Amazing Day With Autumn Rae

Halloween is our little family's favorite holiday, so when I was presented with the idea to attend Pumpkin Nights, I knew I had to do whatever it took to get my daughters and me to the Pumpkin Farm for hours of outdoor fun. Oh, and words cannot explain the gratitude for this event and the family connection it brought. From the moment we parked and walked up the long, dirt trail to enter the event, we just knew it was going to be a night to remember.   We arrived at 6 PM and did not leave until 9 PM! It has been years since we have been able to take time like this to enjoy our favorite season together as a family and out the world on pause to absorb the beauty that comes from pumpkin patches.    Not only were we together for this entire time outdoors, we were also off of our phones, and we were able to soak up all of the laughter, wind on our faces, dirt on our shoes, and hugs for pictures at several different photo prop areas. Capturing photos and making sure that we...

TCU Day of Service 2023, one of the biggest days of the fall. Oh, what an amazing day this was for me and several leaders on campus. There was something about arriving on campus at 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning to prepare to welcome several TCU volunteers as they sacrificed their time to serve our community.                                                The chilly feeling in the air hugged me as I stepped on the wet grass for the first time that morning. There was a refreshing feeling that overcame me as I joined my team in creating one of the best welcome ceremonies, creating an exciting environment to start our morning. There was something amazing that took place in nature in the TCU Commons for 2.5 hours as we heard the laughter and chatter of the students and staff who gathered to represent TCU while feeling the breeze brush against us.         ...

  The power of a team as we overcome.....                                    As I reflect on the 3rd week at the Nature Reserve, I reflect on the power of the team to overcome. That week was like the previous two weeks, where we all planned to volunteer, but that day had different plans for us. We were working and gathering wood to be chopped when the chipper began to shut down and needed several interventions. We continued to work, and we leaned on each other as a class to make sure that we continued the mission at hand.                                           To our surprise, the machine decided it did not want to work, so the employees came up with an alternative task, and it was a clever task, but it began to become chaotic as the tools were not working and our plan had to pivot, bu...

                                                 It has been a long semester and a very long week. On Fridays, I am used to being able to unplug and shift for a little, but with 18 credit hours, working 2 jobs, interning, and in several leadership roles, I have not had an average semester, so I was so grateful when I was introduced to being in nature as a requirement for this class. As a lover of nature and a former runner before entering the life of a TCU student, the outdoors is my safe space and provides comfort when I feel like the walls are closing in.                                          The experience I blog about is a beautiful walk with my amazing 4-legged son, Nugget Henry, in our community. His eyes looked up at me with a need to go outside, an...

What an amazing way to start leading responses than by allowing us to go in groups and enjoy nature! Todd, Ana, and I were able to find the perfect connection to nature and create a quote that describes the moment we were in. This connection allowed me and, I say, my other peers to take a moment, pause, and connect. There is so much hustle and bustle in my day that I rarely have the time to slow down, so this activity allowed me to create a moment of relaxation.   We laughed so hard, and we admired our butterflies and created stories for them as we watched them jump from one flower to the next. The presentation that we were able to be part of was beautifully crafted, and the fact that they were intentional about creating a space for us to learn outdoors is a true expression of our class. This activity and the way that it made us connect and feel have allowed our group to do the same. The way that the moment felt, smelled, and sounded will always be remembered. The quote we crea...

Wild Geese       The first line of this poem, Geese by Mary Olvier, grabbed my attention: "You do not have to be good." As I am currently balancing so many things on my plate—coursework, leadership roles, being a mom, and taking care of myself—I struggle with missing the mark and messing up my GPA! But this poem spoke to me through several lines. "You do not have to walk on your knees, whoever you are, no matter how lonely, announcing your place in the family of things." This is speaking of self-acceptance: I do not need to be perfect; just be in the moment and be in the solace of the natural world. To stop and be in the moment, enjoy nature, and experience the images of the wild geese flying, as it is a symbol of me returning to my authentic self and finding my sense of belonging in this world I have created. If I remain stressed and caught up in the way I believe things should be, I will miss the peace, the nature, and the beauty of what my life is really supposed...