Personal Narrative about Visiting a National Park - Essay Example

Personal Narrative In my life, I have had experiences that have shaped me significantly and changed my life in diverse ways. Whenever I share these experiences, there is always a feeling of satisfaction that comes from my account of what I went through during the experiences. Since I gain a feeling of satisfaction from these experiences, I am glad to explain how the experience was and why it made me feel happy. In this personal narrative, I will give an account of my visit to the national park and what I saw there. In addition, I am going to explain why the visit was important to me and what the experience taught me. The encounters I went through while in the national park will also be explained in this paper. At the age of sixteen years, I got an opportunity to visit one of the greatest national parks in New York City. The national park I visited is the Gateway National Recreation Area. I enjoyed the magnificent view of the park, its surroundings and the diverse wildlife in the park. Before visiting the park, which I did with some of my classmates, I had to plan the visit and make some preparations to make the encounter successful. First, I visited the offices of the national park and got a guide on their rates. This helped me plan the amount of money I would spend while in the park. Secondly, I had to notify the management about the details of my visit and the areas I intended to tour when I visited the park. This was essential to avoid visiting some parts of the park that might be prohibited. Other preparations I had to make included ensuring there was a guide who could take us through the park. There are several reasons why I choose to visit the national park. One of the reasons is because of the variety of living things that can be found in the park. The biodiversity in the park is something I cherished and the many creatures in the park give the visitor an amazing view of what the park offers. This national park offers a unique experience with a wide variety of plants and animals whose distribution in the park is amazing. The other reason I visited the park was to be in an environment that is healthy. With many plants in the park, the air is fresh and the environment is healthy. For a long time, I had wished to gain a first-hand experience of what is in a large national park since I had been to only a few tourist attraction sites. Moreover, I wanted to know how the organisms (both plants and animals) in the park survive and how they interact to enhance survival for each of them. I chose the Gateway National Recreation Area because of its strategic location and the variety of recreation sites found there. Moreover, most of my friends were interested in visiting this park since it offers diverse experiences for a person who loves nature and is interested in observing wildlife. When the day of visiting the park came, we made sure that all the materials we needed were ready and prepared notebooks that we would use to write about our experiences and what we saw in the park. We used a hired van to get to the national park and we arrived in the morning. After entering the park, I enquired about the park and got a booklet, which explained a brief history of the park, its size and what it offers. From the booklet, I learned that the park has been operational since 1972 and occupies an area of 26000 acres. The park is quite expansive and consists of both water and land, which spreads from New York City to New Jersey. There were many visitors in the park, both young and old who had come to marvel the beauty of the recreation sites. While inside the park, I took part in several activities, which provided me with immense exposure. One of the major activities that I carried out included walking. I walked through the park and admired the attractive scenery of the wildlife animals and plants. Together with my friends, I visited the animal orphanage and learned a lot about the animals. In addition, I took a tour of the park and photographed the animals. The other activity that I did while in the park included driving around the entire park. Since the park covers a large area of land, it was not possible to walk around the entire area because this could be tiresome. Therefore, we decided to drive in some areas that could not be accessed on foot and this made it easy to watch the animals from a distance. Driving made it easier for me to access some sites that would otherwise not be accessed when walking. Besides driving in the park, I took some time and relaxed while viewing the various recreational sites. One of the areas where I relaxed was near the lake where there was a cool breeze that made me feel relaxed. I stayed near the lake for about one hour and this was after I had visited all the other areas I wanted to visit in the park. While in the lake, I could view birds and other aquatic animals in the water. With my group of friends, we stayed in the park for several days since we wanted to get the experience of camping. Since the park offers camping services, we decided to spend three nights in the park and enjoy the facilities in the recreation site. Therefore, we set up a tent and lit some fore at night in order to warm ourselves as it was very cold. I enjoyed the camping experience because it gave me an opportunity to spend several nights in the park. Having spent several nights there, I had the chance of getting to know what goes through at night in a national park. To shield ourselves from the animals at night, we made sure out tent was set up in the camping area of the park where there were other groups. While visiting the park, I came to learn about many things that I did not know about before I paid a visit to the recreation center. First, I learned that there is a lot of potential in the national parks. For example, the numerous natural phenomenon in the park can attract both local and international tourists. Inside the park, I met both international and local tourists who had come to experience the serenity of the environment in the park. Most of them were convinced that the park is one of the best in the country. From my experiences, I noted that if governments invest in national parks, there are many returns that can emanate from people’s visit to the parks. This way, the national income will increase and the government will be in a position to provide its citizens with essential services. During the visit, I also came to understand that most people are interested in visiting parks and taking a walk around the park. I interacted with several tourists and learned that some of them had even come from other continents to watch the animals in the park. The relaxing experience offered by recreational parks is something any person would wish to have. The relevant authorities should be concerned about the preservation of park. It is essential to ensure that the aquatic and wild animals and plants in