During the second semester of humanities we focused in on what our point of living is. We talked about if there is a point to life why it matters if it matters what we want to do and where we find a reason to be alive. Our essays reflect on a place in nature that we find a purpose or a meaning somewhere we feel at home.
Drops Of Home Kaitlin Mccullough
The lake is where my energy and soul are restored and peace and healing come to me. I first went to the lake when I was 2 weeks old. During summers it's where I grew up. It's where I watched my childhood go by. Being a child there was truly an indescribable feeling. The sun and the sand could keep me entertained all day the only battle I had was putting on sunscreen. My mind was so young and naive, there were no problems around me. The water-cooled me off and the sun heated me up. I hiked up hills and rocks when bored and chased lizards for fun. There was no technology or fake sense of happiness there was only peace. On our once-a-day stop at the marina, I would run to the ice cream container, and get a drumstick that would melt down my face. I remember driving across the lake with the hot sun beating down on me and my hair flying in the wind. My only concern was ensuring I ate my ice cream before it all melted. I would make forts on the boat and take naps on the long boat rides across the lake and watch the sunrise and set over and over. The lake was mostly adults but I had one friend that was always there named Abbey. I and Abbey would run around all day until our boddies physically couldn't anymore. We hiked, paddle boarded, swam chased lizards, slid down hills, made smores and so much more. One day I and Abbey and her dad had run out of things to do so we came up with a new idea. I and Abbey decided we were going to lay on surfboards and get pulled across the lake laying on them. I remember feeling so content and my heart and soul being so full of peace and having no sense of sadness or concern in my mind and body. I and Abbey always found stuff to do and every time I think about it all I can think about is how content and at home, I felt. The peace that the lake provided is something that stays with my soul today. The pure happiness I felt there is something that is stuck with me forever as I aged the lake has changed but it's still somewhere I connect to. The feeling of floating in the water brings me clarity and watching young kids around me live their childhood there is something that brings me so much joy. It is truly something I wish everyone could experience. It is healing to go there when everything around you might feel like it is in shambles because it reminds you that nothing is that serious. It brings me back to the start of my life when I had no worries or responsibilities and helps me reconnect with that feeling. Growing up is something no one can escape but when I look back at those memories I really reconnect with my childhood self. When I first started going to the lake it was a small community. Everyone knew everyone. The people there respected the land and the environment. As I have aged I've watched the lake become something different. It's filled with thousands of people a day. When I was young it was quiet now it's filled with noise and speakers. The shores aren't filled with as much wildlife as they once were. The shores have been changed by the constant traffic going through them. My personal land ethic is that we should respect the land as it is not ours, and do what we can to preserve it. It is sad to see the lake change in these negative ways as it goes against what I believe in. The lake has become a place where people go to parties. Almost no one views it as a spiritual place or recognizes the land it is on. I think the joy that the lake brings people is beautiful but the change it experienced in even the last couple of years truly is devastating.
This semester in humanities we studied the history of social movements in the United States and modern social movements. We went through history starting in the late 1800s to the present day. As you can imagine our country and the world have seen an immense amount of change since then. We looked at women's suffrage, voting rights, racism, laws making, wars and so much more. After researching lots of history we were given the task to choose a social movement going on in the present day and connect it back with a social movement from the past to see how they build off of each other. I wrote an opinion piece on the pro-choice movement and connected it with the women's rights movement. I enjoyed learning more about that but for the final project, I wanted to do something big and something that could tie everything we had studied together. My partner and I decided to make a mural that could tie the projects together. Our mural was a big world that had arms and legs that you write on. The mural asked the question what moves you? And what action are you going to take? People wrote on the mural and interacted with the questions. The final exhibition consisted of many people's individual projects that focused a lot on specific social movements. So we decided we wanted to find a way to bring these movements together and give people a place to think about what's important to them and think about what they can do in the present day to create change. It was impactful to see adults reflect on who made the changes they have seen and then have them think about what they could do for future generations.
While we studied the history of the United States I felt proud of how far we've come yet but shocked at where we used to be. The progress we have made is so much more substantial than I ever knew. I wonder how we can continue to make changes in our society today. We studied the ways that laws are made and how we can create change. But the present is a lot different than the past, with social media, protesting, and lawmaking changing. It seems like we're fighting issues like climate change so heavily today yet it doesn't feel like much change is happening. So I do wonder what more we can do in this corporate society to create change.
The exhibition felt amazing to me, it was beautiful walking through it. I feel that it could have used more time and definitely had the power to be its own exhibition. The stories and projects that people delivered were beautiful. I really enjoyed looking around at others' projects. In the future, some more signage and or organization of what was going on when and where would have been great and the exhibition definitely had the potential to be longer. I think my peers did really great and there was a lot of passion around the projects. I will say some people didnt seem as passionate or as intrigued with what they had made. I wish everyone could have really got into something they were passionate about and I think that would have made the exhibition absolutely amazing. Although with that, I also saw a lot of amount of passion from a lot of people, the projects were so intriguing. I am incredibly proud of my peers and everyone who worked to make the exhibition possible!