Journal, Leading a Class to find Unlikely Beauty

Todd Redman Journal – Leading a Class to find Unlikely Beauty

In my Honors class Treks and Texts, there was an assignment called “Lead Respondent”, where a group of students worked together to present on important figures in man’s exploration of nature.  At first, I was going to work solo on my presentation, but I quickly changed around to work with a group presenting earlier on White and Eisley.  I’m glad I chose the larger student group setting, because I benefited from the fun collaborative experience.

            White was an interesting man, who lived through a rough childhood but persevered by connecting with nature in a place away from people.  He was specifically fascinated by Arthurian legend because of its exploration of morality and themes of good versus evil.  We discussed his short story, The Snakes are About, and we found his message to be that there is beauty in all creatures, even the snake that is traditionally viewed as a symbol of evil in literature, such as in the Bible.  I thought that it was a nice theme, to see beauty in nature where one would usually not look to find it.  Our class activity based on this concept had students go outside on campus for about a quarter hour, to find an example of “unlikely beauty”.  Despite being leading presenters for this project, I suggested to my teammates for us all to go outside and find examples of unlikely beauty as well to share with the class.  This semester in Treks and Texts has been eye opening, because I have found joyous experiences in things such as poetry about nature and volunteering at a forest preserve, when I usually might not have explored those opportunities before.

            When we went outside, we found multiple things that were examples of places of unlikely beauty.  The one we located as a group was a small red-leafed tree about the height of one of us.  Despite most of the campus being a vibrant green, this red plant stuck out to us.  One of us presenters remarked that it looked a lot like some trees she’d seen out of state on vacation.  I realized that I would not have found unlikely meaning and beauty in this plant had I not taken the time to walk around with this open mindset.

            I was excited to find some more examples of unlikely beauty, so I looked around a bit.  I found under where the tire-swing used to be, a patch of dried mud.  I remember seeing this natural phenomenon multiple times before in my life, but only now did I look at it with another level of appreciation and openness.  Looking at the desolate and cracked mud, I thought of it as an image of the wasteland, a symbol of a decaying world from another one of my literature classes.  It was beautiful in a sad way, the lack of vibrant life, and the abundance of dark hues and dried-up things.

     

            I also found an anthill, or a mound made by ants.  I took special care to not trample on it, especially because ants in Texas are notorious for biting.  I observed how the gravelly mound was in an out-of-the-way location, so that it was a more private and sheltered base for the ants.  I looked closer at the green plants and the brick pathway that surrounded the pile as well.  Despite it being just an anthill, I found it somehow beautiful as well, in a way that I can’t quite describe to myself right now.  Maybe sometimes things in life do not need words to be explained.

            I had a great time presenting to my class about themes and the beauty of nature.  I was pleased by my professor bringing plastic crows and snakes to symbolize the readings we did for this day, they looked pretty cool and they became a symbol of our nature-appreciating classroom until the end of the semester.  To this day, the crows are perched peacefully atop a computer screen in our room.  I’m glad that I look to nature for moments of beauty, even in the most unlikely places.  It’s good to have an open mindset.