Living here, you really get a sense of why Tennessee is called the 'Volunteer State.'

As soon as you open the door, the smell of trees hits you, and just a short drive takes you right into the woods.

But to be honest, this dense forest isn't just as romantic as it sounds.

It's beautiful, but... when you live here, there are moments when you think, "The trees are stronger than I expected."

In the summer, the leaves are so thick that even in the middle of the day, the shade feels damp, and the air feels heavy with green.

At first, you think, "Wow, nature is great!" But around August, you start to think, "Hmm... wouldn't it be okay if it were a little less dense...?" On rainy days, the smell of earth and humidity is pleasantly overwhelming, but at the same time, it feels like the mosquitoes triple in number.

In the morning, the birds start singing even before the alarm goes off. At first, it was touching. But after a few days, there are mornings when you think, "Hey birds... can you start at 7 today...?" At night, crickets chirp, on weekends squirrels scurry around on the fallen leaves, and sometimes a deer stands quietly in the backyard. It's beautiful, but it feels like nature has taken a more assertive place than humans.

Still, walking through the woods does bring a sense of peace. When you go to places like Radnor Lake, sunlight filters through the trees, and a gentle breeze flows along the water, and in that moment, you really think, 'Ah, this is why I live in Tennessee.' The dampness you feel under your feet on the dirt path and the sound of leaves rustling slowly relieve the fatigue of the day.

However, when fall comes, there's another reality. The autumn leaves are more beautiful than in photos, which is breathtaking, but behind that beauty comes endless leaf cleanup. No matter how much you sweep, they pile up again the next day, and before it rains, the leaves stick to the ground so tightly that it's hard to remove them. Everyone posts emotional fall photos on Instagram, but I find myself thinking while holding a broom, "Who cleans up this beauty? Oh, it's me."

In the end, the forests of Tennessee are beautiful, serene, and calming, but living here also brings unexpected inconveniences.

Yet, at the end of the day, when I go for a walk and see the sunset filtering through the trees, my heart melts again. It's a pattern of complaining and then feeling good again, making me wonder if humans are fickle, but... it really just means there's that much charm, right?