I have distinct memories of being outside as a child. Growing up in San Diego, my family and I had the pleasure of having the mountains and the beach at our disposal whenever we felt antsy from a week of working and going to school.

I loved spending time in my garden after school because the grass was a soft stage and the bees and morning glories would listen as I blathered on about the social happenings of my elementary school. Whenever it rained, I paid special attention to my steps on the concrete to avoid crushing an unsuspecting snail. I looked forward to when my dad would call for me to come outside to look at the cool insect he found.

But as I have gotten older, I have realized that at some point in my life, I stopped paying as much attention to the bugs and earthworms at my feet. I heard someone say once that it’s because you grow too tall to see them. Instead of looking down, you look ahead at the TV and your first crush and the road in front of you as you first learn to drive. As you become increasingly aware of the world’s possibilities for you, you become less aware of the world at your toes — the world that pollinates our food and supplies us with air and filters our water.

It’s time to change that. The following list is for you, reader, to reconnect yourself with the innocence and excitement about the little things you felt during childhood. Everyone’s experience was different, and if your upbringing was anything less than ideal, you deserve to feel like a little kid now.

1. Visit the tide pools

There is much to explore on the coast when you don’t go just to lay out, especially in Shell Beach. Poke around at the tide pools a while and you’ll encounter snails, barnacles, starfish, and perhaps a crab or two. The interactions of these organisms are dependent on the tides. Let them ignite your curiosity.

2. Skip rocks

I have never seen someone, adult or adolescent, stand next to a lake or pond without trying to find an adequate rock to skip across the water. Laguna Lake and Lopez Lake are open spaces in the SLO area that are at your disposal to explore. 

3. Climb a tree, or hide behind one

Throop Park in town has some exceptionally climb-able trees. It’s also a great place to play hide and seek again. Perhaps even capture the flag. 

4. Go for a swim

Get your hair wet. Who cares if you just washed it! Splash your friend. Get sandy. Maybe eat some on accident. 

5. Build a sand castle

When was the last time you used sand toys? Sand castles are very much still fun to build and witness their inevitable destruction at the hand of a friend, especially at Avila Beach. Alternatively, dig a really deep hole. If you get to the beach and you realize you forgot your sand toys, fear not, you can turn your friend into a mermaid!

6. Find some chalk

Is the pavement  outside of your house currently bare? Do you think it would benefit from a little color? I do too. Hopscotch was a particularly memorable activity from my developmental years and it is no less fun as a twenty-one year old.

7. Go for a walk without your phone

Take a friend with you if you’d like. Talk to them about some of your good memories growing up. Walking with music is nice to decompress and feel like you’re in your own world, but if you decide to walk without earbuds, you can better take in your surroundings and perhaps enjoy them even more, like a kid would. If you’re walking down Broad Street, take a moment to peek over and into the creek and listen for frogs, and if you’re enjoying a misty morning, don’t forget to watch for snails and earthworms. It’s their home too after all!