This summer, I made a commitment to myself to be outside as much as possible: riding a bike when I could take the subway, sitting on my fire escape when I could be on the couch, and forcing my friends to eat off paper plates while we awkwardly sit on grass or sand when we could be indoors, fully upright, at a table.

I have sent the words “Let’s picnic outside instead!” to all of my favorite group texts in the past few weeks, and while the response is mostly enthusiastic, it pivots to skepticism once everyone reads the follow-up: “I’ll bring pasta salad!”