Megan Howard's The Omnivore's Dilemma

Outside Reading Blog #3
In the past week I have recently started reading a book entitled The Omnivore’s Dilemma. It discusses the American diet and the roots of our eating habits. In one particular chapter, the author (Michael Pollen) attempts to create a food that he has made utterly and completely with no artificial help and no outside contributions. He tries to create a meal that he killed, harvested, planted and seasoned with nothing from a grocery store. This was a mighty undertaking that took many months and had many twists and turns. In the beginning he immediately breaks his own rules and accepts help from close friends in scraping salt from a lake in Northern California, taking a bottle of wine from his friend Antonio’s vineyard and allowing others to help him prepare the pork that he killed on the hunting trip. The experience has many ups and downs including this middle aged man stealing cherries from his neighbors for his dessert, nearly poisoning his company with the salt he collected and nearly dieing of hypothermia while wading out into the water to trap fish. However, in the end all of his hassle is well worth the reward of preparing this meal. He believes that by collecting all the goods himself he has brought himself closer to nature and the landscape from which he harvested. Michael Pollen now has a greater understanding of Northern California and what the wilderness has offered to him.

Megan howard's "The Road not Taken

Outside Reading #2
Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken is my favorite poem. It takes the most complete and simple idea of the wilderness and cultivates it into the basis for every decision in my life. It is the most deeply personal poem I have ever read and I feel like he is talking about me with every choice I make. I find myself wondering the differences a choice would have made, the consequence of the alternate decision, the life of the road not taken. I find myself falling onto the common path but hope soon I will do what inspires me and not what is expected. This poem helped me to come to my decision to join the Peace Corps after I graduate from college. I find everyone else getting a job after graduation, partying and rushing onto what they have the rest of their lives to do. I want to take a moment to breathe and see what opportunities and experience await me on the road not taken. Because I want to see what more to life awaits me “I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference” I believe. This change in route will change who I am and who I will become.

Making Nature Sacred, Lindsey Ceniviva

While discussing our text, Making Nature Sacred, the poet Anne Bradstreet was mentioned. She was a poet whom I studied very intently at my previous institution. She was a very well educated woman of her time and came to America during the "Great Migration". She fell ill and eventually became paralyzed. Despite many hardships, Bradstreet remained faithful to the scriptures and kept her devotion alive. Her education and decent social standing allowed her to write on a variety of topics including politics, theology, and history. The main poem i have focused on before was, To My Dear and Loving Husband. This poem spoke about the unconditional and passionate love Anne and her husband shared. It is a strong and romantic poem expressing their lovely and eternal relationship. Anne Bradstreet was a beautiful poet and should be noticed for her unique and descriptive works of art.

Megan Howard's natural Setting

Natural Setting Blog #2
For a graduation gift my family went on a cruise to Bermuda. This is not the usual thing for us I’m used to the Jersey shore or trips to the local pool; not an exotic location where even my dorky parents wanted to visit. Getting onto the ship, we quickly became isolated on the ocean. There was water surrounding us, with nothing else to be seen. It was the most captivating natural scene I have ever encountered. It was so simple yet s awe inspiring us. There were no other boats and the only other thing to be encountered was the sun. The sun rising, the sun blazing down on the deck and the sun setting. The moon at night, gazing down with the stars, and the ocean appropriately changing colors to reflect the mood of the sky. At times it was nothing but a dark abyss surrounding the ship, other times the brightest turquoise splashing against the boat. There was a mysterious deepness and secret surrounding my family on that cruise. A world was lurking under the luxurious boat that I could only comprehend on the surface. Having only the ocean in sight was one of the most awe inspiring natural settings I have seen.

Random Topic, Lindsey Ceniviva

This semester I am also taking the course Religions of the East. In this course we tend to touch on some similar topics being discussed in our Wilderness as a Sacred Place class. In my religion course, we mentioned Axis Mundi and its significance within the practices of many religions. In Jainism the Axis Mundi represents the center of all their values. Being in Sanskrit, the Axis Mundi provides wellness for the religion and its followers. In Jainism, nonviolence is the basis of their beliefs, followed by truthfulness, not stealing, celibacy, and not being attached. While all of these points are key to the dedication to Jainism, the symbolic power of Axis Mundi brings them all together.

Experience, Lindsey Ceniviva

This past weekend I experienced an amazing connection with nature. Although I was not completely subdued out in the woods, I felt the presence of the wild within me. This past weekend I went ice skating with my cheerleading squad and while circling around in the uncomfortable skates, my sight became hooked upon a group of trees in the distance. Despite the lights and crowds and noise, a personal and silent feeling came over me. I felt as though I was alone on the rink and that I was just floating above the thick ice. I have an overwhelming love for Christmas spirit and the Holidays and this feeling just boosted that even more. The trees I had been fixed upon took my breath away and made me feel the love that nature provides during our holiday seasons. It is the recognition of life and natural beauty that these gorgeous trees instill. Even though this experience only lasted a few moments, it was something that I can reflect on and remember throughout the holiday seasons to come.

Megan Howard Natural Setting Blog

Natural Setting Blog
The Noland Trail expedition for class was very intriguing. It was a pleasant change to experience the wilderness that was a significant part of our class. Instead of being inside a classroom of cinder blocks we got to experience the source of sacredness for itself. Walking through the woods I began to see in it the things we had talked about in class. The superiority of the tall trees, the calmness of the water, the small detail of the plants we walked by. And all this scenic beauty around me gave me a small idea of the world we lived in. It was not about my problems but a bigger picture with God having worked out a plan for us somehow. How could all this be around me and I not see it? How could I only see the text from the class readings and not realize the grandeur of it? The trail gave me an idea of how big this world was, the beauty that was in it and the sacredness instilled deep within nature. The trip to the Noland trail and actually being able to see the wilderness and touch it was a highlight of my ULLC class this semester.