The Emotional Rollercoaster of Environmental Revelations

Life, undoubtedly for all of us humans, is inherently emotional. The degree at which we foster, express, or actively apply those emotions to the constant unfolding of events around us is what varies. Some people are raised in what I would call emotionally repressed households, where there is certainly love for one another, but vulnerability isn’t expressed, and deep emotional connections are not the basis of conversations or bonds among family members. Others are raised in homes where the freedom to express emotions, creativity, and vulnerability is highly encouraged and forms the foundation of family values. Now, there are also a plethora of other family relationships, household types, and core family values, and many families cultivate an environment that is emotionally suppressing at times and then encouraging at others. Family and emotional dynamics are no static thing. My point is this; our relationships to our parents, siblings if we have any, extended family, and the community at large are what define the scope of our affective palpability as individuals. The emotional environments we are raised in a visit the most frequently define our sensitivity and expression as affective communicators.

 

The beautiful and loving women in my family. From the left, my mom, sister Caitlin, cousin Callie, my wife Chelsea, and cousin Rory.

               For me, I was raised in an emotionally encouraging household. We spoke of our feelings, our pain, and our excitements about life. It created a deep bond between myself, my parents, and my siblings. Even with this solid background of support, confronting the crisis at hand regarding the worlds current ecological state, the many looming social, race, and gender inequalities, and realizing my privileged position within this whole mess was emotionally challenging to say the least. Our professor Sarah Ray wrote about the progression of emotions her students experience in the ES curriculum and how acknowledging and addressing these emotions are important to her teaching style yet should be handled with care. She asks a question that I feel accurately summarizes this dilemma, “How can attending to the affective experiences of students in ES curricula do triple-duty: cultivating resilience in our students, protecting faculty from burnout, and contributing to planetary salvation?” (Ray, 2). I believe her and those studying this issue do an excellent job at attempting to answer these question, and although I most certainly cannot answer them myself, the discussion is one I believe we can all contribute to.

A good friend helps with the emotional rollercoaster. Nich Graham hitch-hiking near Lake Tahoe, CA.

               Since we are all inherently emotional beings, then we must all have some form of emotional knowledge and understanding. These questions do not merely address the challenges of ES students and faculty, but like the last question of the sentence highlighted, involve the entire planet. Every human on this planet already has or soon will undergo an emotional journey related to the current situation of our world, both ecologically, and culturally. These emotional revelations come at a cost, they have the potential to hinder our capacity to feel and to use those feelings for good. Luckily, since we all have varying degrees of emotional comprehension and communication, finding solutions to address the affective arc of ES students can involve everyone, in and outside of the classroom. Our families, our friends, even our enemies can help us grow as emotional beings and contribute to us healthily processing the feelings we encounter when faced with a, to say it bluntly, fucked up world. For me, getting to know the land around Humboldt State University, and especially the people, was essential to my ability to process the emotions related this the ES curriculum. I become aware of the indigenous presence almost instantly upon my arrival to this area two years ago, and through a few Native American Studies classes and my good friend Matthew Marshall, a Hupa native, I was welcomed into their world. Seeing their strength, resilience, and survival against the odds is enough emotional energy to empower anyone that can feel.

Matthew Marshall as a boy with his family fishing hole in the background. Hoopa, CA.

               Another effective way to utilize these powerful emotions to “contribute to planetary salvation” as Ray put it, is to engage ourselves in the communities around us, applying our critical lens for the empowerment and betterment of those around us. Danielle Davis Joy in her article on Critical Service Learning states that, “While prepping educational leadership students for required testing is crucial, preparing for subsequent practice so adult learners develop the ability to critique and respond to the complexity of community and stakeholder needs must not be overlooked” (Joy, 12). This statement encourages imbedded training within curriculum like ES that trains for and is reactive to the response of real world issues. What a better way to create emotional support for students struggling through the affective arc then to prepare them to face challenges, emotions, and the complexity of issues outside of the classroom, head-on. Its like playing chicken with your doubts, insecurities, and fears. If you look away or decide to turn out last second, you never learn to understand or defeat the obstacles.