Personal Sense of Place Reflection
We began this project with content and learned about several different environmental ethics and nature writing. We also learned about the ethics of nuclear power and the extraction of natural gas through fracking by reading several articles. Also, we investigated how different artists, poets, and authors are expressing their opinions about energy through their work. One significant assignment we completed in the time leading up to the exhibition was the Inspiration Journal assignment, which sparked ideas for my sense of place essay and visual. We practiced different aspects of nature writing and wrote about specific places where we feel at peace. Then, we read examples of projects from last year’s classes to get an idea of what type of writing and visual piece we would like to do. Finally, we began the difficult process of defining our sense of place and environmental ethic to begin drafting our writing pieces and creating visuals.
For the majority of the class, the most difficult part of this project was defining our personal sense of place and environmental ethic. However, this part came more easily to me than to other people. When I began the Inspiration Journal assignments, I had a list of a few possible places that I thought could be my sense of place. After completing these assignments, it was clear to me that my sense of place was Lake Powell. My environmental ethic, however, was more difficult to articulate. To begin my writing process, I described Lake Powell in detail, focusing on my favorite images and memories. Then, I described both sides of the controversy surrounding the Glen Canyon Dam and worked through the conflict in my writing. I asked myself questions about my values and morals and had eventually sketched out my opinion. Despite the hurdle of defining my environmental ethic, the most significant challenge I faced was creating a visual piece. I severely lacked inspiration and had to conference with my teacher multiple times to create an idea for my visual. Even after coming up with this idea and creating it for exhibition, I still wasn’t satisfied with the product I had created.
Even though I may not be as proud of my visual piece as I have been in the past, I have a lot of pride in my piece of writing. After a somewhat painful writing process and a slightly less excruciating revision process, I created an essay filled with descriptive language and elements of nature writing: “The pattern of the cracked dirt on the sprawling dusty desert landscape, the bumbling tangles of tumbleweed, and the brittle fish skeletons are often forgotten, put out of mind.” I am also very proud of the analogy I created in my essay comparing Lake Powell to a cake: “Taking the water out of Lake Powell would be like stripping a cake of its frosting: although it is still enjoyable, it seems bland… If the water is the frosting, the tacky tourists are the sprinkles on the cake. They bring color…” Also, I think that I developed my sense of place well in the first half of my essay: “These are the canyons I love. They embrace me, welcoming me home, like the arms of a mother. Whenever I am sheltered between their protective walls, it is impossible for me to comprehend how this paradise could ever be considered bad.” All in all, I believe this may be my best piece of writing ever.
This project was intertwined with our second semester chemistry project meaning that while we were learning about the chemistry of nuclear reactors in science, we were investigating the ethics of natural gas and nuclear power in humanities. I liked this aspect of the project because I received a wider range of information about nuclear power, which helped me especially for my chemistry project. However, I don’t think learning the chemistry of nuclear reactors helped me in my humanities because my project didn’t focus on nuclear power at all. Looking back on the project, I enjoyed it immensely. It was refreshing to find my sense of place and define my environmental ethic. Knowing these things about myself will help me define myself as a person overall.
For the majority of the class, the most difficult part of this project was defining our personal sense of place and environmental ethic. However, this part came more easily to me than to other people. When I began the Inspiration Journal assignments, I had a list of a few possible places that I thought could be my sense of place. After completing these assignments, it was clear to me that my sense of place was Lake Powell. My environmental ethic, however, was more difficult to articulate. To begin my writing process, I described Lake Powell in detail, focusing on my favorite images and memories. Then, I described both sides of the controversy surrounding the Glen Canyon Dam and worked through the conflict in my writing. I asked myself questions about my values and morals and had eventually sketched out my opinion. Despite the hurdle of defining my environmental ethic, the most significant challenge I faced was creating a visual piece. I severely lacked inspiration and had to conference with my teacher multiple times to create an idea for my visual. Even after coming up with this idea and creating it for exhibition, I still wasn’t satisfied with the product I had created.
Even though I may not be as proud of my visual piece as I have been in the past, I have a lot of pride in my piece of writing. After a somewhat painful writing process and a slightly less excruciating revision process, I created an essay filled with descriptive language and elements of nature writing: “The pattern of the cracked dirt on the sprawling dusty desert landscape, the bumbling tangles of tumbleweed, and the brittle fish skeletons are often forgotten, put out of mind.” I am also very proud of the analogy I created in my essay comparing Lake Powell to a cake: “Taking the water out of Lake Powell would be like stripping a cake of its frosting: although it is still enjoyable, it seems bland… If the water is the frosting, the tacky tourists are the sprinkles on the cake. They bring color…” Also, I think that I developed my sense of place well in the first half of my essay: “These are the canyons I love. They embrace me, welcoming me home, like the arms of a mother. Whenever I am sheltered between their protective walls, it is impossible for me to comprehend how this paradise could ever be considered bad.” All in all, I believe this may be my best piece of writing ever.
This project was intertwined with our second semester chemistry project meaning that while we were learning about the chemistry of nuclear reactors in science, we were investigating the ethics of natural gas and nuclear power in humanities. I liked this aspect of the project because I received a wider range of information about nuclear power, which helped me especially for my chemistry project. However, I don’t think learning the chemistry of nuclear reactors helped me in my humanities because my project didn’t focus on nuclear power at all. Looking back on the project, I enjoyed it immensely. It was refreshing to find my sense of place and define my environmental ethic. Knowing these things about myself will help me define myself as a person overall.