parks are not threatened by human activities. When this is done, tourists get to enjoy the environment around the park. The visit to the park as a vital learning experience for me as a student. This is because it enabled me learn about the natural environment and its components. In addition, the visit enabled me to learn the importance of preserving the natural environment. When the environment is preserved and maintained well, people can gain a feeling of satisfaction and the wildlife is not threatened. Preserving the natural environment also minimizes environmental destruction and degradation. This helps to avoid the effects of global warming and pollution, which can have devastating impacts on the natural environment. After witnessing how best the environment had been preserved, the experience instilled in me values of environmental preservation. Moreover, I got encouraged to be an advocate of environmental conservation since I gained insights about the need to keep the natural environment well maintained. I enjoyed the peace in the park since it was quiet and there was a lot of peace throughout the park. The environment within the park is not polluted and there are no noises as is the case in cities. The refreshing experience gave me an opportunity to reflect on my academics and enabled me re-focus my efforts to and determination to work hard and achieve better grades. With the kind of environment in the park, I took time to think about my academic performance and how well I could improve on areas where I was weak. The surroundings of the park were different from what I was used to at home and school. Another activity that I found enjoyable while in the park was biking. At the entrance of the park, there is a long pathway where one can decided whether to walk or cycle. During my visit, I rented a bike from the park and went through the pathway several times. I was not the only one who was biking. Tens of men and women, both young and old, were cycling in the par. I found this as an activity that was both enjoyable and a form of exercise that kept my body active. During the biking experience, I was very keen not to collide with other cyclists, as well as pedestrians who walked through the path. From this experience, I came to learn there are hundreds of people who come to the park for physical exercises that help them keep fit. Boating was another great experience I had while at the park. In the park, there are boats which are manually controlled. The boats can be found at the beaches of the park. With my friends, we took several boats and made rounds in a part of the park that is preserved for such activities. While boating, I learned to control the boat and at the same time gained concentration on the direction to take it. Apart from boating, I did take part in birding. There is a variety of birds in the park, some of which tend to occupy a specific territory. I took photographs of the birds and watched their behavior, as well as their feeding habits. A mixture of carnivorous and herbivorous birds can be found in the park and they are distributed in most parts of the park. Visiting the park gave me a chance to take part in surf fishing. I purchased a pass in order to do fishing at nighttime. The fishing experience enabled me know about the various fish types in the park and where they can be found. Before fishing, I had read the guide in the park, which enables one to know how best to do fishing, as well as the types of fish caught in the Oceanside that can be eaten. It was necessary to read this guide since not all fish caught in the park can be eaten. While some fish are fit for human consumption, some are not since they are poisonous. However, my main aim for fishing was just as a way of exploration and I did not intend to eat the fish I got. Beach recreation was another activity that I found quite interesting while visiting the park. There are guarded beaches in the park where one can swim. The beaches were open during the day and there were lifeguards in each of the beaches to help visitors who were not good in swimming. There were powerful currents flowing from the shore and from their strength, it was evident that they could carry a person away. There were many people in the beach and it seemed to be one of the places that people liked visiting while in the park. I enjoyed the cool air at the beach, as well as swimming in the beach waters. I found the beach a good place to relax while visiting the park, especially during sunny afternoons. As a person who loves hiking, my time in the park was really enjoyable. With the help of a tour guide, I hiked the mountainous part of the park where I had a good view of the entire park and other surrounding areas. At the beach, there are several picnic sites where I could see families taking a rest. The picnic area gives one an opportunity to see the New York Harbor. I liked the view of the harbor from the picnic sites. While in the picnic area, I had the chance to interact with most people and I learned that they do it regularly. The Gateway National Recreation Area gave me a learning experience that I had not gained before. I got to learn a lot of things about native animals and plants and how they interact to make the environment they live in sustainable. Moreover, the experience enabled me to learn the interaction between plants and animals, both in the wildlife and the aquatic environment. This park has some historic sites, which helped me to learn how people used to live in the past, their lifestyles, as well as economic activities that dominated the lives of people who lived within the park. The experience I got at the park is one I will never forget. For the days and nights I spent in the national park, I gained a lot of experience about wild animals and plants. The experience offered in the park is one I would like to get in the future. I enjoyed every activity that I took part in and all the experiences were fulfilling right from the time I entered to the time I left. I cannot regret having visited the park and since I did enjoy every bit of my time there, I made a decision to be making such visits at least once every year. I will be making preparations before I visit any national park and also ensure that I gather more information about the park I am visiting. In conclusion, the experience in the park was a life-changing event that I will never forget. The event changed my life in significant ways and enabled me gain a lot of knowledge about the natural environment. Because of the experience, I learned the importance of preserving the tourist attraction sites and the benefits that the nation can get from the recreation centers. More resources should be allocated to the preservation of the natural environment since it benefits both the government and its citizens. I took notes as I walked through the park and I regularly refer to the notes in order to remind myself of the unique experiences I had. Read More