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English 11

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The Feelings of a Forest

Have you ever been to a place where you are so free you feel detached from the rest of

the world? A place that allows you to run and scream but still be at peace. That is how I felt in

Big Basin which is a redwood state park just north of Santa Cruz. The space and beauty of the

forest is exquisite, I had never experienced anything else like it.

The drive to Big Basin prepares you for the destination. It is a thin, windy road

surrounded by trees everywhere you look. Big forests crowd both sides of the road with tall,

skinny, dark-green trees. Entering the state park is like entering a bubble, you are in a protected

forest filled with nothing but nature and there is no harm to corrupt it is peace. The trails that go

through the forest are mostly dirt-brown but have a reddish tint from all the tree bark that has

fallen on the ground. The dirt is so rich and clean that I would believe anyone who told me

walking barefoot would make you feel pure. The trees are so tall you are unable to even see the

top of some, so tall you would think you are looking into infinity. They have trunks so old and

warn, looking like wrinkly red leather. Thin brown branches extend from the trunks and fill the

forest with the green leaves that look like needles, almost pointy enough for them to poke you

and it would hurt.

I have never felt the feeling I got while running through the redwoods. There is

something exciting about it that makes your heart pound a little faster and gives your stomach

butterflies. It is exciting and calming all at the same time. The heavy shade throughout the forest
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sends off a moody and mellow vibe. It brings your senses and emotions alive. You can look for

miles and miles without seeing a soul, just nature and pureness. That made me feel like I was in a

new world, tucked away in a hidden place that allowed me to clear my mind and also express

myself in the most exaggerated way I could.

The giant trees filled the forest with a smell so fresh you could almost taste the air. There

is nothing better than being able to breathe air so deep it hits your gut, and having every exhale

make you more and more at peace. As I followed the wide dirt path, I noticed that there was not

one object causing any sound. The only thing audible was my breath and the calming sound of

the wind. It is crazy how noticeably alive the redwood trees are. It made me realize that Earth is

alive too. I swear, that day, I felt the Earth breathing.

In troubled times, or whenever I need space to think, Big Basin is the first place I would

transport to. Places that allow you to feel free are very important to me and I believe should be

an important thing to everyone. Leaving the forest that day was hard, as I looked out the back

window of my car, and took in all of its lush and precious beauty. Looking back, only a few

colors painted the forest: green, brown, and red. Although I knew that being up close was like

staring at a painting, with so much to see you can not even take it all in at once.

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