A drop, a pond or an ocean?

Warning, this is brutal honesty.

As we began this semester, I was dreading colloquium: really, all out dreading it. On the first day of class, as we wrote down our views on our environmental philosophy, I was grimacing at the amount of weeks we had to spend together to get this required class out of the way. My original thoughts, as taken from the notecard on our first August meeting. 
"My environmental philosophy is that our planet is a mess and we are doing the bare minimum, if that, to help it survive." 
One could say my view on life, at that point, was a little off. I had not even been back in the States for a week, culture shock was hitting hard and class was the last place I wanted to be. (Really, honest to goodness it was the first time in my life where I did not desire a formal education.) 

As the weeks past, assignments came and went, field trips happened and readings finished my outlook on this class (and life) became lighter. No longer was a raging mad, ticked off at our first world country and finding every outlet to let the world know. 

This past weekend as I was driving back to Fort Myers after attending the celebration of life for my late step-grandfather of two years. As usual for when I am alone it was a lot of thinking and singing along. The drive across the state is not a hard one, and a certain times of the year it's breath taking. This weekend was one of those moments. There are these yellow flowers that pop up and cover fields. It's a sea of yellow for as far as the eye can see. 

As I saw the picture (left) and heard this song, I could not help but think back to colloquium. You see, along the way when I saw only one flower it was pretty but gone in a flash. When I saw two, it was beautiful but once again gone in a second. But when the sea appeared and the population was as far as they eye could see, the drive was magically and the scene lingered in my head even after I had passed the last yellow sea. 

When we work one or two for something good, it's cool. A change may take place. People see it, smile and move on. But when you work in a sea of people, you last longer, make a bigger impact and cause that 'scene' to linger in ones mind a bit longer. My environmental philosophy has changed.
"Our plant may be a mess, but as the ponds of environmental activist join to form a sea the impact they make on changing the planet will no longer be a dream, but a reality." 

Even though we are not finished with the course I have (for the most part) come to enjoy colloquium. The ideas it presents, the challenges it gives and the change it inspires.