Gutierrez- January

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I’ve lived in Austin for the past four years of my life. What attracted me to St. Edward’s was the landscape of the campus. There is beauty everywhere. Our Sorin Oak tree is one of the best places to relax and enjoy some quite mediation. While on campus, I tend to be captured by the beauty of trees that are hidden by buildings. For this journal I decided to observe scenery that I can normally see through the window from my class. I wanted to compare the difference between seeing through a glass and enjoying the environment while outdoors. The colored image is what I can normally see through my classroom window in Flex. It contains two different types of trees, but both beautiful. Immediately, the lush green tree captures one’s attention, but it is the other tree that I find most interesting.  The second image shows both trees but from an outdoor position. From this perspective the more slender tree somewhat envelopes the lush tree. What I came to realize is that no matter from what angle I observed the scenery, I could always see some human made structure. During the warmer months I can usually see birds and squirrels running around these trees, but during my observations I did not notice much activity. This reminded me of Aldo Leopold saying, “wilderness is the raw material out of which man has hammered the artifact called civilization” (188). I think that living in Austin specifically, this remains true. While driving through the city it is evident where the city and development begins and where it ends. Being a student of the university, it has been sad to see new developments coming in and removing much of our landscape on campus, but some how St. Edward’s remains a sense of naturalistic beauty.

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