I don’t like when I’m not doing anything. When a was a child, I remember
the times I sat at the kitchen table staring at my mom and telling her I was
bored. She’d respond with some things I could do and I would eventually find a
way to keep myself occupied. Even when I visit home from college, I think my
mom gets a little nervous, knowing that she is going to watch me go up and down
the stairs and drive here and there to stay busy. When she sees me getting
antsy, she says, “It’s okay to just relax you know.” I make the time for that
too, but more often than not, I will do what it takes to stay on the move- to
feel like I’m learning something and doing something new.
During the school year, I usually don’t have a problem keeping
myself busy. Reading through textbooks, writing lab reports, or studying for
the next test takes up most of my time. I typically don’t mind the work because
my classmates and I know we are all chugging through it together. The collaborative
environment and rigorous workload have helped me to enjoy my education even
though it feels overwhelming at times. One thing I’ve realized about myself through
my studies is that I really do like to learn. Even if one of my classes didn’t
particularly peak my interest, I’ve felt happy that I was able to force my
brain to think in a different way or figure out that there is a more efficient
way I can study. The hours I’ve spent behind a desk have felt rewarding because
the hard work has paid off.
On the other hand, I sometimes look back at my college experiences
thus far and think, “Why did I spend so much time studying for that one class?”
When all a semester’s work is summed up into a single letter, it is difficult
to defend why I had exerted so much energy to study when I could have possibly spent
my time in more enjoyable ways. Outside the classroom, I love to explore.
Whether it’s walking through a museum or taking a jog on a nature trail, I
enjoy being on the move. One of my biggest struggles thus far in my career path
has been trying to find a way to bridge my interests of focused interpretation
with exploration.
I feel that my experiences thus far with the LAKES REU has been a
great way to live through these two worlds of desk and field work. Last week,
my team and I traveled up north to seek out wild rice beds, which we were
successful in. While my team and I have spent time outdoors and will continue
to study wild rice beds via canoe, the majority of our time has been dedicated
to really thinking about what we want to understand about wild rice growth and
how we can use our studies to better the Red Cedar Watershed. This analysis
beforehand has allowed my team and I to really think hard about what
information we are seeking. My school experiences have given me the skills to analyze
numbers, but has not focused on reflection to understand why what I was learning
was so important. I like to solve problems. However, my research experience
thus far has allowed me to understand that defining
the problem could be just as, if not, more important than actually solving the problem.
This past weekend, I went on a camping trip with two other females
in the LAKES REU and I feel that the experience connects well with my
understanding of what it means to learn. When we were hiking up bluffs along
the Mississippi River, we would walk for long periods of time but then stop and
ask what kind of tree we just passed or question why that one patch of soil was
much sandier than the rest. It felt great to get to the top of the mountain,
but I enjoyed understanding what I was passing and what wildlife surrounded me
more. I understand now that it is important to stop for a moment, on a hiking
trail, when I’m bored at home, or when I’m studying late at night and just
think. As much as I love to feel like I’m continuing to move forward, I want to
spend more time taking a breath and really asking myself why.
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