Nature: Cheaper Than Therapy and A Surprisingly Good Hangover Cure

Earlier this fall I went to a local Oktoberfest with my friend and I'm not going to lie, I probably drank/ate more than I should have. I'm sure you've all been there before. Waking up with that not so pleasant headache and feeling as if you've been dehydrated for days. I was already planning on hiking to Lake 22 but I was definitely dragging my feet in the morning. Regardless of how physically terrible I felt, I was still excited to go back to the place that made me fall in love with nature. 

It's crazy how much can change in 4 months. The last time I was came here was June 4, right around the time summer started settling in. When I made it to Lake 22 it was almost October and the leaves are already changing colors. 

This view was only about 1.5 miles into the hike and it made my headache go away instantly (I swear. I'm not lying). This is also where I decided to take off my jacket because sweat was dripping profusely from the inside of my sleeves - might have been from all the beer I had the day before... whoops!

Eventually I ended up at this part of the trail which is where I started to reflect on my life (no joke I stood here for a while). This week hasn't been the easiest and I definitely haven't been in the most cheery mood. It was one of those weeks where I just felt alone, useless, and helpless. Friday was when things started to change though - I checked my email and found out that my story was featured on Outbound. I'm not the most confident person on the block, so something like that was monumental to me. Then on Saturday, I spent the day with my best friend which reminded me of the fact that I'm far from alone.

After that deep pondering moment, I continued my hike and made it to the lake. I went from self reflection to water reflection (see what I did there?). My mind went blank as soon as I got to the top. In an instant, all my worries and what was left of my hangover just disappeared. I picked the comfiest looking log to sit on and I sat there for about an hour - just enjoying nature and all it's glory. Looking back, I've changed and grown so much in the past 4 months. I've stepped out of my comfort zone so many times this year and I'm so proud of myself for it. As I said goodbye to summer, I found myself fall-ing in love with nature all over again (get it? Haha ok ok, I'm done with the puns). I'm also turning 22 soon which is kind of funny because the name of this place is Lake 22. I don't know what the future has in store for me but I think it will be alright as long as I have nature by my side.