Study and the Outdoors

Emma Foster - ASK Blog PicI dislike sports. All the running and the catching and the coordination that they require has meant that I’m dramatically lacking the skill set required to be good (or even mediocre) at them. But I really like outside. I don’t even mind doing stuff outside. As long as it’s not sport.

Now that the weather’s started getting better (two days in a row totally counts, right?), I’m being reminded of all the things I enjoy doing outside of the four walls of my little house (and trust me, it can take a lot to get me out of the house. Although, not quite as much as it takes to get our dear editor to leave his abode)

Editor’s note: Hey!

 

Walking

I don’t at all mind going for a little stroll in the sunshine. Whether it be a 6km jaunt around the lake with my mother or my puppy, or wandering across a couple of paddocks out the back of my place, it’s always nice to get out, stretch your legs, and forgot about your stressors for a while.

Plus, walking also helps you to avoid heart disease, type two diabetes, osteoporosis AND some cancers! A government website told me so. And if the government said it, it must be true. Right?

Gardening

I did dis
I did dis

Yeah, I’m 22 going on 50, but I’m okay with that. There’s something deeply satisfying about watching something you’ve planted with your own bare (or gloved) hands grow into something marvellously green and living. Of course, there’s also something incredibly frustrating about seeing something you planted strewn across your living room floor because your dog thought it looked like a really awesome chew toy, but you’ve got to take it all as it comes. Just yesterday I planted a dozen broad beans, and the dog hasn’t destroyed them yet! Small victories people, small victories.

Trust me, it was traumatic
Trust me, it was traumatic

Gardening is good for the environment too, and sometimes you can even eat what you grow (if you can get to it before dogs or chickens do, that is)!

Studying

I am an awful studier. It’s just not something that’s ever come naturally to me, and I tend to find there are a thousand things just waiting to distract me as soon as I crack open a text book. However, there’s something about a lovely patch of sunlight that suddenly means I’m able to read at least half a chapter before the next distraction comes along. My favourite patch to study in at home is right in the middle of the doorway to our deck, and I like to drag a comfortable arm chair over to curl up in. Of course, being Ballarat, sometimes by the time I’ve set up my little study spot, the sun has disappeared (along with any inclination of mine to learn anything).

This is a picture of outside. It doesn’t look too scary, does it?
This is a picture of outside. It doesn’t look too scary, does it?

Generally just being outside, enjoying the weather and the fresh air

I also don’t have to be doing anything at all to enjoy outside. Radical though this concept may be to some, it’s nice to just sit outside and enjoy. Watch the clouds go by, chickens scratching the ground or alpacas doing whatever it is alpacas do. Just chill; maybe with a cool drink (my choice-of-the-moment is breakfast juice. Yum), or a novel in tow. Sometimes it’s nice to just be outside breathing in the fresh air, or admiring the view. It’s always worth taking a step back to just enjoy.

I even wrote this blog post outside! The majority of it on my phone. Have you ever written a 600 word text message? I don’t recommend it. Even if it is done outside.