Final Reflection Video [Carly, Olivia, and Maddie]
- Carlynn Rockwell
- Dec 8, 2022
- 3 min read
Final Video:
Final Video Justification:
While our group had a great time brainstorming for and working on this final presentation together, we found it a bit difficult to narrow down and decide what exactly to emphasize. Between all the amazing, yet complicated, reading assignments and class discussions, how could we possibly talk about every single thing that made us think a bit deeper, see things in a new way, or challenge us? We decided to compartmentalize, so we got together and discussed every single week of class- each of us revealing the concept that stuck with us the most. We looked back over the readings and our notes, as well as recounted our friends’ presentations. We even thought back to our off-campus activities and discussed what our main takeaways were from being hands-on.
From all of this, we ended up with a poem that we feel truly encapsulates the semester. It includes at least one takeaway from every week, and while it took some back and forth to agree on the most impactful parts and what rhyme sounded best, we were finally able to produce something we were all truly happy with and proud of. Additionally, a poem felt appropriate to accompany our nature visuals and as the main avenue to demonstrate our takeaways, as a poem is something that you can pack full of content while simultaneously having an air of art and beauty- reflecting our semester perfectly. We also felt that just as we started the class with poetry, it only makes sense to end it this way, too.
In addition to the poem, we wanted to give our video a personal touch by answering interview-style questions about how this semester has personally impacted us. We didn’t want it to feel like a memorized text or speech, but rather, more like a love letter to the class. By answering a few simple, yet broad, questions, we are able to share with the class our own personal takeaways from the semester, and share our most impactful moments. We chose these questions because we felt they were able to embody what we considered to be the broader topics our class aimed to discover this semester through our coursework. We hope that by answering these questions, our classmates can gain a better understanding of how we personally grew and can gain the opportunity to be a bit introspective themselves.
Transcript of Poem:
What a semester it's been- full of work and play.
It’s been such a nice break from TCU’s materialistic display.
This semester has helped us analyze difficult texts,
though at times we found ourselves awfully perplexed.
From Abbey to Thoreau
we learned that we must let the wilderness grow.
While one may call the other a crank
we realized that they agree on much of what they think
Is it more important to access or preserve?
After all, who are we really trying to serve?
We want to keep nature accessible,
but the treatment of it is sometimes detestable.
“Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul”
so putting the earth first was always Abbey’s goal.
Walking is easy, one may say
But what they don’t realize is that from Thoreau’s walk we sometimes stray.
Caught up in yards, gardens, and manicured grass
our utilitarian civilization has become far too crass.
Stegner proclaims preservation is key
as he teaches that the wilderness can do things for both you and me
We need our land available to us
but must avoid exploiting it out of lust.
White and Eiseley taught us to find magic outside
to experience and celebrate the moments in nature that are so divine
To protect the balance of nature, leaving it be
so that one day it can be shared with many past we.
From The Judgement of Birds, we inverted our view
from the humans’ perspective to something rather new.
We experienced our learning first hand
at the Fort Worth Nature Center, a beautiful land.
From bison to privet to fences galore
getting lost looking for bathrooms became something to abhor.
In those five weeks outside we found so much more
than the most dense of textbooks had shown us before
With hard-work and sweat we saw sweet reward;
the view of the pond was finally restored.
At Benbrook Lake, we learned to paddle
seeing so much from that waterbound saddle.
A parasailer accompanied the sinking sun
showing that man and nature can be one.
Dr. Williams is great and oh so wise
he taught us that appreciating nature is not something we can compromise
He also taught us never to use that infamous word
there are other descriptors that go too unheard.
We laughed, we cried, we even danced.
And naturally, we now know it can be acceptable to let go of your pants.
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