HOME LIFE
For those of us who stayed home during Autumn 2020 (and even many of those who went to campus), there was no college life, at least not in the traditional sense. Luckily, my parents are supportive and provide a warm home environment. I appreciated the opportunity to continue the creation of my family's native plants garden and deepen my connection to my local ecology. The loneliness of being home during the COVID19 pandemic stretched on into my Autumn quarter, and the addition of online classes sometimes felt like not enough of a change to mark a new phase of my life.
MY FIRST DESIGN CLASS
I entered my first design class, ARCH 200: Design and Representation, absolutely terrified. I had been sketching almost daily for the last year, but haven't drawn much my entire life and am not very confident about my drawing skills. Now, toward the end of the quarter, I feel a lot more confident and am used to the routine. I find that it takes me longer to complete in-class drawing assignments than we're often given in class, but am accepting where I am in the process. I tell myself that I don't have to be a great artist - I just want to improve my ability to represent and communicate design ideas.
DEEPENING MY ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE
I tell people that I'm interested in ecological design; ecology comes before design. Much of the Columbia Plateau ecoregion is mis-designed; standing atop the hills outside town, I look down upon a town of greenery supported by copious amounts of irrigation. Since every ecoregion has its own unique challenges and gifts, the ecological designer needs a good understanding of the landscape in which they work in. To that end, I've learned more about ecology in general through the class Introduction to Restoration Ecology and supplemented that with other projects and study specific to this region. That includes participating in local restoration projects (first below), reading books about the Yakama and other peoples indigenous to this region, and planting a native plants garden with my family (second below).
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Reflection
When I've felt lonely this year, I've often told myself that I'm too busy to reach out to or call people, or that it's too much effort for not much in return. The few social situations I've been in this year have often felt unfulfilling, or a temporary reprieve to an unsolvable problem. Worse, I've left some feeling reminded of my isolation when I had been relatively happier previously. For all these reasons, I've put very little energy into social interaction recently. However, during the week after my birthday, my brother came to visit and I called a friend from college, as well as participated in a few meetings for an RSO I'm involved in. I felt better than I had in weeks (less workload helped too). I think this is a reminder that community is vital to my well-being, and that it's worth it to put in the work to find and build it, however difficult the circumstances.
My vision and passion fuel me every day to keep going with this path despite the difficulties. I do this because I have love for the world and its inhabitants and a vision for how I can contribute to the movements to better it. Whether I am accepted into my program of choice or not, I will find a way to do the work that needs to be done. Beyond this truth that helps stabilize me, I am proud of myself for my continued effort to better my design skills despite the stress and feelings of futility.
I didn't find much at UW too surprising, and feel like I'm yet to really dive into the Honors community and UW at large. Like many elite liberal universities, UW preaches diversity and inclusion and continues to engage in practices that go against these principles, such as continued use of exploitative prison labor and investment in fossil fuels. I remain and am perhaps more skeptical of elite institutions than I was before my time at UW began, and find it difficult to trust or feel at home here when I feel such a discrepancy between what must be done and the current situation. Learning about or witnessing a conversation about crises is one thing; actively engaging in the work that has to be done to end them is another. While many at Honors are actively engaging in work to end crises, I feel quite far from that as I move step-by-step through my academic path. I feel caught in an endless series of Zoom calls as the world continues to crash around us.
At the end of autumn quarter, I look forward to a winter break with my family, spending time relaxing, reading, and working on personal projects during the last extended time in the academic year I'll spend at my family home. Then I will move on campus in Seattle, where I hope to connect with friends and organizations I'm interested in. I hope to involve myself with the Society for Ecological Restoration at University of Washington so I can do hands-on work to better the world and combat my feelings of helplessness, and do more on-campus organizing. To that end, I've lowered my credits for winter quarter to allow more time to build community and less stress from my workload.
My vision and passion fuel me every day to keep going with this path despite the difficulties. I do this because I have love for the world and its inhabitants and a vision for how I can contribute to the movements to better it. Whether I am accepted into my program of choice or not, I will find a way to do the work that needs to be done. Beyond this truth that helps stabilize me, I am proud of myself for my continued effort to better my design skills despite the stress and feelings of futility.
I didn't find much at UW too surprising, and feel like I'm yet to really dive into the Honors community and UW at large. Like many elite liberal universities, UW preaches diversity and inclusion and continues to engage in practices that go against these principles, such as continued use of exploitative prison labor and investment in fossil fuels. I remain and am perhaps more skeptical of elite institutions than I was before my time at UW began, and find it difficult to trust or feel at home here when I feel such a discrepancy between what must be done and the current situation. Learning about or witnessing a conversation about crises is one thing; actively engaging in the work that has to be done to end them is another. While many at Honors are actively engaging in work to end crises, I feel quite far from that as I move step-by-step through my academic path. I feel caught in an endless series of Zoom calls as the world continues to crash around us.
At the end of autumn quarter, I look forward to a winter break with my family, spending time relaxing, reading, and working on personal projects during the last extended time in the academic year I'll spend at my family home. Then I will move on campus in Seattle, where I hope to connect with friends and organizations I'm interested in. I hope to involve myself with the Society for Ecological Restoration at University of Washington so I can do hands-on work to better the world and combat my feelings of helplessness, and do more on-campus organizing. To that end, I've lowered my credits for winter quarter to allow more time to build community and less stress from my workload.
honors_100_autumn_2020_reflection.docx | |
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File Type: | docx |