⁞ Instructions

Think about a reason given by those who disagree with your position for the topic you have chosen in this module: Focus on one reason, not all the possible arguments that they might make. Now, summarize that point as accurately as you can (about 50-75 words). Then, write a refutation or rebuttal to their point (about 100 words).    

  you will have to talk about the counterpoint of your issue. For example, if your story is about Climate Change, you would Discuss why some people don’t believe in climate change.  

1

Creative Writing

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course

Instructor’s Name

Date Due

Creative Writing

Learning is a continuous process, and the experience people get with the outside world that is far away from the city could change how people relate with the environment and the people around them. Here is a trip to a national reserve with the entire class and the teacher where the aim was to help appreciate the environment around us and see the difference between those who live in the city and natives who live in suburban areas.

During his traditional teaching methods, the teacher started asking questions about if any of the students had stayed out in the parks and wilderness. He wondered if any had enjoyed the serene environment, diving into rivers, riding a raft through the lake. He asked if any had the experience of walking through a thick and dense environment full of trees and hanging ridges, canopy, and all manner of sounds with the birds singing and butterflies hanging around the flowers and getting the mind to conduct a restore factory (Vukašinović, 2018).

The explanation seemed like a thrilling movie scene from Disney Land. To his amusement, no one in the class had experienced such a life, including the level’ Know all’ (one of those students who seem to know everything) had no experience in such a life. The teacher was disturbed on hearing that and soon arranged for a trip to one of the national parks where we were supposed to spend a week camping and to do all physical and recreational activities to help bridge the gap between city life and real life (Colléony et al., 2019).

Truth be told that living in the city and living out in the environment are two different scenarios. For the first time in my life, I realized that the sky at night was full of stars, and they were very many and twinkling at the same time. It was like in the city; we did not live under the same sky. The stars could not be seen so clearly. The entire night up to midnight, I just slept on my rag looking at the sky, trying to find patterns of the stars and naming them, and that provided a fantastic connection between me and stars, something that I could never imagine I had.

The experience with the stars reminded me of a story my grandfather once told me upon coming to visit us in the city. He said when people die, they form one of the stars. I had never seen so many stars, and being in the exact moment, I tried to see if I could see my great grandfather or even my uncle who had died in the previous years. I wanted to see the connection, a signal, or anything that connected me to my people. I cannot say my eyes were playing illusions, or I was really in the moment of truth and life. Still, the stars kept twinkling as if they were celebrating a sort of family reunion, and that was the most enjoyable part of the journey I enjoyed (Stars Are Souls n.d.).

The park’s journey starts with starts because we went all day and we reached a night in the reserved, and at that night, we could only set up the fire and sit around it feeling a different kind of breeze that can only be explained as magical. The air around felt as if it had been filled with herbs and flower scents and lots of natural fragrance, and it was just appeasing to the heart. All the other people in the class were all happy, in that we were only smiling and enjoying life.

The teacher had taught about an essential aspect of nature to restore the ability to reason and become alert. He suggested that we try to stay electronics-free the entire week and only carry cameras that would only record the magical moments and all the day’s activities. At night we would sleep in makeshift tents, which everyone had. In the morning, we would wake up during the sun’s first flashlights when its rays were penetrating through the branches, birds were singing, and the experience went on, changing our perception of what being in the city made us realize and lose.

On the first day of the camping, we were expected to walk around the park and pretend that we were guerillas and men before evolution, trying to identify some fruits and areas where one would drink water and climb trees. The activities that followed were the most frightening as well as thrilling. There were caves and dark caves in the dense forest, which could not be illuminated with the lighting sticks we had. I mean, light could shine, but the darkness seemed like infinity. Gig, dull, and ugly-looking bats would be seen flipping before us in the grand entry that went on for three kilometers.

