Reflection For my Energy and Place project I took inspiration from a reading we did called and Edward Abbey . I thought that Abby was really inspirational when showing his love for the desert. He used descriptive language while telling us about the place he loved but also used a sense of sarcasm to make it more interesting. With reading the handouts it became easier to write descriptively. Another one that helped me was a movie we watched called DamNation. They showed their compassion for the land that they loved. Some of the people in the movie had connections to the land and watching it get destroyed was devastating for them. So I took a place that I love and showed my connection with it.
For my Sense of Place project I didn't know what to do for a long time. So when I first started I had a very rough draft of what I was going to say, though to be honest I didn't know if this was the place. When doing my inspirational journal I was more focused on the descriptional writing that I forgot all the other components. I tried again with my own and I think the biggest change was the entire paper. I didn't know what I was going to do for this project and I think that finding a place that had meaning was huge.
I'm not the best writer, I'm terrible at it and I am not afraid to admit that. Throughout this entire project I really struggled with what I was going to write about. I chose a place that had meaning but it wasn't a happy memory. I was young when this happened so it was difficult for me to write about this place. My sentence structure didn't match up, my spelling was horrible and my paper was a complete mess. I sent it to my father and with his help we hit all of the requirements and made the paper presentable.
When I first started this project I had no idea what I was going to write about. I was placeless, I don't have memories or happy thoughts about any particular place . No place held something special to me, no memories, no happiness. To me places are just places. I see them and then there gone in the next moment. I travel a lot in my family so have a place that is dear to me is difficult. It took me a couple of days to realize that all though I don't have a place, I do have a place with memories. Cloudcroft New Mexico, the place where my grandfather passed away. I knew what I was going to write about but I don't remember what happened on that day. I was trying to remember what happened that day and a lot of what I remember is my thoughs. I remember everyone crying and being sad. Throughout this project though I found that being with my family was important to me. If I never spoke or talked to my cousin I wouldn't have that crazy side of me that so few people know. I remember the person I once was and now I'm older. I've grown as a person and a family member sense then.