Journal Entries

Field Experience 

Living in Georgia, winter is not the picturesque snow and cedar trees, but instead dead grass and wet leaves are the predominant setting for winter memories. Perhaps this is why my favorite winter memory is snow based. Last year, Jack Frost came in March and left a six inch signature. My entire family was sitting on our front porch imagining the forecasted snow, but not daring to speak of it for fear of jinxing the magical event. It was raining and my brother and I were walking in and out of the house due to immense boredom. “Do you think it will snow?” “Well Wes, if you keep asking, probably not”

“Really?”

“No.”

At that very moment, we walked outside and looked towards the cul-de-sac that is in front of our house and noticed that the rain was bouncing. I thought to myself, “Rain doesn’t bounce” and then realized that it had dropped a good 10 degrees since my last time on the porch. I smelled the air, it smelled like snow. Snow makes the air smell like an odd concoction of smoke and crisp, clean air. While it is a contradictory idea, it’s true. My mom was the first to spot a flake, we all thought maybe she was mistaken, or maybe it was a bird feather; however, then another followed, and another, and then another thousand behind that. As the snow continued to fall, our excitement grew. We then realized that it was not only falling, but also sticking and accumulating. I looked at my brother and we both had the same thought at the same time, “Jackets!” At that moment we both turned and ran to our respective rooms and emerged quite soon afterwards with jackets and hats on. We both ran down the stairs and were in the garage within ten seconds. We were met by my mom and dad and we put our shoes on and walked outside together. I felt the crunch under my shoe and that urge to slip and fall. I fought the urge and walked down the driveway to the front yard. The snow covered grass crunched with every step and the cold made its way through my jacket and I suddenly realized how cold it was. I looked up and watched the snow hit and stick to the pine trees; they were a picturesque scene, backed by a grey sky. Just as I began to fully appreciate the beauty of the trees; the back of my head was assaulted by a snowball thrown by my brother. I quickly returned fire and ran behind my truck and took cover. Soon my entire family was caught up and a snowball fight. After about fifteen minutes of snowballs plunking my truck and return fire, we stopped and realized it was beginning to snow much harder than before. We all recognized that we weren’t wearing nearly enough clothing to sustain such cold temperatures for very long. We walked back into the house and were hit by the warm air, realizing how cold we were, we all gathered by the fire crackling away in the fireplace and hung up our clothes to dry. We all enjoyed the snow, but perhaps we enjoyed being together and sharing an experience as a family even more.

Journal #2

Reading this story is quite introspective for me.  I can relate very much with the authors ideas and new feelings for the sea critters. I have found myself, oftentimes completely by chance, in complete amazement of the sea and the life it beholds.  The ocean can open up entirely new worlds and avenues of thought with the simplest of discoveries. As she ponders the life in her palm, she “felt her mind go wild.” Her mind configures the creature into two spacemen dropped off onto earth. Her ideas about the creature spur new ideas and make her feel like she is having the perfect dream. Because of her experiences on the first day, she goes back to find more of the strange creatures the next day. She finds the creatures entangled and churning in the water. She describes the scene as “not knowing whether they were killing each other or mating.”  They try to unsuccessfully separate them and seemingly wound the creatures. Nature took command of the situation and the creatures swim away peacefully. The author and her friend check their watches and realize that they had both been exploring the coast for four hours; however, they both felt as though they had only been out for twenty minutes. As the day wears on, the creatures become less distinct and the women decide to go talk to a biologist friend. He informs them of what their discovery was. The author comes to the realization that her new view on life is due to her new found environment. She gives the credit of her new discoveries to the island environment of O’ahu. She describes her discoveries and later applies her new found appreciation to her city life. The author takes her class to the zoo and the class sees monkeys tear a pigeon apart. She reminds them that it is a natural occurrence. They later see an alligator eat a low flying bird and she is reminded that she did not used to see the normal occurrences before her trip to the beach. She has altered her state of nature and place forever. She realizes that the natural world is far more simplistic and easier to understand than what she took for natural world before her trip to the ocean.

Paddle Into Peace

Waves lap memories from the sand and pain from the soul

Something about the tranquil water is calming and all consuming

Fully immersed in the oceans calm grasp, I came to realize this.

Standing on the still water is a nervous experience

Begin to paddle and my stomach turns over and over

Slowly adjusting to the waters methodically irrational motion

My confidence begins to build and my mind becomes consume

Keeping the board propelled and afloat occupies every ounce of concentration

Then suddenly it becomes a natural task, as though my body was used to this.

Gaining speed and moving towards tranquility my muscles begin to relax

My mind begins to focus less on the task of riding the water and more on the water

Through the lenses of sunglasses the water seems magically textured and majestic

The dark section of ocean directly ahead is my goal and it is not far off.

The flatness of the ocean is reassuring and I bring the board to a halt

For a moment I stood and admired all that was in front of me

Then I realized it was not for comprehension, but for simple observation

It was placed by God for his children to enjoy and appreciate, not decipher

And suddenly calmness rushed over my mind and soul like the wave I just missed.