United as one the Environment and I

“ All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts. His instincts prompt him to compete for his place in that community, but his ethics prompt him also to co-operate. The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, water, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.” ( Leopold 907)

How to deal with the environment and the impact it has on individuals have been much debated on over the last century. Morally and ethically humans knew it was wrong to harm another species, yet for as long as we have ruled as the powerhouse of the kingdom, many species such as animals, planets, and even the environment have been in the impending downfall of our actions.

As Aldo Leopold states in his excerpt “The Land Ethic” humans should be more resourceful and thoughtful when making decisions that have a direct impact on the environment. He clarifies the role in which individuals should play and the relationship we should have with the environment. We need to co-exist and co-operate as Leopold states with our surroundings and the environment for a healthy and peaceful resolution to occur. We need to start seeing the land and our environment with the same compassion we have for our communities.

Over the century I can say that sadly this has not happened and I agree that we need to treat others including the land and environment with the same respect we would like to be treated ourselves. Our tiny action can cause catastrophic outcomes, and keeping that in the back of our mind can lead to the prevention of these events. What many don't consider is our world will not stay beautiful and pristine forever if actions like deforestation and mass extinction of species continue. The level of seriousness for this problem has become an understatement, it is no longer about informing and hoping people follow, it is about promoting effective actions to start now.

I find that the environment in danger to be a new concept, we are used to hearing animals or plants in danger. In reality, the environment is in danger, and it is our thoughtless and naive actions that lead to the endangerment of the environment. We have inadvertently turned a blind eye to a climactic situation such as the extinction of animals/plants and climate change, hoping that these problems will fix itself. It’s time for a wake-up call, we need to actively be trying to form better habits when it comes to our environment and treat it with better care because if we don't clean the mess we made who will.

Me and My "Englishes"

My family is a big melting pot of different languages. That may sound funny, but when your first cousins speak only english, your aunt speaks spanish, and your niece speaks nepali, you get the hang of adjusting to your surrounding. My parents grew up in Nepal, where there is 123 different languages,out of that, my parents understand and fluently speak at least five as well as English. As a child I would hear my parents speak Nepali, while my aunt would laugh and accidently insert some spanish slang and my cousin and I spoke English. I grew up to understand and speak Nepali, (apparently with a prominent American accent, but I choose to believe that I speak fairly well), but unlike Amy Tan there was not a drastic difference in my English when speaking to my parents. While my parents would speak in Nepali to each other, they would speak in English with my brother and I. Other things aside, my big and diverse family loved reunions and get togethers, anything that would put the Thapa Family under one roof. When these special occasions occured, I would be surrounded by different languages and religions, however even though there were differences, we all spoke english with one another.The combination was weirdly comfortable for me, but one thing that stood out was how I spoke Nepali with adults and elders compared to people younger than me. There is a certain way in which you should address adults, in Nepal there is formal and informal language that is directed towards a specific groups of people. When speaking with adults I have to switch my Nepali to a formal communications, however with kids and peers younger than me I speak informal Nepal. This holds true English as well, just not as intense as Nepali, where a mix in formality can be interpreted as disrespect. At school, my english changes based on the person I am talking to, If I am talking to a teacher I will speak in a formal way, in contrast when I speak to friends I speak informally. I have learned to adjust to my surroundings and change my way of speaking so it is appropriate.

My “Englishes” give me very different personas as it really depends on the context and the people I am speaking with. At home with my direct family, I speak with a mix of formal and informal, I still joke around and add slangs but am more respectful to my parents. In comparison, when speaking to my friends and texting I speak very informally, and use “text language” with slang and shortcuts and with teachers, I speak formal English. Likewise, when I am speaking to a stranger I use formal English, but as I gradually get closer to someone I start to use informal English. English gives an individual power to communicate the appropriate message to people around you. However, it is important that there is a balance between these two ways of speaking. One must possess both formal and informal english to properly communicate with different people.

The Writing Reflection

In the beginning of the year, my writing lacked many qualities and was something I could improve. My thesis and analysis was one of the major challenges that I had encountered. Especially the analysis, I found that most of my essays and quick writes failed to answer the crucial question, “Why was this important?”. Not having that question answered in my writing made my essays sound amateur. I could pull all the evidence I needed but when it came time to explain why I did so, I could not answer it. Because of this my score was lower than I would have liked it to be. To improve my writing, I frequently asked others to read my writing out loud, that way I could hear anything that was wrong or not how I intended it to be. This method helped me determine where I should focus on and what I should fix. Gradually, my scores on my essays and quick writes improved and my overall confidence in writing also improved. 

After having more experience in writing, my thesis is more concise and focused. I can see that it sounds more professional, but also more focused and well rounded. However, I can still improve more on my reasoning and analysis but I am happy that there is was an improvement. To achieve my goal, I need to ask myself the central question of why? That way my audience will understand what my thought process is, and give an explanation to my writings significance. I am most proud of my argumentative quick write and Satire Quick write. For my argumentative quick writer, my position on the topic was clear, and my word choice was improved from the beginning of the year. The Satire quick write was also an assignment that I was proud of, it shows my improvements and all the skills that I have accumulated over the year. In this quick write, I had a clear and concise thesis along with good analysis that supported and strengthen my claim and evidence. To develop my writing even further, I need to practice more. The more feedback I receive the more I can grow and improve as a writer.