Interconnected Through the Looking Glass
Confinement collapsed the moment I stepped on Santa Rosa Island. Ironically, I no longer felt like I was drowning. Being on the island helped me breathe again in the comfort of the vast knowledge presented in front of me. Matt Fermanski, Alison Alvarado, Cause Hanna, and Jennifer Perry all brought something different to the table that eluded me into discovering more about the island as well as myself.
We all know the term biology to be defined as the study of life. In essence, we are just a small part of this lifetime, yet our presence is so huge and sometimes overwhelming due to our egos. There is an eternal growth to this chapter in which I have witnessed throughout this lifetime. That same growth is embedded within all forms of life and most prominent on Santa Rosa Island. Each faculty member who spoke, gave a whole new outlook on their experiences with the island through their own looking glass. At first, I was taken off guard by how skewed I had assumed their looking glasses to be due to their roles in society in being professors, biologists, and sculptors. Now I can see clearly that each of their experiences with this island are embedded within their research.
I was immediately intrigued by what came to be said by artist Matt Fermanski that the, “Landscape communicates with us by telling us their past through the window between a couple of different worlds”. Interestingly enough, I felt a connection with the two worlds that Matt was describing, which inspired me to question how the environment surrounding me has changed my ethical beliefs and moral decisions. This sparked a possible research topic that intrigued me into further studying how the geological scope of time has overall affected our moral instincts and personal growth.
Following this concept, the basis of Alison Alvarado’s discussion was bio diversity in terms of evolution. She talked about how, “evolution is the change of organisms over time” and how that brings us a sense of unity, isolation, and place. To be more specific, Alvarado studied the species of birds in their habitat and how their, ”form and function in the biotic environment generates a certain form that has a certain function”.
A connection was made, “in looking through the window between two worlds” that caught my eye and put everything into proper focus. An adjustment period has to be stated between these two worlds that are in this case the environment and human kind. This being that Matt Fermanski and Alison Alvarado would be a magnificent dynamic duo if I were given the privilege to work with them on this research topic. Alison Alvarado would give the analysis of the evolution of human kind, while Matt Fermanski would give the perspective of the geological environment. I would bring the two together using my knowledge of psychology within human behavior and communications to reach a consensus of our research.
Ultimately, both Matt Fermanski and Alison Alvarado would be well balanced together when it comes to their perceptions of life. Matt studies the geological scope of time and Alison studies the evolution of different species. Matt Fermanski had expressed that, “Landscape, objects, and air, communicate constantly with each other to give us insight about ourselves and what is going on around us”. Connecting the two worlds presented, would prove the theory that we are all one in the same, growing and transforming in the same frequency with the world around us.
