Honors Colloquium

Today was the last class of Honors Colloquium.

A little sad that the semester ended so quickly. It's almost like it didn't happen. Yet I know so much happened, I was there. All the work, the readings, the field trips, the group presentation, the service learning, that really happened. I really did do all those things. I really did do things I never thought I would do, I mean really, walking through a forest? I almost wish it wasn't over so soon. I want to learn more, experience more, be able to do more for the environment, fix and protect my new home.

Definitely the most special part of colloquium, was going out into the community and putting my knowledge and skills to work. It wasn't much, but working for the American Cancer Society was a great experience. I wouldn't have gone there if it hadn't been for this class. Even though the class is over and there is no longer a requirement I am definitely going to continue serving this organization. I got to see the behind the scenes of an organization that does so much good in the country. The main mission is to provide help, and although what I did was minimal, I feel like I did my part in helping many people.

As the semester comes to a close, I did some thinking. Over the past couple of months I realized that I have, in a way, grown up. I developed into a new, more educated person. Not just because I learned so much from my classes, but because I learned to develop my own ideas and my own beliefs. And although this semester was difficult for me since the loss of my grandmother, I was able to push through and I think it's safe to say that i survived. It took me a while and it took a lot of effort, but I did manage.

Downtown

I have been living in Fort Myers for almost a year. Of course I live on campus so I don't venture too far. I'm pretty well aquainted with Estero and Bonita and most of 41.

But I had never made it all the way to Downtown Fort Myers. I felt a little left out of the loop because I had no idea that Thomas Edison had lived in the area, much less about Ford. I had been up to the Edison mall a couple times. Didn't think much of it. I did ask myself several times why it was named Edison, and why that was such a common name in the area, but again didn't associate it with Edison himself.

As we were driving to the museum we passed by the historic Edison Home. I didn't get to see much of it, seeing as how I'm short and the window was on the other side, plus it was surrounded by trees. But I also added that to the list of things I need to go visit.

When we did get to the museum, some unlucky person was attacked by a tree branch. Totally surprised all of us. Since when do trees attack people? Anyway, the museum itself was pretty interesting. The guide was very enthusiastic about the history of Fort Myers, and he was overly opinionated. But as always, it's interesting to get to know a little bit of history of where you are living, since it is your home.

After the museum, we walked around the downtown. It was interesting to see a different side of the area I now call home. It's completely different from the downtown of Orlando. In Orlando, the downtown is lined with nightclubs and bars. Its more of a night scene than a historic area. I liked to see the difference, since I wasn't expecting it to be so historic.

Once again, we were abandoned at the end of the field trip. I had never had a professor that did that before, but I thought it was pretty cool considering he trusts us enough to leave us on our own and not confuse the bus driver into taking us somewhere else.