As we get swept away by our anxieties over the environment and the future, we wanted to pause and reflect on the personal relationships that we’re trying to save. We asked a few Northwestern students how they felt when we read out this quote to them: “We could never have loved the Earth so well, if we never had a childhood in it.”
We asked them what childhood memories this quote evoked and how those memories have shaped their attachments to nature.
*The following quotes have been edited and condensed to reflect a portion of their stories.
Nicole Bassolino, second-year
“[Nature is] somewhere that I naturally wind up feeling comfortable now, and feel safe in. As cheesy as it sounds, if I wind up having kids, I want them to have that kind of experience. I would want anyone to be able to experience that, and share that with people.”
Dana Small, first-year
“I grew up doing ballet. That was a very indoor activity, so going outside and messing around was always really fun and special. I appreciate being outside and feeling the sun and living in a world instead of just a room.”
Tessa Paul, first-year
“We would always try to get away from the bustle and be out more in nature. There wasn’t anyone telling you that you couldn’t pick a flower, but you would not want to hurt the plant.”
Angela Evans, third-year
“If I didn’t have those memories I wouldn’t have this sense of care and love toward the Earth. It’s not something I think about very often, but when I do take a step back, that was a big part of my childhood, and I want my kids to grow up in nature doing all of that too.”
Jake May, fourth-year
“For me, it was definitely the beach growing up. I grew up in Massachusetts, so there’s plenty of coastline there for me to enjoy. Just like being a little kid at my grandpa’s house on Nantucket, just being on the beach, being in the water.”
Shenali Perera, third-year
“I would hold onto the iron railing and lean out, look across at the sunset and feel the wind on my face, and it was warm. It smelled fresh and outdoorsy, but it also kinda smelled like my mom because she was with me at the time. I remember sitting with her. It was just like home. And then I could hear birds chirping — it was very idyllic.”
Allison Rhee, first-year
“I grew up in Hong Kong and Seoul a with lot of really tall buildings, like skyscrapers. Not a lot of short buildings like you see here in Evanston, it’s kind of weird for me to be able to see the sky this well.”
Dominic Groom, third-year
“Nowadays, with all the hustle and bustle of school, I don’t really spend a ton of time outside. Nature was a big part of my childhood, and, to me, it represents some of that childhood innocence I had.”
Camryn Lemke, second-year
“My brother and I would always take my dog, and we’d walk in the forest. There was an old abandoned house that was really kinda cute. It was mossy and had a bunch of plants and ivy and a little stream.”
Bradley Ramos, third-year
“I’d say there are distinct moments where I can really appreciate the world as it is around me, like nature and what it does, and just being able to appreciate the beauty of all of that. At the same time, those moments don’t come often enough. That makes them all the more compelling.”
Bradley Ramos, third-year
“My grandpa would get us to ‘sing to the daffodils’ to give them carbon dioxide, but also so we would take the time to stop and appreciate the chaotic beauty of his garden.”