Entry # 10: Final Goodbye to Colloquium

I really can't believe this semester is almost over.  I know I say this every semester, but now more than ever before, the time has just disappeared.  I learned so many important things in this class that it would be near impossible for me to list them all, but what really made a huge connection to me is the link between sustainability and the need of implementing this in our health care system.  After reading about the need for Reinvention of Health care in the text, writing a paper on it, and giving a presentation on the topic, I have learned a great deal about the status of the health care system in the United States as well as in other parts of the world.  I have learned also about what changes need to be implemented in order to prevent the occurrence of disease rather than just the treatment.  I was glad to be able to learn about this as I plan to have a career in the health field one day and the connection between sustainability and health care was made very clear in the ways that the health care system needs to be greened.
       The one thing that I really loved about this class was the first-hand experiences I received that I probably never would have had if I hadn't taken it.  I loved all of the field trips we took to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, ECHO, and downtown Fort. Myers, as well as the walks around campus.  It was wonderful to be able to see all of these places.  I hadn't been on an actual class field trip since probably middle school and it was a wonderful experience to learn new knowledge in an exciting new place along with my classmates.  However, in all honesty, I really found the quizzes to be one of the more difficult aspects in this class as it was difficult to remember specific knowledge about the stories I had read, especially when they were each only a couple of questions. 
       I think the thing that affected me the most out of this class was the service learning.  If I wasn't required to do this, I would never have gone out to volunteer at the Randell Research Center and learn about the Calusa Indians there while cleaning up the center as well as meeting two other girls from FGCU while volunteering there.  I also would not have known about 350.org which has such an important message.  On 10/10/10, we planted 350 plants on campus and cleaned up litter, and afterwards, I went to the main website and saw how people from all over the world were participating in events as well on the same day.  It made me feel like I had been a small part of a global movement, something that was much bigger than myself.  If not for colloquium, I would not have experienced all of the things I have listed in this post, and these are the experiences that I will remember for the rest of my life.  I'm so glad that my colloquium class brought information about sustainability into the classroom and into my life as well.