in community service activities. I can honestly say that participating in community service work makes me feel even more confident and happy knowing that I’ve done my small part to make the world a better place! It is a very humbling and an enjoyable activity that can change your perspective on life. I’d honestly encourage everyone to do it at some point because there’s nothing better than knowing that you made a difference in someone’s life, or that you’re doing your part to make the planet healthy. Â
- Visit a garden or a field of flowers- or plant one yourself! In both southern California and southern France, I am able to witness the spectacular flowers blooming in the spring! Tulip fields, sunflower fields, lavender and poppies that grows and makes the world more bright and colorful. Growing a garden is actually great for the environment! It is also a lot of fun and hard work! But what’s cooler than eating veggies? Growing them yourself! While I was growing up in Seattle, my mom would always grow fresh strawberries, green beans, mint and a variety of flowers in our backyard and it was amazing.Â
- Go stargazing! Should I say more? Stargazing is so romantic and fun- even when you are not with a date! Looking up at the night sky may sound boring, but trust me- if you are outside of the city on a clear night, seeing the stars in the sky makes you feel some type of way. I don’t really know how else to describe it but I assure you, it is wonderful, please do it!
- Attend a new cultural event – please experience as many cultures as you can! The world is home to so many of them! When you learn more about a new culture, you are learning about the way of life of others and learn that even though we are all different, we are still so much the same! Also- personal opinion here- but food from different cultures is SO MUCH better than American food. Â
- Try to cut out meat as much as you can! I know this can be difficult for some people more than others, but it is rewarding for both your health and for the health of the Earth as well. Livestock generate quite a bit of greenhouse gas – so cutting meat out as much as you can actually benefits the Earth!
All Photos Courtesy of the Author