Colloquium Expectations * Entry 1

Rumors about Colloquium travel through the school, most of the time giving the class a bad reputation. It is a class we are told as freshmen that we will eventually have to take in order to graduate. When I first questioned a classmate about Colloquium, I was told it is a lot of writing because it is labeled as a “Gordon Rule” class. I remember thinking, “Great—I’m not a big fan of writing.” Well, this was when I called myself a Finance major. The closer I came to taking this class, the more I heard it was not just writing, but the study of the environmental world around us. And, now that I am an English major with a minor in Journalism, the writing no longer scares or bothers me.

My expectation for learning in this class is to actually reconnect with the nature world. My early childhood was filled with camping trips, days spent in swimming pools and afternoons climbing in trees. I believe that when I started training hard core for soccer was probably when I stopped exploring the outdoors. Practices/games almost every day took the desire to be outside all the time away. I am looking forward to the campus tours and other field trips to catch up on what I have been missing. As terrible as it sounds, this class is going to force me to go back outside.

Also, southwest Florida is definitely a different part of the world. Originally I am from New Hampshire, and when I was almost two my family moved to Central Florida. The ecosystems in these two different places are very different from that of the Ft. Myers area. I have gone into the forests, climbed through gorges, and attempted to climb a mountain in upstate NH—there are no palm trees or alligators. Central Florida is definitely more similar to SW Florida; however, there are more nature preserves and less suburban cities in this area. I am interested in learning more about the region that I have occupied for the last few years.