We started out today with a quote from Henry Thoreau, who is thought to be one of the first nature artists. The quote is, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” We each interpreted this quote in our own way and made a class list on what this quote could mean. Throughout this STEMmersion, we will focus on the meaning of this quote through our own experiences through nature, especially the “live deliberately” aspect of it.
Later in the afternoon, we sat in silence for ten minutes by the pond outside of our school. We were given an assignment to list two things we felt, three things we saw, and three things we heard. At first, I was bothered by the itchiness of the grass and the noise of the surrounding groups of people. After sitting there for a few minutes, I started to ignore what I was bothered by and focused on the nature around me. I could hear birds chirping and the rustling of leaves in the wind. I could feel the wind through my hair and the warmth of sunshine against my skin. I could see the calming flow of the water and a variety of plants all around. Some would think that ten minutes in silence would be boring or seem like it would last forever. However, when I was out there and focusing on what was around me I felt a sense of peacefulness.
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