The Hike Was Perfect. I Wasn’t

I took this photo on a trail in western North Carolina, back in 2018. The light was perfect, the trees impossibly green. I remember thinking: this is the kind of view people post when they want to prove they’re happy. But I wasn’t. I was tired, my feet hurt, and I kept checking my phone for messages that never came. I’d imagined the hike would clear my head, but all it did was turn up the volume on everything I’d been trying to ignore. I never posted the photo. It felt dishonest. Looking at it now, I see how easy it is to mistake a beautiful place for a beautiful moment. #TravelConfessions #NatureIsntTherapy #UnfilteredJourneys #Travel