Charlotte+Warren


 * =Charlotte Loves the Outdoors =
 * **Abstract**: My project involved me trying to spend more time in the outdoors. Really, anything outdoors was grounds for me "spending more time outdoors"- as long as I was outside for more than 10 minutes at a time (i.e. me not just walking outside to get the mail), it was fair game to count as data. Every day, I was able to go outside- sure, they were all different types of "outside", and a lot of times I didn't do it just for this project and probably would have done it anyways. Nonetheless, here is my project.
 * **Introduction:** For my correlation and causation, I chose to try and spend more time outdoors. As a student who is very serious about school, and as someone who is not an athlete, throughout high school I didn't spend as much time outdoors as I would have liked. In addition, due to the winding down of my senior year and high school as a whole, had a lot more time on my hands- time that was perfect to spend outdoors. In addition, I didn't want to have to make this anything like lent (I didn't want to give anything up, like my friends who tried going vegan) nor did I want to do anything I wouldn't enjoy or overall benefit from.
 * **Implementation:** Really, it wasn't all that difficult. Sometimes, I would just walk into my backyard and rest in the grass and read a book, other times, I would make the short drive to Arroyo Verde and hike in the trails. It really varied depending on the day and my moods. I wasn't required to purchase anything or get any materials. I didn't have to be at a certain place at a certain time. There weren't really any drawbacks either- somehow, just getting time to go outdoors was easy to fit in my schedule in some way, shape or form. I'd like to put a step by step here, Mr. Geib, but there really wasn't any. But for the sake of getting credit, I'll try: (Step 1) Forget all problems, (Step 2) Step outside and breathe. It was really that simple, and I don't know how or why I didn't do it sooner- it really helped me a lot.
 * **Results:** I didn't really know what to expect with this project. I guess I figured it would be fairly esay, and it was. The surprises I had were actually how much I enjoyed doing this- I know a lot of my friends who tried giving up certain foods hated this project, and I enjoyed it very much. Here is a brief list of what I did each day:

May 16: I sunbathed in my backyard

May 17: I went to the pool for an hour and pondered how adulthood would be different from being 17

May 18: My birthday- I walked around Arroyo Verde Park for about an hour and then had a nice dinner with family at Cafe Noveau

May 19: I walked my dog around the block, twice

May 20: After hero projects, I walked around downtown. That night, I got my bellybotton pierced.

May 21: I ate tacos outdoors

May 22: I picked oranges in my backyard. I then gave the oranges to my neighbors

May 23: Went to a jacuzzi and fell asleep in the jacuzzi

May 24: I climbed trees

May 25: Went to the pool

May 26: Went to the pool again

May 27: I climbed trees again

May 28: I don't remember what I did this day, I never took data on it for some reason. I think I went outside though.

May 29: I had a birthday party. Some of this night was spend outdoors in my backyard

May 30: I had to clean my backyard of all the bottles, cigarette butts and random crap left in my backyard. Let's just say it took much longer than 10 minutes so it's grounds for data

May 31: Went on a short walk at night June 1: Sat in my backyard thinking about how I would graduate in 15 days June 2: Sat in my treehouse thinking about how I would graduate in 14 days June 3: I went to the pool for about an hour June 4: Prom! I took pictures outdoors, and later on that night we took the party bus to Santa Monica June 5: I went to a pool party, which was outdoors, followed by Nick Haveralnd's memorial, which was outdoors at Arroyo Verde Park


 * **Conclusions:** The conclusions I drew was that even something as simple as going outside and taking the time to enjoy the community around you is just amazing. It relieves stress more than I could even imagine. It gives me hope that the world will continue to be a good place. Adjustments I would recommend to others is to just try to spend more time outdoors. At Foothill, I met so many academic people who spend so much time studying and focusing on school- I feel that a lot of these people would benefit from going outdoors more. Throughout my life, I will go outside more as it really benefits my happiness and well being
 * **General Comments:** I liked everything about this project. Maybe it's just that I picked something I enjoyed, so it didn't really feel like an assignment or chore. I learned that going outdoors just in general makes me happier and makes me open my mind to everything going on in the world.