In that frightening mood and surroundings, the cave’s pathway got narrow, and we had to move to bend slowly; the walls were slippery from the seeping water, and they were filled with molds and all the dead plants. Touching the walls feels creeping than even walking down the pavement. The tour guide said the best way to pass through the cave valley of darkness was through singing, and as evident, the class cheerleader started singing a hymn based on Psalms which says ‘even through the valley of death, I shall not fear nothing.’ However, on that high note, when he was singing, he stepped on something soft and tender. He felt as if he was sinking and remained silent other than taking the chorus high up. The silence was immense that even the darkness could not compare, then the vast light illuminating the small pavement was blocked by those at the back or say they were also frightened.

A deep wail is what followed. It has never been a tense experience. The song, as much as it was encouraging, was inflicting fear; it had only been a deep layer of mold that he stepped on, but now that the song was saying ‘even if I sink, I shall not fear,’ he assumed he was sinking and lost his faith. The tour guide came and found him there and asked what was wrong and he said he thought he was slipping and the walls were falling on him. A burst of laughter that shook the entire cave pavement followed everyone, and when even getting to the last end of the pavement, everything was more enjoyable and fuller of life due to the instance.

The next day it was all about navigating along the river, designed with areas to swim, some waterfalls, and even streaming water. The majority of the students had swimming experience in the pools and could not wait to enjoy the water on that sunny day and that deep bedrock pool after a waterfall. It was the most exciting experience jumping through the waterfall into the deep waters, just like in the movies, and letting out fear and worries behind. All I can talk about the waters’ experience is that nothing can compare to the enjoyment that comes from letting go of all your troubles and diving from the waterfall cliff into the cold sweet waters and the nourishing experience of seeing small fish along in the water.

The only disadvantage is that we lacked sunscreen within our bags, so the water which was alit salty and the environment made us get sunburns and some rushes that made our skin breathe and eliminate all dead cells on the skin. There were no regrets about diving that da and no one got any injury, so it was a fruitful experience.

All activities in the day made up tired, but that would not let me not spare some time and see my ancestors in the sky by looking at the stars. The lack of electronic gadgets made us to b sleeping at 8:00 pm or earlier, and the experience was very nourishing because we would wake up at the same time with the birds feeling very fresh and ready to face the following day. It was also amazing to note that we could form strong bonds than we ever had before between one student and the other, mostly also find out skills, phobias, and even passions that we never knew we had (Beery & Jørgensen, 2018).

The next day walked down through dense vegetation through the paths used by gazelles in which, at times, we would walk down by the hands to make it up to the hillside (Vukašinović, 2018). It was very tall and was connected to another mountain which was 4 kilometers away, and the only way to reach from one hill to the next was through zipping lining all along. All those who had height phobia could not even attempt, but the likes of me were so happy to enjoy the longest zipline we had ever seen and one which was moving so fast because of the strong winds, which would even swing one to the left and right. It took 5 minutes to reach the destination and five minutes to be back again, which, due to the strong winds, left one shivering and could not feel their legs. It was as if they were numb.

The zip lining was so intense and sensitizing because two of the classmates did piss on themselves, but by the time they were landing and the strong winds, one could not tell exactly if they had pissed themselves. It was an experience with nature within the very best efforts and outcomes.

All manner of outdoor activities were available, from superbike riding to raft skiing and playing football. All we wanted to do was chat about how fantastic the day was and how some were behaving, how we laughed, and all the happy moments when playing, swinging, and enjoying life.

Throughout the experience with nature and the environment, all gratitude and appreciations go to our teacher, who arranges such a serene and exotic setting that everyone in our class at some point in the future will want to go. Throughout the adventure, essential lessons are a primary need to connect to nature and loosen up. When one feels his or her mind clouded out, move out, walk in the parks, connect with the environment, and in some way, one will realize how much that is vital in everyday life.

References

Beery, T., & Jørgensen, K. A. (2018). Children in nature: sensory engagement and the experience of biodiversity. Environmental Education Research, 24(1), 13-25.

Colléony, A., White, R., & Shwartz, A. (2019). The influence of spending time outside on experience of nature and environmental attitudes. Landscape and urban planning, 187, 96-104.

Stars Are Souls. TV Tropes. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StarsAreSouls.

Vukašinović, A. (2018, August 29). A walk through a forest. Medium. https://medium.com/@anica/a-walk-through-a-forest-9bd2017bf20.