Archive for date: October 29th, 2015

Humans and the world are linked by different series of characteristics that make them so similar. For one they are both living organisms that contribute to the world we live in. Our similarities is what makes us one world. At Santa Rosa, I couldn’t stop looking around I was so curious to learn about everything. Everything looked so unperfected yet so perfect. I was constantly taking mental pictures of everything I saw not only the big picture but the small details that made everything look the way it does. As I was looking around the island and now visualizing it in my head, I can see so many human characteristics within nature. While I think of the people around me, I see a world of nature. It’s funny how I did not think of how humans and nature could be the same but now that I’m thinking of it we are so similar. Nature like humans have an attitude. I see the attitude in nature by there weather or by the way nature naturally sets a vibe to the area. I view Santa Rosa Island like a stubborn yet free living person. I thought of stubborn because while I was there for three days throughout the days at least once it had to be windy. From what I hear it’s always windy and blows of geologists’ hats off there head like if it were a way of nature portraying it’s stubborn personality. I know people who have these characteristics and as soon as I saw the prompt and it asked how humans and nature relate I right away thought of the first characteristics I saw from the island and what was living on it. I came up with an attitude by the weather but also by everything I saw around me. Also by the way the island had created everything from the cricked unperfected trees and the perfect view of the ocean. This reminds me of how people always tend to think everything about themselves is perfect yet it’s not the island proved it by having perfect characteristics like the view from the mountain to the ocean and also the not so pretty things like the uneven bushes or tree’s. Since everyone who worked on the island kept repeating it was a young place it made sense especially because of what I saw the Island do the trees and the ocean move freely with so much life inside of them like a young child would. overall Santa Rosa Island gave me peace, seeing the ocean rock back and forth like a little kid playing on a wooden horse. the trees with no particular shape reminded me of how kids don’t know about imperfections. These characteristics are important because just like kids make adults happy and many times change them. The island makes people happy whether its being secluded and having time to themselves or simply the desire to be in touch with nature. It changes many people’s way of thinking as well as living, I know I personally like many other surf students Santa Rosa island changed me .

Well hello again, it’s been awhile since the last post and since my last post I have spent my weekend at Channel Island, specificity the Santa Rosa Island. This post is one of three post about my weekend at the Santa Rosa Island and I hope you enjoy not only the writing and the pictures I post as well. The island is exactly what I Imagine a paradise would look like but it does look a slightly run down. It obvious that the island is feeling the effects of the drought. The island as apposed the pictures I’ve seen online is much more brown and dry instead of lush and green. Honestly though it didn’t look that bad when I got off the boat. The pier looked refurbished and as if it were maintained very nicely except for the bird poop but as I went up the hill things begin to dry up. The grass even the trees are drying up but it’s not completely desolated there was still life on this island besides human. There is also a very beatify sense of  peace on this island, maybe it’s the lack of Wi-Fi or the fumes everyone is giving off since there is no showering on the Island but the island does slightly exists in its own universe since it’s so separate from the mainland. The main guy here, Cause broke the news about the showers…it’s on next time I see him. But it’s cool I ended up washing in the ocean without soap or shampoo but then finished up in the bathroom sink, washing the essentials(you know what I mean). I really do like the island though the place does need some extreme love and it’s starting to get it. Some if the island deep in the mountain where they had us hiking was very lush and had very few signs besides the trail of human interference. The mountains we walked through were very steep as well, I’m not very sure how I got up the hills and believe it or not heading down was an even greater challenge because of the fear of falling to my death. Plus all the walking with Breana and Linzie had better have canceled out my Freshman 15 lol. While out here I’m hoping to not only earn a lot about the island and what they do here to help but also what I can do to also contribute to the island or at east what I can do to not damage it anymore that it have already been done to the island. I hope to also learn how in the field research is conducted and how I could go about doing it on the Santa Rosa Island or anywhere else.

