Elizabeth Watkins - Loving the Cooler Weather

This season has been very different for me as we turn from fall into winter. I usually absolutely love summertime and all that comes along with it and I usually dread wintertime. I’m all about the beach, the sun, and flip flops. This year, however, I’ve definitely changed. I am loving the cooler weather. I don’t know whether it’s because this summer felt so long for me that I’m liking the change of pace or whether it’s for another reason. I’ve also been running the Noland Trail three to four times a week so maybe that has an impact on me. I love that the leaves are about 20 different colors at one time and that they crunch and fall gracefully from the trees. The cooler weather is just a nice change, and it makes me excited for Christmas time. Last winter in this area we didn’t get any snow. We had a slight sprinkling in January or something. All I know is that I’m excited for this winter and I hope we get some snow this time around!

Elizabeth Watkins - Outside Reading

For my first outside reading, I went online. I went to http://beldenlane.com/bio.php because I wanted to learn more about this author. From this website, I learned that he is known for his writings about “the relationship of spirituality to questions of geography, place and nature – asking how particular traditions formulate their understandings of God and spiritual practice with respect to the land”. If I could interview Lane, there are a few questions I would ask. I would ask him: What are your top 3 most spiritual places? What are the sacred places like? And, what kind of feelings do you get from these places? The article I read at this website also talks about how Lane is an excellent storyteller. I know that is answers to these questions would be so incredibly interesting and they would teach me a lot about how other people, especially professionals in the field, look at sacred place.

Elizabeth Watkins - Making Nature Sacred

On page 41 John Gatta states that “In the poet’s view, humankind lives at once within, yet apart from the community of animal Creation. We belong and do not belong to ‘nature’”. What does that mean? When I first saw that statement I thought about how we as human beings isolate ourselves from nature. We don’t dwell in nature, we dwell among it. We build up houses and roads and make ourselves “civilized”. When are we directly interacting with nature? Only when we go out into it on purpose are we belonging to nature. We go on walks, we hike, we camp, we lay on the beach. We’re among nature when we choose. To me there seems to be no instances when we really unconsciously belong to nature. We’re always making conscious decisions about our surroundings and about what we are apart from.

Sacred Softball Fields-Chelsea Gilbert

For over twelve years I played softball, seven of those years were for competitive softball teams. Playing softball has been my one passion my entire life. I love the game, the coaches, the people, and the excitement. Every year, from January to October, I trained endlessly to be successful during every tournament. While playing on the softball team Sliders, I gained some of the most amazing friendships I have ever had. Traveling up and down the east coast together, we learned a lot about each other and a lot about friendship. It was also a lot of fun to visit different places. Most of the tournaments that my team went to were in the country or by water so when we were not playing we were going in the water. There was one specific place that I will always remember. The hotel that we stayed at had a walking trail behind it that my teammates and I would go out on whenever we had the chance. In the middle of the walk there was a river that ran through it, and signs of humans living there, but during the 4 years that we visited there, we never once saw anyone else there but us. It was very interesting to wonder who lived there or why we never saw them, but at the same time was kinda scary. A lot of times I called softball my escape, much like a sacred place would be. These past three years were rough years in my life because I had a lot sickness and death in my family and when I was at softball practices or games, I found that I could concentrate on something fun other than my family. Standing on a softball field, almost everything that happens during the game is all in your control. It is nice to know that as a child I had something that I could call my own work. Of course, there were also the times when you lost or played horrible and wanted to blame everyone but yourself, because you were mad at yourself and your performance. However, I valued the times that I could do spend time with my best friends doing something I loved. Although my softball days are over, I look back on those years with great memories and lasting friendships.

High School versus College-Chelsea Gilbert

Now that I am a college student, it is easy to tell the differences between college and high school. In high school I was involved in sports and clubs, and was friends with a lot of different people. I never really defined myself as a certain type of person or a person who was part of a certain "group" or clique. However, I did find myself conforming to other people's views at times because it was very hard to get away from them. Most of high school was about drama and gossip, and although I tried my best to escape those things, it seemed to always be around me or my friends because we were in such a close environment. Everyone knew your business in high school and that is thing that I am most happy to be away from. Here at CNU, I find myself able to be more independent. I can carry my own views and beliefs and not have to worry about other people affecting them. It is much easier to avoid hanging out with people that do not enjoy the same things as me, but it also allows me to embrace other people's views if I choose to. I do not feel like I have to embrace them or associate with different people because I am stuck with them. Whereas in high school, I did feel that way. I enjoy college a lot more than I thought I would and the friends that I have made here are similar to me in most ways.

In-Class Writing: Sacred Place-Chelsea Gilbert

The place that is most sacred to me is my grandparents' house in Chesapeake. Every Sunday since even before I was born, my family has gathered there for lunch. I love those Sundays because it allows my family to catch up on the week and stay very close. This house is a place that has been filled with love and kindness my entire life. I could not think of another place that is more significant in my life than grandparents' home. It is in a small neighborhood with the Elizabeth River surrounding it. As a kid, my cousins and I would run up and down the water together and have a blast. We also spent many Sundays and summer days playing baseball in their huge backyard, or swimming in the pool. This house holds many great memories for me, including Christmases, birthdays, and Thanksgivings. I find this place to be very special to me because of the atmosphere it has; it is a very warm place that I have always felt most at home in. After discussing everyone else's sacred place and the idea of memories, it makes even more sense that this would be my sacred place. Everyone has their own idea of sacred; however, that place always has some version of memory in it. It can be anything from a church to a house to a park to a camp, but it is the things that you do there, the things that describe the place, that make it sacred.

Walk in the Woods-Chelsea Gilbert

Back home at the local recreation center is a trial that is frequently used for runners and walkers. This past weekend I went with a friend to this trail and felt alive by all of my surrounding nature. I could see the change in the leaves on every tree. The vast array of orange-ish, yellow-ish, and red-ish shades brought color and beauty to the trail. The sun was glowing down through the branches onto the different forms of nature. I saw small animals like squirrels and birds moving throughout the woods. It was interesting to sit there and think about how these living things came to be about, and what they transformed from. Although it is a public park used daily by dozens of people, there was not that much evidence of human interaction. The trail was relatively free of trash, food, and other particles normally found in wooded areas, possibly because other people find this place to be very significant as well. This trip to the park allowed me to relax and feel free from daily obligations with work, school, and life. It is funny how a simple walk outdoors can calm you down and make your day better.