The Wonders of Nature

Oh my goodness, I absolutely loved class on Monday. Besides the dead fish and the smells. I grew up on a farm outside of town, so we had fields, trees, and a huge yard all around. I love nature…walks outside, sitting in the grass under the sun or stars, and just playing. When I was younger, anytime I got upset I went out to our tree fort and just sat there thinking, and most of the time crying.

Re-reading parts of Joel outside did help me out a lot. For the most part, it gave me a break from the busyness of life to actually sit down and take in the story. To be honest, the first time I read it I was in the middle of getting ready for class. I usually don’t wait till last minute, but I’ve had a lot going on. I was able to think more about what was going on and what Joel was about.

The second time around, I noticed more phrases having to do with nature such as, “For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has borne its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.” At first I thought we were reading outside for a different atmosphere and it seemed more “poetic??”, but then I realized that it had much more meaning than that. Joel mentions nature multiple times.

I was very nervous after the first day of class when we were told of everything “different” we would be doing. I knew it was going to stretch me, but so far I really enjoy the different approaches to literature. This class is not like any other boring literature class. I am learning to take out pieces of a story and figure out meanings, instead of just skimming over the book or story.