I'm Still Jenny From The Block

There are several aspects to this move that have been life changing for me. I mean, all moves are change right? Even when I moved from one house with one roommate to another house with two there were major changes that took effect.

In the midst of small changes, like address, and Skyping, and dog walking, there have been some huge changes like friends, overall location, and school. But I'm still Jenny from the block. No matter where I go I know where I came from.

The major change I want to talk about today is the change of school. Why? Well because it is a HUGE change.

1. Reading. I have never had to do this much reading in my life. OK, it was always assigned, but no one cared if you read it or not. Now they do. Not only do they want you to read it, they want you to remember what you read and be able to debate it/and or critique it regularly. I know, I should have been doing that in my undergrad, but when you are reading the history of landscape architecture, you just need dates and names - skimming is completely possible. Understanding complex concepts, laws, and ecological regulations . . . oh, and reading all the pros and cons on environmental policy, or terms; that is what is taking the time. And when was the last time you read a statistics book? A show of hands? That is what I thought. Just try to read that in the library without falling asleep and drooling all over page 13.
2. Homework. Homework is not new. I spent my fair share of time in the studio working on projects during my undergrad. I also spent quite a bit of time sitting at home working on papers, etc. But this homework is different, it is the reading (see 1) and it may not be due until the end of the semester. Or, my favorite, you are given statistics homework - but instead of just having to do the problems you get to write little essays about every problem. Why you came up with that answer, why it is important, and what it is used for. AND, while you are at it, why don't you teach yourself a statistical program to help do the work for you. What? You mean you don't know dos? Well I guess you will have to read this manual to help find some obscure command.
3. Thinking outside the box. For those of you who actually know me, I am an in the box thinker. I go with what works. Here that is thrown out the window. No one tells you what to write about, they just want you to write. And the goals! Oh the goals. What are your goals? What are you going to do to achieve your goals? What are the goals of your goals? If your goals met and fell in love what kind of goal children would they have?
4. Knowing how to cut through the BS. I don't have that one figured out yet. But my Issues in Environmental Sustainability class is full of it. Books upon books of people talking with an agenda. EVERYONE has an agenda. But what are the facts? Well you have to cut through all the rhetoric to find them. How do you do that in a piece that is totally slanted one way that they are using their bias to hide the facts. It is like the last presidential election all over again. At least my professor wants to hear all sides, and give validity to each argument. After all, that is how we learn and grow from one another. I just wish more people felt that way instead of automatically telling me I was wrong after voicing my opinion instead of listening to it, taking from it what is valid and moving on. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
5. Avoidance. I am an avoid-er (I realize this is really BIG NEWS). The more difficult it becomes the less I want to work on it. So after an hour of statistics (during my 3 hour statistics marathon) where the teacher starts to sound like he is not speaking English, I shut down. I think about my day, my friends, my other homework, or the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow? African or European, I don't care. I also spend vast amounts of time thinking about the woods, playing with my dog, reading Aldo Leopold, and blogging (as evidence of the 2 video posts . . . 3 if you count the trashed one). The daily crossword has been reintroduced at my peril.

What is sustainable for me? That has been a big topic in my Environmental Sustainability class (obviously). But it means more than just for the environment, or for our lives, but for you in this time of life. Getting all A's and being at the top of the class and working my life away on a thesis is not sustainable for me. I can't go without friends, or time to just sit and stare off into space, or go and be with God (both in church and out), or sit in the woods and contemplate Aldo Leopold's ideas about nature and Psalm 104. So is sustainability getting B's, seeing friends, and blogging every once and awhile? Is it taking this many hours at a time? Sustainability, something to think about.