Every year, this time is an anniversary for me.

It marks my first deep appreciation for nature’s beauty.

I’m not sure where my thoughts were before, but I discovered the natural beauty around me in my late teens. I believe it developed from my first awareness of freedom of thought.

As my first major in college, I learned the biology of trees, from digging a five-foot hole in the forest floor to identifying species by their leaves and everything in between. Although this gave me an understanding of the science and was crucial to my overall appreciation, the forest’s aesthetics captured my imagination.

The individuality of each tree and its ever-changing crown symbolizes everything I believe in.