Author: yyin

 I love how she connects the lost of birds by the water level with the loss of her love. The chapter of Whistling swan. This chapter suggests that Williams is setting aside her religious views.  She said, “At dusk, I left the swan-like a crucifix on the sand. I did not look back.” This seems to imply that she similarly left Christianity behind. At the beginning of this chapter, Williams and her mother attend the funeral of Tamra Pulfer, the young woman with whom Williams’s mother has been communicating about Pulfer’s cancer, such a religious conversion is understandable, especially after her mother’s own battle with cancer. I think that Great Lake is a metaphor for cancer. Williams’s statement describing the swan’s probable cause of death ties in with this theory; “Most likely, a late migrant from the north slapped silly by the ravenous Great Salt Lake. The swan may have drowned.” Pulfer’s death killed the swan or her faith.

 

There were always old ladies selling baby silkworms outside of my primary school. As an 8-year-old child, the happiness of seeing these cute white little silkworms is unimaginable. I secretly bought them with my pocket money without telling my parents. I put them in a shoebox. They would only eat Mulberry leaves. Otherwise, they would starve and die. It was so hard for me to find these people who sell mulberry leaves every day because I think I had around 20 silkworms. It was so popular to have silkworms as pets back then. All my friends have them. I loved the feeling of their tiny feet on my hand. I also loved how soft and how cute they were.  My friends and I would bike through so many streets to look for the mulberry trees that summer. It was a huge mission back then for us to find the food for our silkworms. I even planted a seed in my garden. Ten years later, the mulberry tree is as tall as me now. However, I never have silkworms again. I always think about them when I see people wearing silk cloth. 

*Armadillidium Vulgare/Watermelon bug”

We call them watermelon bug in Chinese because when you slight touch them, they will curl up into a ball that looks like a watermelon. They were always in the soil in the raised flower bed in my primary school. (looks like down below) We have a ten minutes break between each class. I remembered every break, I would run to this place and start finding watermelon bugs. I still don’t understand why I was so obsessed with them. I found them extremely fun. I love to see them curl up to a ball and then stretch their legs and go. And I will put them into a small bottle and start to do the same thing again. I haven’t seen them for a long time since growing up. They still one of my childhood memories in my heart. 

I love the chapter Solitude the most. I love how Thoreau expresses his feeling of loving to be alone. He said it said straightforwardly, “I love loneliness. I haven’t met a better companion than loneliness.” It is brave thinking. Lots of people nowadays might have this thinking but they are always too afraid to truly spend time by themselves. The time he spent at Walden pond. He chose himself. He wants to spend time with himself. He wants to do things that he actually truly loves. He reminds me of people around. Amy is one of my friends back home. She learned how to sing and ride a horse just to make her application for college looks more special. She doesn’t like any of the activities. In some ways, she was forced to do things that she doesn’t really want to do. On one side, I don’t agree with doing things that she is not passionate about. However, on the other side, I understand that she has to adapt to reality such as trying to go to a “good” college by rating. These things are not real according to Thoreau. I think he really found his peace at Walden pond I really envy that. My senior year in high school was the most stressful time in my whole life. My high school was extremely small with thirty classmates in my whole grade. For a long time, I always have breakdowns and care so much about how people around would think. I wasn’t myself. I couldn’t really express my feelings and have fun with things and people that I truly love. 

Thoreau loved Walden pond more than any other place. He compares with several other ones like the white pond. And he always talks about how pure Walden is. I also like how Thoreau loved old stories about his area and read every book and also ask questions to every person who could tell him the old tales.

I hate rainy days. The one thing I do like about rainy days is it gives me an excuse to stay inside the whole day. I hate when the weather is cloudy and dark but you have to wake up in the morning to go to school. 

I remember that was a Tuesday morning. It was raining outside. I was so sleepy that I feel so annoyed while walking to my class on my usual path with my giant backpack and books because I also have to use another hand to hold an umbrella. I was looking down the whole time. While I was walking on the very edge of the path. Something seems like a little umbrella appears to my eyes. Mushrooms! On the shredded wood in the grass beside the path, little mushrooms are growing. They were so cute and white. I stopped my steps and squat next to them to observe. I have never seen mushrooms on our campus. I raised my head. there were mushrooms hidden in the grass. I was so surprised. I knew mushrooms love to live in a wet environment without the sun. But I was generally surprised the field in front of my dorm hall is also a place mushrooms would pop up. They were so cute and tiny. I didn’t know if I can touch them because my parents told me that some mushrooms are dangerous. I didn’t touch them. But I was observing them for a while. I was watching rain dropping towards their umbrella-shaped head. Somehow I found it smoothing my mood.

I still hate rainy days, but I love the random adventure for me with the little mushrooms. 

 

I generally love the environment on our campus. I love how greens are always around every teaching buildings in a very casual way. Even though I know that they are put in this way, they still give me a feeling of nature. My high school used to plant trees in these huge flower pots so that you know that they were just planted to be planted. I don’t like that. On the other hand, I never see a squirrel running or living like this on our campus ever.  It is definitely nature to me. Actually, their existence is one of my favourite things on campus. I love seeing them running from one side to the other. I love the squashy sound they always make when they go through these fallen leaves. I love how they wink their ears and blink their black, cute eyes to observe you while holding a chestnut. I love seeing their fluffy tails. I know they are afraid of me, which I feel is even more natural for me. I think nature for me is not necessarily having to be friendly.  Even though I love the feeling of holding a living wild creature in my hand and feel the trust between the squirrel and me. I was really excited about my friends that day. It felt like having bonded with nature. But I know that it is not natural for me. I don’t understand myself quite well, but part of me doesn’t really want to bother or step in their lives. For me, true nature should be left alone by itself.