3 The Beauty of Nature
Jenna Fisher
Inspired by “Title of the book chapter you chose to read” in Braiding Sweetgrass
Summary: A boy named Anderson who is used to playing video games all day every day gets sent to a weeklong summer camp by his mom. He isn’t excited at all and would rather be at home. He drags his feet getting settled into the camp, but then meets a boy named Breccan. Breccan and Anderson go canoeing for the first time, and Anderson realizes the beauty that this camp holds and starts to become excited at other things he’ll get to experience at the camp.
Keywords: Experiencing the beauty of nature
The story starts at a summer camp with a 9-year-old boy named Anderson. Anderson isn’t excited at all to attend the summer camp and only wants to stay inside all day playing video games.
Anderson says to his mom, “Mom, I see nature every single day on the discovery channel. I don’t know why I must leave the house to see the same boring things that I always do!”.
Anderson’s mom says, “Anderson, being at this camp will let you really see what nature is like, not by what the screen shows you. Plus, you’ll be able to meet some new kids that you can play with the rest of the summer.”
Anderson replies, “Ugh, whatever. I don’t wanna meet anyone or do anything!” His mom says back, “We’ll see if you feel that same way after the camp is over. I want you to have fun and enjoy it, Anderson. I’ll miss you and I love you. Now off you go.”
Anderson’s mom waves goodbye to him as he walks inside the campground gates. Anderson is feeling annoyed that he is being forced to come to a no videogame-no TV-no electronics place for a full WEEK!
After Anderson gets settled in, he goes to the first activity of the day, canoeing. When arriving at the dock, he sees another boy his age who is wearing overalls and is standing barefoot.
Anderson walks over to him while thinking how strange it is for someone to not be wearing shoes. Isn’t this boy afraid of mud getting on his feet? “Hi, I’m Anderson. What’s your name?” He says to the boy. The boy responds with a goofy smile, “Hi, my name is Breccan. Is this your first time at this camp? I don’t recognize you.”
Anderson says, “Yeah, my mom is making me come here. I’d rather be at home. I don’t even know how to canoe, I’ve never done it before.” Breccan responds, “Oh it’s not that hard! We can be partners. I’ve come here a lot. It’s one of my favorite things to do in the summer!” Breccan motions Anderson to follow him to a nearby canoe while Anderson says, “You come here a lot? Don’t you get bored?” Breccan replies while waiting for a counselor to come help them settle into their canoe, “No, you’ll find out that there’s a lot of fun things here to do. Plus, I can show you around!” The boys gather in the canoe while a counselor sits at the front, guiding them on how to steer.
The boys get to the middle of the lake and stop canoeing to take in the scenery around them. Anderson notices the full, thick green pine trees, smells the forestry air and sees all the different wildlife. The boys sit in silence for a minute. Anderson says, “Okay. I’ll admit, this view is pretty. Plus, it smells good! It’s a lot better graphics then on my iPad.” Breccan replies, “I know right? The best part is, that this view never runs out of battery or glitches out. It’s always here for you to see.” Seeing the beautiful view of the lake changes Anderson’s thoughts on how this camp will go. He thinks to himself, “Maybe this camp is a good thing. I might enjoy this week. I’m excited to see what else is in store!”
