ReligiousStudies
Introduction
Being in this class this semester has taught me a lot, and I’ve experienced a lot It was a shock to me though, because I thought it was just going to be a regular class, and we were learning about religion, but it was more than that, I learned about religion and also how it ties into everything political, social, and environmental I always knew that religion was placed into certain things, but I was able to gain a whole new perspective on everything I remember telling my teacher, “ I didn’t know we were going to be doing all of this”, and she laughed, but being in this class was super fun and definitely di erent I like the hands-on part the most, being able to help out in the gardens we visited I really liked participating in class discussions, and it was cool hearing everyone’s take on how they felt about religion Being in this class
I think I’ve grown into more knowledge about the environment, and I now have a new respect for it due to the ideals of religion At first to me my environment was my environment, I’ve always liked being out in nature, but I’ve never just sat and observed it, and in doing that I realized we’re all the same, just a di erent species All of us have to do the same thing, and we’ve all experienced the same hardships If I can, I want to be able to take another class that’s similar to this one It's very intellectual, and the hands on part is what I really want to do It’s just something about being able to help out, and knowing that it will a ect multiple people’s lives, and the knowledge of my being able to do something like that motivates me to continue helping out outside of schooling I already had plans on giving back to my community, and helping out in places that are needed, and I’m glad that this class was a start for me
Social Location
When someone asks me to introduce myself I introduce myself with my name and if I were to say a little more I add my age to it and where I’m from I feel like your identity has something to do with where you’ve grown up, and the experiences that you’ve gone through in your life to now be the person you are today Overtime I feel as if my self identity has changed, because mentally and personality wise, I’ve definitely changed, and not to fit into societal standards, but in a way where I can protect myself from society when it is time for me to get out into the real world Well others see my identity as my gender or my race, which are two main factors of my identity, but I’m more than just my race and my gender
I think I relate more to nature than the human world because I feel as if nature provides peace and space where everything can be calm, whereas people provide for me uncertainty because you never know what you’re going to get from someone Nature, you're not so sure, but it is inevitable and unpredictable Like my personality, when people meet me and get to know me they know me for my personality, but that's where they get wrong because they’ve only seen just a little of it, not all of it in di erent times, moods, or settings, and that’s where I can say I’m unpredictable like nature
Trees
I remember growing up, I used to live in Kings Crown Court, and they had these huge beautiful houses, and we lived in a cove where our house was the biggest house in that cove It was always so fascinating living there and so magical because animals used to show up in our backyard all of the time, we had this great big front yard and a really huge back yard that had steep hill that we used to ride our bikes down being daredevils, but one thing you wouldnt miss were the trees I’ve never seen trees so big, and there was one particular tree that we loved the most, and because we loved it so much we decided to build a treehouse on it Not because this tree was so tall and big we couldn’t get the highest o the ground and we had to use a few surrounding trees to support two sides of it, but overall that tree was the main character I don’t know why, but it felt so much di erent than the other trees and it looked younger When I look back on it, it kind of reminds me of people where the young people are the strongest and most beautiful, while the old people are older and they’re not as youthful, and they’re still beautiful, but their looks are starting to age with them as well that’s what it reminds me of Being around that tree I was always happy and I felt very connected to it, and I don’t know if it was because I was a kid and it was a major part of my childhood, or it was my own Mother Willow (no the tree wasn’t a Willow, but the connection I had reminded me of Pocahontas the Disney movie) in a way where I can go and reset, rest, or explore the parts I could explore
Animals
Before my friend transferred to another school, I would always hang out with him and his dog Her name is Bella and she is a black Lab, honestly the real reason why we met was because of his dog I only knew them for a few short months, I’ve seen them around school before; the first time was during the summer when we both were staying on campus I was moving my things into O'hara, and when I paused to take a break she ran up and jumped on my legs so I could pet her, but because I didn’t know her owner at the time I didn’t really feel comfortable interacting with her
When school started I would see them playing over by the area I wrote about being my nature place where I go to regroup or chill in while I was walking to class One day that changed though on this particular day when I was walking to my second class Bella ran up to me and she greeted me on the way and wouldn’t leave my side After that her owner came up to me, and he spoke about how she must’ve really liked me because every time she saw me she got excited It became a daily routine to visit her When I first started coming around and going to his dorm she loved me instantly and I loved her
We really created an inseparable bond with each other, she was always so nice and precious, and because of our bond, my friend gained trust in me very quickly Visiting her throughout the day became a very routine thing, it became so routine that if I didn’t come to visit her she would whine until my friend texted me to come over We played a lot, and I was allowed to walk her whenever I wanted to
Now that it’s warmer outside, my place is full of di erent animals and insects flying around I’ve noticed a lot more birds in my place as well, I’ve seen red and blue ones and it just made me realize how many animals live over there I’ve seen so many squirrels running up and down the trees and there are huge bees flying everywhere It just makes me content being over there It's been super hot lately and it has provided shade and a nice cool breeze everytime the wind blows I’ve noticed that the school is trying to grow some flowers over there so they put some mulch and some flowers down Lots of more people go over there now to sit in the shade and play the little games that are scattered across the university People also bring their dogs over there to play in the shade It's just a really good time
The trees are greener and fuller now since the seasons have changed If I’m walking from Rozier back to Oakdale I like to walk through that area only because I like to peek through the leaves and count how many stars I can see through the holes in the leaves Also since it’s now warmer outside there are a bunch of spiders over there, and when I say a bunch sometimes if I’m not too careful I’ll either take one home with me or if I’m chilling in one of those red chairs I’ll feel something crawling up my leg then I’ll see a huge spider, that hasn’t caused me to stop going just yet, but it’s really fun being over there I think a lot of students like that place because even though it’s kind of in the middle of the campus it’s still out the way of everything else, and if you’re outside for a school event and you need to get away for a little bit and don’t want to go away too far I feel that it’s a place for a lot of people
For the future I have a lot of worries and fears, and sometimes my hope for the future is fleeting due to the wild and major environmental, economical, and social “norms” agenda that is trying to be pushed I believe that a lot of the things that they’re pushing now, like working on having a cashless society, normalizing sexual behaviors in underage kids, banning abortions even in situations that pertain to non consensual sex and complications during pregnancy is a major downfall for us as a people There’s a lot of things going on and being forced onto the general public for us to even sit down and take in, and all of this is still more important than the banning of critical race theory in schools, mass school and public shootings, guns are now the leading cause of death in children
It scares me to think of a future with a child, because looking at where everything is headed makes you fear for the future and it brings in what ifs, buts, and a lot of questions that people beat around the bush to answer There are bigger things to worry about, diseases that are still killing people daily, such as cancer, diabetes, aids, and many other diseases that are “accidentally” spilled in a lab that has coincidentally been leaked as well The only time where I think of religion is when I’m praying to God to save me, because religion didn’t cause any of this, it is caused by these people who abuse power and are stuck in their greed I don’t think many people care about their faith anymore I hear too many people saying the church is corrupted, they are shunned because they want to live the life they want to live, and religious people don’t accept them I believe it’s all a ploy to continue to lead people further away into self damnation I’m glad though that churches are still going, and I’m glad that the rumors of religion didn’t cause the complete abolishment of them
Garden of Eden in the Midst ofDeforestation
