In the City of Angels, we’d be lucky if we ever caught any stars visible in the night sky. For that reason alone, I often wished I could grow two wings and turn into a bird to observe the interstellar system a little more closely. 

I remember back in the summer, while I was at a Catalina Island Island Julymester, my friends and I laid on a floating dock for hours whispering to a shimmering Milky Way. We wrapped ourselves in a huge blanket like a loaded burrito and unfolded our entire lives, from our loves to our losses. This is the type of occasion that my generation needs to connect with one another. 

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When we’re back in the urban jungle, back at USC, everything is so easily accessible that we take our privileges for granted. From consuming substances to physical pleasure, we indulge in any activity we could possibly desire, but we are still left unfulfilled. Escaping into the wild offers us the refuge that we cannot uncover on our campus no matter how hard we exploit the surroundings to find new sources of happiness and relaxation. 

I firmly believe the outdoors is constantly offering us new perspectives to turn our lives around at the most despairing moments. As a precocious child, I read plenty of inspirational stories of how devastated middle-aged Americans bounced back on their feet after hiking through a cross-country trail and cleansing away the negativity that anchored them.

Beyond the objective of reaching personal, spiritual and emotional redemptions, there is also an element of camaraderie that allows us to further enhance our resilience and understand the various layers of our identities. 

At USC, there is a group of twenty-somethings who regularly organize hikes for other Trojans. From regular outings to state and national parks to themed “wellness retreats” and watersports adventures, they take on the responsibility to foster fitness in a refreshing, new space. They are not just doing it for their own enjoyment: Liable for the participants’ safety, they undergo extensive preparations and wilderness responder training. But all the endeavors serve a higher purpose.

To understand their motivations, I met with several student leaders to discuss their love for the unique extracurricular of going on hikes that range from the SoCal area to ambitious out-of-state trips, as well as how they relate to the broader cultural and political landscape of our generation. 

When I asked them about the origins of their journeys, they collectively told me enlightening incidents of being stunned by what the world has to offer. According to Nick Barkidjija, the president of SC Outfitters and a senior majoring in data science as well as social sciences with an emphasis in psychology, his introduction to the outdoors began with an all-encompassing awe when he went to Yosemite for the first time and encountered the marvelous sight. He found it to be a surreal experience to witness everything explode in front of his eyes and swallow his sensory perceptions. 

Besides hiking, there are many other approaches people take to reclaiming nature. Megan Mirkis, the co-president of USC Climbing and a senior majoring in psychology, told me that beyond a display of physical strength, climbing has offered her an escape from her hectic school work and allowed her body to catch a break and meditate through conquering steep cliffs. 

“The Earth is a huge moving rock, just a floating  piece of rock that we all live on, but you’re climbing individual baby rocks,” Megan said. 

My peers are fascinated by the friends and communities they garnered through weekend trips, and the surprising conversations that came along. Barkidjija recalled going on a spring break trip to Utah as a participant. When they ran out of topics to discuss, they simply performed an improvised standup show at their campsite. 

“When the barrier’s been broken down with something silly and fun like that, it’s much easier to talk about existential and heavier topics,” Barkidjija said. 

When speaking on accessibility issues and how daunting camping may seem to beginners, the “veterans” assured me that they have numerous mechanisms in place to ease the transition and lower the costs of equipment. The beauty of the Earth is not reserved for one specific group because they have the means to purchase upscale supplies and document their trips on tripods and drones.

May Wu, the president of Peaks & Professors and a senior majoring in human biology as well as non-governmental organizations and social change, explained to me their primary goals of combining academic rigorousness with the out-of-line thinking required for survival skills.   

“We’ll teach [people] how to start the fire, teach them how to turn on a camping stove, and I think that initial exposure is really important for people to see that camping is not all that scary,” she said.

Looking at the most common demographics of outdoor enthusiasts in the US, we noticed in recent years there have been more efforts to increase diversity and equity in wilderness recreational activities, such as deliberately inviting underrepresented groups who may not traditionally have the opportunities to explore these wondrous landscapes. 

“The next most important factor in having those conversations is being outside in a collective space that belongs to no one but also everyone in the way that the outdoors is a social good,” Barkidjija said. 

When the RSO leaders showed me majestic photographs of canyon lines and waterfalls on their professional cameras, we shared a moment of silence, haunted by our distress over losing everything we once treasured. 

“As people who go outside a lot, you also do notice … how things change very quickly, howwe’ve been having really weird weather patterns. … You could see climate change, and you can witness it year by year,“ Wu said.

Speaking with my peers alerted me that as socially and politically conscious people, we are particularly susceptible to the immense pressure of climate anxiety. According to a global survey published in The Lancet, 59% of young adults are “very or extremely worried” about climate change. 

The scientific phenomenon of glaciers retreating, deforestation and ozone depletion are no longer just novel concepts we come across in the newspapers every once in a while when a major natural disaster occurs: They are ongoing catastrophes that negatively affect our functioning and our outlooks for the decades to come. Undoubtedly, it’s difficult to contend with the irreparable changes taking place on our planet and sit with our complacency to the severe damages perpetrated by overwhelmingly powerful institutions.

At this riveting turning point, seven years after Trump had initially withdrawn from the Paris Agreement during his first presidency, we are about to enter a new era of denying climate change mitigations that is arguably worse than before. We have to stay prepared for his series of robust plans to increase oil production and natural resource extraction. To counteract the aftermath of these detrimental policies, and to safeguard our own well-being amid the chaos, we have more reasons to go outdoors and enjoy the untouched corners of our world before they are eroded and removed. 

As kids who grew up in the early 2000s, we cherished every backpacking trip and bonfires with our parents and classmates. From Boy Scouts to sleepaway camps, the outdoors shielded us from the burden of a harsh world and fostered our capricious hearts. At USC, we are even luckier to be figuratively and physically guided by teams of compassionate peers who dedicate their weekends to planning the experiences of a lifetime.

Sadly, I am not sure if my kids will have the privilege to witness the same prairie and lakeside cabins because while we actively pick up plastic waste in the grassy fields and leave no traces behind, corporations will be using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on the very land we swore to maintain. 

However, even with an administration that refuses to protect the planet that mothered us, we have the strength to reciprocate the kindness of the wilderness and rescue her once more. 

“It is still there, it’s not all going up in flames right now. … We still do have time to save this, save it for our children,” Wu said.