Chapter 2 - High Tide

Since chapter 1 was pretty depressing I thought I'd throw in some comics before I discuss chapter 2!
Spoiler alert: The Eaarth has not gotten any better.

In chapter 2 Eaarth, McKibben discusses globalization and how it has been enforcing global warming. I first am amazed at how long transformations take! McKibben explains that even though industries started to burn coal, it took almost a century before coal was burned more than wood in the United States. Growth has always been the focus of globalization. Each year, we have to produce more as a nation and in so doing use more of our limited natural resources. But, infrastructure is usually pushed aside. In the recent years, global warming has produced more weather-related issues: floods, hurricanes, etc. With weak infrastructure, there is no time to recover. Besides infrastructure, insurance is needed for the increase in diseases that are the result of global warming.

My main concern is the availability of gasoline in the coming years. McKibben's discussion of Limits to Growth, written in 1972, is interesting. Have we already reached the peak of our oil reserves? If the cost of gasoline rises, will more people switch to hybrids and electric cars? I think I will, eventually.

At the conclusion of chapter 2, McKibben states two steps that we should take, mature and jettison. I think about my job as a delivery driver and how that affects the added waste of food containers and global warming as the result of emitting carbon dioxide. I ask myself, what are the ripple effects that I contribute to?

My song for chapter 2 is here!

Chapter 1 - A New World

In the first chapter of Eaarth, Bill McKibben illustrates the earth as a different, changed planet given the name Eaarth. The beautiful blue earth we once knew from the Apollo 8 picture "Earthrise":

 is no longer the planet we live on. McKibben addresses his readers with a straightforward approach, and it works. I'm not lying when I say, when I first started reading this book, I was not as aware of global warming or climate change. It was so lightly discussed in my science classes in middle school that I didn't care about it at all. But it means more to me now. Simply, global warming is happening to the entire planet and affects everyone and everything. The burning of fossil fuels have raised the temperature of the environment causing an increase in rainfall, acidity of the seas, methane gas leaks from the frozen tundra, the melting of the glaciers at the poles, etc. The effects that I didn't know about sparked my interest! I find it ironic when McKibben stated, "The idea that humans could fundamentally alter the planet was new." Reading this book now I feel that I am going to be responsible for global warming in the coming years and will truly see the changes. Scratch that, I have already seen the changes. The fact that McKibben wrote this book about ten years ago is astonishing because many societal issues haven't changed at all.

The most important point that McKibben made, in my opinion, was 

"If you got a spare month some time, google global warming and grandchildren."

After reading that I felt the urgency in his tone and I felt guilty for adding to the carbon dioxide in the air that is causing global warming. I was also touched by the fact that having grandchildren is so far into the future for me, decades. How can I, myself, help to sustain our environment for the future?

Chapter 1 was eye-opening for me because it states an important truth, the earth is not the same as it was and will never be as it was. Depressing, but true.

I have decided to link a song for each of my Eaarth posts. The first is below!

Earth Song

So we saunter...

Reflection of "Walking" by Henry David Thoreau

       I want to first illustrate that "Walking" was a pleasure to read and I highly recommend it to everyone. Thoreau's writing is as beautiful as Nature itself and I can guarantee there is something in this essay that will inspire you.

     A brief summary: In Thoreau's essay "Walking," originally given as part of a lecture, he contemplates the idea of walking as a parcel of Nature. Walking then becomes an adventure and not a means of getting somewhere; It becomes a part of every aspect of life and elicits spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being.

During the walk we did as a class, I experienced what Thoreau describes as being free from all worldly engagements. I found that walking without thinking about waking up just in-time for class or working all night after class, was refreshing to say the least! I noticed things on campus I haven't discovered before - pieces of the stone whale were broken off and that seeds were planted for the brewing class, for instance. Thoreau explains that the environment you find yourself in influences your thoughts and can lead to new experiences. If you think about it, where do people go on vacation? Places away from home, places that are warmer or more beautiful this time of year. Thoreau even portrays that a circle of ten miles' radius will never become quite familiar to you. A person could walk to the same place each day and still find that Nature can change dramatically. While reading, one of my favorite movies came to mind and is worth mentioning. Good Will Hunting, starring Robin Williams and Matt Damon, emphasizes the importance of experiencing new activities and not just reading about them in a book. With regards to personal anecdotes, I loved reading the section on page 238 that starts with "I trust that we shall be more imaginative, that our thoughts will be clearer, fresher, and more ethereal, as our sky...," because it highlights the role of Nature in our lives as American citizens. In the broader aspect of Nature, Thoreau states that, "Life consists with wildness. The most alive is the wildest." and "all good things are wild and free". Thoreau perceives Nature as an intrinsic part of being human. Take dance for instance (not like it's my passion or anything). A dancer captures my attention when he/she can perform a move I can't or does it in a way that is different from me. In this case, the wilder the better!

