At the brink of the fast approaching summer, we are asked to reflect upon our courses, deciding what new knowledge we will leave with and decide to implement in our own lives. In this post I will talk about the main takeaways that I have from ENVS 160 and how I plan on using them in my personal life as well as my life as a student.
Even though these are ‘my’ takeaways, one of them is to not make them only mine. One of the biggest lessons I have learned in the course is that strictly individual thinking is often unproductive and does not always yield the best results. So one of the biggest takeaways I have is to apply these lessons I’ve learned to more than just my own life, to try and expand further and think bigger. One of the best ways I think I can achieve this is through communication. I aim to educate others on things that I have had the privilege of learning. At the same time, this course has taught me to value that others have different opinions, a notion that I covered in my first post. I believe that because of this important lesson that I have learned, mostly from the book Why We Disagree about Climate Change, is to facilitate open minded conversation and to really value the perspectives of others because being closed off to new ideas and opinions will not educate you and push you forward, it will limit your learning and growth (Hulme 2009).
Another thing that I have learned is to try and seek out motions of bigger impact regarding environmental studies, as well as other things in my life. Too often, I limit myself to what is reachable rather than grasping for larger achievements. Doing little things is important, just as recycling is a good habit that does make a collective difference, but I should not be afraid to be courageous and take a leap of faith. I think one of the best ways I can do this is to take the things I care about and try and blow these matters up on a larger scale. Maybe I can do this by volunteering at an organization that deals with the environment that makes more of a widespread impact than just my individual eco-friendly practices.
In my scholarly life I plan to try to see and think more widely. This was one of the main things that I have learned by taking an interdisciplinary course in college, as well as in high school. I am a very focused, but sometimes narrow thinker. I think it will be very beneficial for me to keep trying to take a step back and search for connections in order to get a better grasp on the importance of the things that I am learning and how they span further than I may think.
I have learned some very important lessons in ENVS and I think that they will definitely make me a better scholar and learner, but also a better steward and person as I continue to navigate the lessons that I have learned from ENVS 160 this semester.
Works Cited:
Hulme, Mike. 2009. Why we disagree about climate change: understanding controversy, inaction and opportunity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.