MissMaria

I originally wrote this for a Sixth Grade Lit assignment.. It was one of those things that I"ve hung onto, simply because my teachers praise of this made me think 'maybe I actually can do this'

Of course, it isn't something I'd ever show to almost anyone, but I thought what the heck.

Excessive description warning

When I’m mad, upset, sad, embarrassed, overwhelmed or if I need some alone time, I go to my quiet place. My Quiet place is where I can be in the quiet and think (or calm down) , read, write or pray. My quiet place is the woods surrounding my house. When I’m in the woods, no matter the season or time of day, I can relax.

On cold winter nights, when the air is so cold it slices at you like a knife, and it’s so quiet my footsteps sound like thunder. When the air is crystalline, marred only by the fog of my breath as I exhale, I bundle up and go out into the woods. The best time is when the moon is full, and there’s not a cloud in the sky. The moonlight is as bright as daylight, reflecting off the new fallen snow, and the woods are filled with shadows, of beauty not of fear. On that kind of night, no matter what I’m feeling, whether it’s homework, overload, the stress of the holidays or I’m just angry or sad, I calm down. I can just relax in the peaceful silence. If I’m angry I can swear, punch a tree, whatever, and there’s no one to reprimand me or tell me to be quiet.

In the spring, when the snow is just melting, the flowers just budding and the birds just returning to spread their joyous song, I still like to go out into the woods. During the spring, the woods do not have the sharp silence of winter, but rather are filled with the joyful strains of new life and the ending winter. It’s the perfect place to pray and to think about God. The sounds of melting snow, the calls of birds, and the skittering of animals as they prepare for the new year are all around me. The sun, filtering through the trees, barley catching on the budding leaves, sets a meditative atmosphere around me, the perfect place for prayer.

Come Summer, the forest returns to a peaceful calm. Not the dead silence of winter, but a lazy quiet, filled with the sound of buzzing bees and the romping of deer, which I can watch if I’m quiet. The heat of the summer, made comfortable by the trees, their leaves reaching towards the sky and the whispering wind is the perfect temperature to read in. The laughing of my neighbors, the barley detectable sounds of construction, the faint barking of dogs are all drowned out in the quiet murmur of the wind In the trees. In the summer, I read in my quiet place, sometimes for hours- one of few escapes from the busy schedule I live in the summer.

When the wheel turns and Fall is upon us, the woods once again become a center of busy activity, a frantic readying for the long approaching winter. The wind howls, the leaves rustle as they fall and the occasionally frosted grass stalks crunch as I step on them. The nippy air is energizing and soothing. Contradicting feelings that make a pleasant mix. The quiet, cold bustle of activity around me sets a perfect place to write, to let my feelings flow onto paper. It helps me to clear my head, and helps me think clearly.
The woods are the perfect quiet place, a relaxing place to be in all the seasons of the year. I go there to get away from anything that’s bothering me- homework, parents, my sister, my friends or if I just need some quiet alone time. No matter the situation, I go to the woods.

Eehh... well, I was pretty proud of it at the time, so it cant hurt to post

__________________
"Easy reading is damned hard writing. "