Journal Entry #5

          

      At first, I was kind of dreading having to take Colloquium. Being a Resort and Hospitality Management major, I don't really often think about the environment. But after taking this course, my outlook has completely changed. I was forced to think about nature and I feel like it has been such a benefit to me. Due to the first essay, I began to remember my childhood spent outdoors and helped me gather a sense of place. What has especially made me feel more connected to my environment has been the campus trail walk and the class field trips, they have made me learn so much about my surroundings because of those opportunities. If it wasn't for the trail walk, I would have never known about how pretty it was. The field trips also helped me be more knowledgeable about interesting places that are so close, that I seem to take for granted. I really enjoyed the field trip to downtown Fort Myers because it is a place that I have always liked so much. Learning what I have on that field trip (such as the Buffalo Soldiers and Thomas Edison) has made me like that area so much more. I also learned so much about animals. Before this course, I wasn't so knowledgeable about birds but Colloquium has changed that for me. For example, I particularly thought it was so interesting about the wood stork, and how they catch fish by wiggling their toes and extending their wings out to make shade. While snakes aren't something that I really care for, learning about the pythons that seem to be all over in this area was actually interesting (and a little scary!). I feel really grateful that I had the chance to take this course because it helped me to learn so much about my environment and it turned about to be such a fascinating course!

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