Within the past couple of weeks, Peirce County and surrounding areas of the greater Seattle-Tacoma region have held mild to high temperatures and consistent levels of sun and clear skies. Spring’s changing conditions have brought more people outside to enjoy outdoor recreational activities already popular in the pacific north west, such as hiking, kayaking and camping. For students, the transition into warm weather means a bit more than a comfortable temperature change. 

Schools within Peirce County have spent nearly a year online until just recently, forcing their students and faculty to remain inside for extended hours to teach or participate in class. Four or more hours of online instruction is followed up with more time indoors for students to complete assignments and continue in their extracurriculars. 

Months on end of an isolated and walled environment has been taxing. 

Free time can easily follow the same suit by being spent indoors too: Video games, movies, reading. The hours add up quickly, and in the long run, students can experience screen-fatigue and a decrease in physical and mental health. 

The infamous Washington rain is yet another reason students stay indoors. Getting outside, however, is so important. 

From Charles Dickens’ promotion of walking for a clear head and inspiration, to the actual positive effects that some Vitamin D from sun exposure has on reducing depression and anxiety, more developing brains should take advantage of what time they can find to spend sometime outside. 

Whether it’s doing some reading in the park or taking a stroll to strike inspiration for this semester’s final looming essays, the fresh air and green will be helpful.