Three Different Places That Shape You

                Setting out to really notice and observe three different places that are a part of my college experience here at UAF, we traveled to a lookout with a view over the a side of Fairbanks, next we traveled to the Wood Center, and then I ran up to the Wood Center warm up hut as my third choice. These three places are similar and very different in both obvious and subtle ways. To begin, each place needs to be described in detail.

                The lookout way in an obscure parking lot across and down a short hill from the freshman dorms and it is unclear who actually parks there. The first thing that one notices about this place on a bright January morning is the cold. It is not so overpowering and unbearable that one cannot stand there for five minutes yet even a balmy eight above gets under the skin and chills to the bone in a short amount of time. If one chooses not to return to the heat of the indoors then this place will shape any part of the body that lacks circulation. As the frostbite kills the outer layers of tissue in the fingers, toes, ears, and face it shapes the way one functions and perhaps even looks for either the next few weeks or the rest of their life.

                The second place I then traveled to was the highest sitting area in the Wood Center. From this place one really notices the random architecture of the building, with its wood paneled ceiling and cement trusses. The design of the sprinkler system is the next thing I noticed, with one foot square metal sheets between each closely placed set of sprinklers to ensure that in the event of a fire the water would be dispersed more evenly. One could be shaped by such a place if they happened to be in an architecture program and needed new ideas as this place is full of them. However one may also become shaped by this place if one happens to connect here, this place is a hub for students coming and going, for activities both present and future, and also a place to gather and eat. All of these experiences are a vital part of the college life and it can all start here in this giant building.

                The third place in my observations was one of transition, the warm-up hut above the Wood Center. This place is one of anticipation in waiting for a specific bus, occasionally disappointment when the route one needs has left without you, and even joy at the sight of the right bus. This place can shape ones college experience by providing quick transportation to where one needs to be, however it can also arrive consistently late causing one to fail the attendance portion of one’s classes.  This place is kept warm enough to be comfortable yet not warm enough to get hot; it is a nice place of transition between larger buildings. The hut can hold many people all waiting to depart or it can hold that one person who has yet to figure out where they are going.

                Home for me is in the midst of family and friends with all of the people who know who I really am.

Reading Response

In Response to Look at Your Fish:

                In this essay the author reflects back on his time he spent studying fish under a professor whom he admired. The professor instructs him observe a dead fish over and over again until he had noticed everything there is to see about the fish. He is to compare different fish of the same species and to keep them wet in their solution that he is also to keep caped. I am surprised that he remembered to put the cap back on the bottle like he was instructed to.

                Throughout the essay, Scudder uses humor to recount his tale. He details how boring it is to look at one fish all day and how in his exhaustion of boredom he rushed out for his lunch break and forgot to put away his fish! I thought that he would get in trouble for sure, but instead he just wet it back down and continued his observations.

I can relate to what he must have been feeling when the professor simply told his to observe and then left. I have felt this way many times with a lot of different things as teachers explain a little of what they expect or desire from their students without the students knowing what to expect back from the teacher. In these experiences it is best to guess at what the teacher wants on the first thing to be turned in and by the third assignment the students know how they will be graded and a way in which things are best performed, just like the author did not know how to start off on his study. 

I thought it was a smart idea that he chose to draw the fish instead of simply boring himself by staring at fish after fish with only slight differences.  Drawing the thing you are observing is a very good way to look closely and see small intricate lines and features that one normally wouldn’t notice. By noticing the small things and little details the author noticed things and remembered things that he would have if he had only superficially glanced at them instead of observing them as the professor taught him to.

Overall, this was an excellent essay. I was glad that he learned what he came there to and that he walked away from such an odd experience with knowledge he could apply to his future studies. I am sure that by learning to really observe just this one type of fish it went on to aid him in his observations of bugs. By learning to noticing the small details on a larger object such as a fish would help to tune needed skills to notice even smaller details on smaller objects like the bugs to be studied.

A Little About Me

            My name is Jessica LaBean, but I like to be called Jessi because Jessica just doesn’t fit me. I am currently one credit away from being a sophomore in college and have attended both TVC and UAS. I am majoring in nursing and hope to graduate from UAA in a few years.

I have grown up in the same house in North Pole my whole life. I recently attended the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau, where I decided that I was made to live in the mountains and by the ocean. Sadly I had to come home because small campuses offer few classes with conflicting times that did not apply to my major. I have a few random hobbies that include sewing, cooking, and occasionally spring snow machine trips with my Family. My interests include snow machining and hanging out with friends. A few of my favorite things are my crazy cat, my cute car, and my wonderful boyfriend. I currently don’t regularly read anything except short directions on things. I do however read my Bible and a few books over the summers and other long breaks.