My final blog post

        Over the course of this semester my love for the world around me has truly grown. I have always appreciated being outside and in nature, but the class has helped evolve my understanding of the world we live in and what we need to do in order to preserve it for future generations. Throughout the semester I have made a couple of small changes to help make the earth a greener place to live. I used to buy plastic water bottles because they were so convenient.  I have however been using the same plastic water bottle for most of the semester, I wash it out and refill it every day. I take shorter showers and I am always getting on my roommates about our electricity usage, partly because it helps save money, but also because it is better for the environment. Before this class I never thought about what place in the world my food was being grown. I also never thought about the repercussions of things as small as microbeads getting into our Great Lakes. Environmental literature has given me a deeper understanding of nature and what we as people need to do in order to utilize but also protect the earth however we can.

            The part of the class that resonated with me the most was when we started talking about farming. I myself am not a big poetry reader, so I had never read a Wendell Berry poem. His poetry is beautiful and I really appreciate his views on the world we live in, and what needs to be done to protect it. I love learning and talking about things that I can relate back to my own life; and farming is something that I can do that with. I grew up in a small farm town, and although my family does nothing even remotely close to farming, many people in our area do. This includes my boyfriend who I have been dating for almost two years. So over the past couple of years I have started to spend more time in nature, fields, and on farms. I have learned about the process of raising animals and certain crops.

            The blogging assignment in general has also been a learning experience. I think I might enjoy blogging about something that I had larger passion for, or an area that I had more knowledge in more so than something I am being told to write about. Even with that in mind, it was a good tool to practice writing skills. Anytime you practice anything it becomes easier, and so creating a couple of blog posts each month was a good way to keep writing and learning. It was cool to read other students blog posts as well. I also liked the fact that we could read other students posts. This is a great tool to use when you are experiencing writers block. You don’t copy other students work, but reading it helps can help spark ideas for yourself and can also make you more confident that you are on the right track. Overall I enjoyed the class and the blogging process. I have learned a lot and my love for the environment has grown and will continue to grow after the class is over.