The first day started off extremely awesome but as the day went on the things were a lot more boring and uneventful. Sorry but it’s kind of true we started off with a car ride up to a small seed facility where we were able to help with the seeds. My group started off by packing in dirt into small pods and then once we had shifted through the dirt and packed it away we were able to plant purple grass. Which were these little hair like strands with purple bulls at the end. While we were there we also separated out acorns from a bucket of water to help tell which ones were to be kept and which acorns would be trashed.  Both process were very peaceful and felt as if I was able to give back to the Island since we were contributing to the process of replanting new grass as well as acorns and it was especially fun since after I played in dirt I was able to dip my hands in cold water.

After we finished replanting we were then driven back on the ATVs (bumpy ride) to the main encampment. We then moved on to work with a different guide named Matt. We were able to see the island through a different set of eyes. Matt the artistic guide was able to show us the beauty of the island. We took a tour of the island but unlike the other ones we were able to see past dead grass as well as see much more than just the beach. We were able to see crazy things like a long row of trees that were put in to help block the wind but just ended up a bending to one side from the strong winds that had the island have to deal with. Also were able to see some very beautiful natural occurrences and on the beach. The wall backing the beach (separating the mainland from the beach) has a unique horizontal design of different 2 inch levels poking out towards you when facing them.

The final activity we experienced that day was the bird watching and sight-seeing through binoculars with Dr. Alison Alvarado. I was a major fan of this one but that was probably because I don’t have a love for birds and it was the end of the day lol. Well I did have learned a lot about birds and species on the island as a whole, for instance the species on the island are all derivatives of the mainland. And these species have gone through differ mutations to adapt to the island. Also learned about the Theory of Island Geography which is the number of species is based on the distance of the island to the mainland and the size of the islands.

We are all a part of this world, nonetheless our presence isn’t the essence of the universe. Over the course of three days spent on Santa Rosa Island, I have seen the world go round. I’ve felt it move in waves. The experience woke me up. I could finally see the presence existing inside me being reflected all around me. It was magnificent. Everything seemed to come together in a sense of “unity, isolation, and place”, as Cause had clearly emphasized.

Belittlement is hard to overcome. Trust me when I say it’s not easy to stay calm when the waves start to sway harder, faster, and stronger than I could even imagine. But even though I struggled to get out of my little self and into the grand adventure that this island had presented in front of me, I realized I couldn’t do it alone. I couldn’t get out of that dark place that consumed me without letting go. Santa Rosa Island, with the help of the people who traveled with me had brought me clarity. One of these people being a very intriguing art sculptor and geology minor named Matt Furmanski. He taught me two things that I will always keep close to home. One being when Matt expressed that “Influences in our lives help establish the way we are”. Instantly I took that in spiritually, humanistically, and environmentally. He talked about the way trees grow, and how they’re influenced by the wind and the position of the sun. I could see clearly how my family is the wind and God is the sun to me. The realization in this has ultimately shaped me into the person I am today. Without these two reinforcements I couldn’t get through any of life’s challenges. For I know that I am not alone in this world and those connections are a part of me.

Acceptance has eluded me to humility in whatever experience I may face. For this is in relevance towards my own perception of Matt Fermanski’s quote of the “Geological scope of time”. He expressed how the birth of planets and the formation of mountains, ranges, and oceans are all connected within this principle. In that instance I was drawn to the environment around me, in knowing that just like me, it will constantly change on the outside. But my connection to the world around me, as well as the people is what stays the same regardless of what happens. Ideally, I’d like to believe that the environment will one day be balanced in that same connection with Universe but like most things in life, only time will tell.

Here we are, always close, never far from home. Through this experience and many others, I have come to see that home is living inside of me. Forever present, yet seemingly distant at times. I can’t imagine who I would be, let alone how I could be present in this moment without the comfort of home. Support is key to feeling any kind of joy. That same joy is what drives me to be me and move forth with gratitude each and everyday. Without the support I’ve been given from my friends, family, and professors, I wouldn’t be able to move forward without a shadow of doubt in my mind.