My Final Project :)

My Place in Nature

Going into English 3110 I was already environmentally aware of the problems that humans and our planet have.  I come from a science background and I want to make a difference anyway I can.  However I never really thought about my actual place in nature.  This class opened up the thought process and I am going to miss it.  One of my favorite stories is from Alison Swans books, Fresh Water.  Gayle Boss’ Dunetop Dying  stayed with me long after I had read it.  The dune was so much a part of here that she could’ve easily left her life behind.  She was absolutely and deeply connected to nature.   I have no dune or hill I want to die on but I want to feel what she feels for that dune.  On page 36 she says as she is on top of the dune, “There’s nothing I need.”  Here place in nature was to just exist.  I imagined the feeling she was having and I crave it, but I am still slightly materialistic.

                Like Boss, who light a match instead me to find my own personal spot in nature, Springer has me longing for a taste of a serviceberry.  He describes a bear eating them as such, “Lost in ecstasy, he was oblivious to the dozen or so camera-clicking tourists nearby. (20)” Those must be some delicious berries.  Nature is amazing in what it provides for us.  I wish I had the capabilities to live of the land and us what Mother Nature has, like Kingsolver did.  If I had to choose one thing that this class taught me it would be; there are so many different ways to view this world and so many different ways to care for the world.  I hope to own a farm one day, an organic farm none the less, and live of it.  I want to make a home for myself in nature, to have the taste of service berries be the only thing I need to be happy.

                Reading a wide variety of literature in class is how I have opened up my mind about Environmentalism.  Instead of just wanting to fix what is wrong, I want to be a part of making the earth better. From saving a tree to hiking a trail there is many different ways for me to find my place in nature.  Being able to hear about my fellow student’s backgrounds opened up to me a world of variety.  I now roughly know where my place in nature is.

                I want to stay local and make a positive impact on my local citizens.  To solve a bigger problem, small steps must be taken.  I would much rather preserve a plot of land then have to change a nations recycling habitat.  My place in nature is letting her guide my life.  Getting rid of my stress and fear filled life to find joy in the little things, like the taste of a serviceberry.