ReflectionThis course taught me about the country of Brazil and then took me there. It was that simple, but so much more. We took the first part of the semester to learn various aspects about the culture, government, language, and history of Brazil. During spring break, our class took off for the Amazon to experience it first-hand. Now, I’ve traveled abroad before, but this was so unlike anywhere I’ve ever been. This was definitely the most adventurous trips I have taken, and probably will ever take. I was presented with opportunities I never thought possible, like piranha fishing. I saw species of birds, insects, and plants that were so unbelievably beautiful that if I didn’t witness them first-hand, I wouldn’t accept their full existence. Being away from cell service and wifi had such a purifying effect on me; it allowed me to take a step away from modern conveniences and simplify my interactions. I could focus on what was around me, which I found to be a rarity at home. Regardless of how it may come across on this platform, I really learned to simplify my life. The complexities that we introduce in our daily life are great in certain aspects, but can be distracting in others. I have found that to reach a more genuine happiness within oneself, it is beneficial to reduce all of the artificial nature of our modern life.
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the following is a reflection on the trip that was required as part of the course work. I chose to elaborate more in this section than I did for the previous summary If I could give this reflection a central focus, I would. There was so much to process on the trip in terms of what I saw and how I felt about it, it’s difficult to articulate exactly what I feel like I gained from it. As a group, we saw so much that there was destine to be some that fell through the cracks of my processing and reflecting. To put it generally, this trip added to the complexities of the fabric of my being. There is no one, specific way that I have changed, but I feel like I grew as a person through my experiences. I got to witness parts of the world I could never imagine even if given all the time, creativity, and mind-altering substances in the world. The fact that the Amazon occurs naturally blows my mind, but also makes so much sense because no mere mortal could conceive this place on their own.
I’m not sure if it was the new environment, a mental breakthrough, or if I had just been out in the sun too long, but I didn’t feel like myself. I don’t mean to say that I lost who I was from a self-actualization standpoint, but it was a strange and somewhat unsettling sensation. It’s hard to say exactly what it was, but I felt less sure of what I was doing in my life. I didn’t feel as anchored in my beliefs anymore. I wasn’t aimlessly adrift either, I was simply floating. I came to the conclusion that maybe I was just finally clear-headed for the first time in a while, which made me upset with myself. This meant that I let the everyday monotony bog me down into a state of autopilot way too easily back home. This is how I should be feeling. I should be feeling at peace with myself and where I am in my life at that moment. I hope that I can maintain this in Ohio. It would be pretty pitiful if I have to travel thousands of miles to a foreign land to get to a state of living that I feel is right and healthy. This trip allowed me to step away from the daily stressors and distractions of my life back in Clifton. It’s easy to get brought down by the tedious, obligatory actions that we take. Our culture is so centered on moving from one appointment to another, making the most efficient use of the hours in the day. Everyone is hustling. But in the Amazon, we finally got to take a second to notice what was around us. Granted, this was a vacation of sorts for us and not the typical life of most people, but I feel like I needed this. I didn’t even know that I needed it, but it is so clear now that I did. This helped to shift my perspective. What I worried about in my life seems so trivial to me now. While grades and academic success are great aspects to work for, it shouldn’t necessarily be my main focus. Being on the boat simplified life for me. Maybe I don’t need to stress so much to find answers, maybe I can be okay with not knowing. There was a moment on the boat, a moment of complete contentment that I will hold with me forever. I try not to overanalyze it so that it can maintain its pure emotion associated with it…words seem to only detract from what I actually experienced. With this in mind, I still feel the need to explain what happened to me. To shortcut to the moment of importance, we had just finished the second round of piranha fishing and were back on the boat waiting for the bat-hunting crew to get back. I changed clothes real quick and went to join the others on the top deck. All the lights were off and nobody was at the table or in the hammocks, which was very atypical. I quickly saw what everyone was doing. The two canoe groups had got together to quietly lay on the uncovered top of the boat and look up at the sky. It was the perfect time to look at the stars: the sun had set but the moon was not yet out. There were no clouds obstructing the view. It was pure night sky with the most stars I had ever seen in my life. The longer we laid there, the more our eyes adjusted to the light, and the more stars we were able to see. We were all there together, but not speaking. There was no need to use the insufficient vocabulary that we possess on this perfect moment. I had felt close to these people before, but this brought a whole new connection. This night was different for all of us -there is no way that we all processed it the same way- but I think we all knew its significance. I feel a special bond with these few individuals. I know it wasn’t because we knew we had to get along during the trip. Being in a confined space for 10 days helped, but we didn’t get along just because we felt it would make the trip more pleasant. These are some of the most positive and adventurous people I’ve met since coming to college, and I love how they made me feel. Their attitudes were infectious in the most advantageous way. These people attack life by wanting to see and do as much as possible. It was so much easier for me to take the portion of myself that feels this way too and magnify it. The other students improved my experience both internally and externally. I was worried that this sense of comradery would end once we got back to Cincinnati and got back into our routines, but now that it’s been about a month, I know that this is more permanent. I think that we’ve been through such a unique experience together that we will always have this one thing binding us together, regardless of how spread out we all become once we graduate. I can look back now and remember how I felt about certain moments, but I haven’t felt similarly since. Maybe I shouldn’t, because those times were so unique. I understand now that the great things that I felt back in Brazil were fleeting, as are my apathetic feelings that I have now during the last week of classes. Nothing is permanent. The present will pass soon, so feel it for all that it is now. Do it now because there will be nothing exactly like it ever again. This trip’s meaning to me is constantly changing. It meant something different to me when I was experiencing it than what it means to me in this moment. It will probably mean something else to me five years from now. This reflection will never feel like “enough” to me. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to accurately articulate how this trip made me feel or how I feel about the people I am privileged to have gotten to interact with. I hope that you have read this with the sincerity in which I wrote it, and forgive me for the disorganized nature of it. My thoughts are jumbled but my sentiments towards the effects of this trip and these people, I hope, are not. |
Sample WorkPlease visit the website I have created to sample some of what I have learned during the trip to the Amazon: http://brazilianperspective.weebly.com/
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