My Oasis

I’m a small town girl. Well I guess that you can’t really call Santa Cruz a small town (it has about 50,000 inhabitants) … but what I mean is that I grew up in the less condensed countryside in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I was lucky enough to have four acres of land and plentiful nature to explore. Even when you venture into the town you are never far from the fresh, blue ocean, a redwood forest or an ever-stretching golden field. Now that I’m living in a city, I see that it’s easy to take the beauty and power of nature for granted.

As I ride my bike through the crowded streets I must always have my guard up, constantly scanning to look for cars, motorcycles, bikes, (dog shit) and pedestrians—all which aim to impede my forward motion. It’s hard to feel at ease when there are vehicles constantly zipping and zooming around at different speeds and from all directions. Traffic clogs the veins and arteries of the city. After a while, though, it becomes customary and less intimidating. Regardless, it’s dog eat dog out there and every (wo)man for themselves.

I peruse the map of Amsterdam—an immense ‘spiderweb’ of interlaced strands that indicate streets and canals. I find that if I have a destination, I can rarely locate it without getting lost in the midst of this perplexing metropolis. On the other hand, if I don’t have a destination, I can always get where I want to go. 

On the map, I see oblong, green shapes that signify parks. They are interspersed amongst copious amounts of squares and lines, representing brick buildings and cobblestone streets. 

I tried many times to find these parks—attempting to follow street signs and my appalling sense of direction, but failed. So finally, I went for an aimless bike ride and sure enough stumbled upon Wester Park.

I entered the boundary of the park… It felt like a breath, or rather a gasp, of fresh air. A park is an oasis within a city. I feel suffocated when constantly surrounded by tall buildings and fast moving vehicles… To be in a green, natural sanctuary is like heaven—it’s like a little piece of home. It is important for me to recharge in these areas, to breathe, to appreciate, to become inspired.