Blog # 4

This has been a very different type of assignment. Thinking of ways to write it was as different as the content of the actual paper. I decided to think back on the memories that had the greatest impacts on me. All of these memories taught me certain lessons and that is part of the reason why I knew they would be good for this paper. I could elaborate and go in to great detail for each of the memories and attempt to really convey what and how I felt during event. I still have a fair amount of detail to add, but the experiences tend to write themselves once I let go of any notions of not wanting to overdue things. My spear-fishing trip was one of many, but this was my first one in the open ocean. It was drastically different from anything else I had done before. I was so used to being able to see the bottom of the ocean except this time is was just one big blue abyss. I had gone diving on structures before, but never anything on the scale of an oil rig. I remember how humbled I felt to be such a small thing in what seemed like an over sized world. I knew this would be a good experience to write about because I enjoyed it and learned so much from it. My first hunt was another major point. It set the foundation for the way I look at a large majority of the world today. Most people seem to have become desensitized over the years, so a first hunt now may not have the same type of effect it would have years ago. I think it is because of how young I was that it had such a profound effect. I chose to write about this experience because of the gravity of the experience and I knew that would make for a good topic. There were a few experiences that I gave some thought to but ultimately decided not to write about. One of them was a long conversation between myself and a homeless man I met while volunteering. The conversation began with sports, changed a lot and finally ended in an almost prophetic philosophical debate. I found the conversation to be amazing but it did not seem like the kind of thing that would be enjoyable to write, much less read. Another experience that I left out was a hike through the Rocky Mountains. The views, sounds, smells and feel of everything became incredibly difficult to convey on paper. It would not have been difficult to describe them, but it would never have the intended effect. Also, my story about walking through mountains could only stay interesting to a certain degree. The way I decided on which experiences to write about was determined by a few questions. What did the experience mean to me? Could I include a lot of naturally flowing detail? Is the memory the best one to illustrate the point I am attempting to make? The experiences that could answer yes to all of those questions were the ones that I decided to use. Events that were only able to answer one or two of the questions, and seemed a bit forced, were the ones that I wanted to leave out of the paper.