Seizing the Opportunity

As my undergraduate experience here at HSU comes to a close I am greeted with the exhilarating opportunity to get my feet wet and take my first dip into the mysterious pool that is life. Through completing a service learning project for my senior capstone class I am presented with the chance to connect with an organization in my local community. It’s not official yet, but for my service learning I hope to be working with the program coordinator of an after school program called, “Redwood Edventures”. Redwood Edventures poses as an incredible opportunity for young kids to learn outside of the traditional classroom. Through getting the youth excited about their natural surroundings, the Redwood Edventures program gives kids and the young at heart scavenger hunt quest through different redwood state parks and other scenic locations in the Humboldt County region. The scavenger quest make the participant hunt down and identify different components of the ecosystem they are in on top of providing factual information about what they find in form of a rhyme. One of the many reasons I’m so excited to be working with this organization is because being around innocent happy kids keeps this fresh and bright outlook on the world.

In class we’ve been discussing power and how you cope as an individual when you feel powerless. Lately I’ve been feeling very pessimistic about the future state of our society and the health of our planet. Those feelings are completely valid and it’s okay to feel like the world is going to hell however, that wasn’t always the case for me. As I grew more into the major of environmental studies I began to realize that one person can’t do everything no matter how hard you try. Instead of having the feeling of I can’t do something, or I can’t contribute to the change that I so desperately want to see fast enough. Why resort to feeling powerless? Why resort to feeling overwhelmed and pessimistic? Instead lately I've been taking a step back and accepting things for how they are and stepping away from the naive mindset I had when I first became an environmental studies major and thinking that the change I want to see will come quickly. As a result I’ve been focusing on what truly matters and that is the people closest to me. Life’s a crazy place and it comes at you fast, faster than you can think. Take the time to spread love and cherish every moment while you strive to live the best life you can live with the people you care about most. Together we can make a positive change it won’t come quickly but, when you spend more time focusing on being happy and spreading that to others then you are already making the world a better place. One of my favorite quotes from the readings this week comes from Paul Hawkens powerful chapter “You are Brilliant and the Earth is Hiring”, I was touched when Hawkens stated, “The living world is not out there somewhere but, in your heart”. This couldn’t be more true to how I’ve been feeling lately and I hope to keep this reassuring feeling alive with my capstone project.