Jeshua Knudson
“You know, it’s difficult living in Oregon. Living in the area after being in the military and stuff because I lost a lot of my friend group and everything like that. It’s kind of been isolating, especially with the pandemic going on, and I’m still dealing with COVID and everything like that. Socialization has changed and it’s kind of nice to have something to take care of outside of yourself. It’s something to put your mind to. I then get into the habit of like waking up in the morning and just as soon as I step outside – outside of my room – I walk into my living room and I see my plants in the window and I say, “hi,” to them and I talk to them; make sure that they’re doing all good on water or checking to see if any of them need to be pruned or anything like that. And it’s just kind of nice to talk to them. It’s like talking to yourself, but you have something else to talk to. So, it’s a little bit less like you’re going insane and a little bit more like you’re being productive. But, also, it’s really rewarding because when you take care of them well, you get to see the fruits of your labor. I have this ornamental pepper that I just got and it has a bunch of little flowers on it but it also has little little peppers. As I continue to take care of it, more peppers will pop up and I will eventually eat one, but they’re supposed to be really, really spicy. So I’m not sure about that. But, it’s been really nice. It’s very therapeutic – taking care of the earth and feeling like you’re doing something beyond yourself but – not something that needs to be so public – something that needs to be so great. It’s just kind of a small little thing that you’re doing to better your own situation but also you know, make the earth a prettier place.”