I think that the most inspiring passages in "Walking" are on pages 249 and 250 when Thoreau illustrates the need for a Society for the Diffusion of Useful Ignorance. Sometimes I have to remind myself that there is no perfection, there's almost never one right answer and all others are wrong. Also, it is more important to realize that there is so much to discover than believing that all things known are facts.

"Which is the best man to deal with,--he who knows nothing about a subject, and, what is extremely rare, knows that he knows nothing, or he who really knows something about it, but thinks that he knows all?" - Thoreau

For me, I am still figuring out where I fit in the range between society and Nature. Above all, I enjoyed reading Thoreau's vivid depictions of Nature and the walks he has been on and lastly...

"So we saunter toward the Holy Land, till one day the sun shall shine more brightly than ever he has done, shall perchance shine into our minds and hearts, and light up our whole lives with a great awakening light, as warm and serene and golden as on a bank-side in autumn"

Ambulator nascitur, non fit

Happy People Refrain (based on "The Audit")

The blog below is about "The Audit" in the form of a J Cole song! A link to the actual song is here

• Warning - The lyrics in the actual song are explicit and are in (many, okay all) J Cole songs.

"Your Dream" Lyrics

in the style of J Cole's "Love Yourz":

Your dream

Your dream

[Hook]:

Dark and divine miles, before I sleep

Dark and divine miles, before I sleep

Sleep no one, sleep no one

[Verse]:

Your life is yours to live, dream it right

US endorsement, GCA

Ain't we all the same, breathing through the night

Can't accept the life your living, just change the terms of service brother

Goes for all y'all

Just change the terms of service brother

(Let me explain)

Change the terms of service, carve a poem in the grass

Look at the footprint math or fix your schedule of events

Bill grew up in the suburbs and life was moving fast

Compared to Goodwin Brown, Bill was a f****** mess

And life can't be no poem, no Robert Frost design

But I would die if Bill can't see who's lying

Why does Goodwin have his needs and is able to sing?

Why can't you believe and live your dream?

Cause beliefs you should find

The emissions from your home from the car you drive

My broadcast is 'you've got to change your ways'

Carve poems in the yard and dream your reality

[Hook] x1

[Outro Verse]:

Your life is yours to live, dream it right

US endorsement, GCA

Ain't we all the same, breathing through the night

[End]

           I think that many people forget how simple life really is. If people would only carve their lives differently than how society says we should, then the world would be a better place. Think about it: people in other countries are only miles away. The world is like your backyard; if it is mowed the same every time, it will stay the same but a yard mowed differently will change and can carve a beautiful poem.

Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to College

To all of my classmates and professors,

As a current student at Western Michigan University who has two unique majors: Dance and Computer Science, there are some things that I should have known before starting my college career. Granted, I cannot illustrate every lesson learned the past year and a half, but I can give some simple pointers for those who need inspiration, motivation, and determination to pass each class, one semester at a time.

Nobody is perfect. I personally have failed a few classes and messed up in more ways than one. Going to college is not easy for everyone. It's a constant challenge to get passing grades and still have just enough free time to sleep, study, and party (occasionally).

The first step to "living the dream" is to realize that you are there for a reason!

It was at the end of my freshman year when I understood that people actually supported me.
At first, the professors in my technique classes said that I had a slim chance of making it through 4 years of college. The professors in my computer science classes saw me stroll into class 5 minutes late almost every day. Since then I've changed my habits. Why? Because I was meant to be in those classes. I was meant to push myself and make them say the opposite. The fact of the matter is, I auditioned and was accepted into the Dance program. They believed in me from the start! I was just too hesitant to believe in myself. Know that you were accepted into college and that it was never a "shot in the dark". Whatever it is you are passionate about, fight for it! And know that the professors are only making you stronger.

The second step is to know yourself and stay true to your limits! Avoid peer pressure!

A wise teacher in high school once said, "Life is not a puzzle to be solved, it is a mystery to be lived". In college, every student is unique in his/her own way. Being away from my parents, living on a campus I didn't fully understand, it was difficult. I learned that I was not getting good grades because I was not taking care of myself. I didn't get enough sleep. I didn't spend enough time on homework. I wanted to talk to friends more than I wanted to study. The key is to know yourself. Know the difference between doing what you need to do to pass and doing what you want to do with people who drink alcohol and play video games all the time. It's your life. There is only so much time in each day, use it wisely for the better, for what really matters. I am not saying don't have fun while you're in college. Just know your limits!
"Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some" - Robert Fulghum

The third and final step (in this blog) is to seize the moment!

Going to college might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Life is short. Many people have never gone to college. There are some people who are not blessed with good education, a place to live, a family to love, or friends to laugh with. At the end of the day, studying at a college is beautiful. It's exciting! Don't get too stressed out and just enjoy every new experience!


Check out the below links for some of my previous dance experiences!
Note: Some of the dances were performed prior to college.

• New York State of Mind Solo
• Take Five Solo
• Up All Night
• WMSDF 1
• WMSDF 2