What is your Ecological sound wave?

Just about five months ago to the date, I went to my first class in Multicultural Literature at Chico State University. The professor Dr. Rob Burton asked us to go and find our ecological footprint on the planet. He gave us the website (http://www.footprintnetwork.org/gfn_sub.php?content=calculator) so that we could calculate our personal shoe print on Earth. It was my first time taking this quiz and I was appalled at the results. It made me look like a selfish greedy human being that is using way more than my fair share of the planet.

So the question at hand now is, how do you choose to be a responsible citizen of the floating world as Dr. Burton calls it? After taking the test back in January and taking it again just minutes ago, I was able to reduce my footprint by an entire planet. I enjoy staying in shape on a day to day basis, so I try to ride my bike as much as possible. I have plans to purchase a moped this summer which will drastically cut down on the amount of gas I use. All these are great things that I am doing no doubt. However, what I have learned from Burtons class goes outside of the materialistic realm.

During the course of the semester, we read five different books from different authors from around the world. The topics we culturally link to each author, and were amazing reads. What I have learned from these books is more than to change only my ecological footprint, but furthermore, my attitude and respect I leave with others.

Respect. A small yet powerful word that can change the world. The beauty of reading books about other cultures is that we learn we all share similar experiences. In Kazo Ishiguro’s novel, An Artist of the Floating World, we look through the life of Masuji Ono, and the issues he has to deal with in the world. Ono is a man who has made some questionable decisions in his early life and is now having to live with a heavy heart because of it. Ono believes no matter what you have done in your past, it is never to late to change things. He knows he has made some serious mistakes in his life, but he realizes that he can learn from them and improve the life he has left.

This is an amazing realization by Ono in my opinion. This shows that he not only is able to recognize that he has messed up, but that he can confess to it others and then improves his life because of it. I have always believed that making a mistake is the greatest learning tool. When you are young and your mom tells you to not touch the hot stove, you are bound to try it one time. This one time of touching the scoulding hot stove is a big mistake, but it is a mistake that you will always remember, and never do again willingly.

Another book we read was written by Bessie Head called A Question of Power. This novel is very powerful as she wrote it based on true events in her life. The main character, Elizabeth is a character that taught me what freedom really is. She is a woman who lives a frameless life. She has no nationality, no nation to call home, no parents to love, no siblings to care for, and no identity she must be. A frameless, purely free world. Unfortunately she suffers from sever hallucinations and depression. Though she struggles with these severe conditions, she finds a way to be stronger than her situation.

Elizabeth has a garden that she keeps up on a daily basis. She becomes so specialized in growing food that people come to her to purchase it from only her. Through this, Elizabeth has figured out a way to associate with the world, and for a few brief minutes in her life be sane. When she is in her garden, she is in her happy place, and her demons do not taunt her. Elizabeth has helped me realize that I live life in the same way. We all have thoughts that bug us on a daily basis even though it may not be as sever as Elizabeth’s condition. For me it is the daily antics of homework, debt, and what the heck am I going to do in my life.

Her garden is very similar to my soccer field. The pitch is my happy place. I am smiling wider than the universe when I am on the field because I am able to take my mind off my daily troubles and just enjoy the beautiful world we live in. This might be the greatest single thing I have learned to do, and I am grateful for it.

I really enjoy a line in Dr. Burtons book, Artists of the Floating World where he states, “Firstly, to be a citizen of the floating world is to recognize and acknowledge the narratives that constitute our identity, furthermore, it is understood that these narratives are constantly in the process of being reshaped and re written.” (p.131)  It is never too late to change the life you life, and be a good citizen of the world. Because of what I have learned from Bessie Heads book, I have been able to reshape the small things in my life as Burton states it, to further my ability to be a better citizen of this floating world.

It is now the end of the semester, and for me my last day of school. I am graduation in just two short days, and I am to enter the world as a working citizen. I take with me some of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned in college, from this last semester. Not only should I be watching my ecological footprint, I should be monitoring my attitude I leave with the world. Our voice is much louder than most of us believe, and affects more people than we know. Therefore it is not just our ecological footprint we should be conscious of, but also our ecological mindset and  sound wave we leave behind.