When I began this class I did not have a strong concept of what it meant to be human in the Anthropocene. On a basic level I understood the factors that contribute to everyday human life. I knew what being human meant to me in terms of morals and lifestyles but I hadn’t really considered it in terms of how we are shaping the planet for centuries to come. This class has taught me many things but the most valuable experience I got didn’t come through the dissemination of information. I came into this class fully expecting to have new data and research thrown in my face but instead I was given insight into new perspectives on how to view information. Most of us know exactly how we are impacting our ecosystem. The knowledge of how we our destroying our planet and wildlife has always been and is still heartbreaking to me, but I now integrate that knowledge into my life in a very different way.
I used to let this knowledge feed my depression and pessimism about the world. I would find myself continuously questioning why I even bothered to change my habits when the world is so incomprehensibly screwed. As the quarter progressed and I integrated more contemplative practices into my everyday routine and began engaging with more optimistic outlooks on our given situation, I began to notice a change within myself and within my interactions. Before when I would try to actively reduce my footprint and make an impact I did so with a general exhaustion and defeat that made whatever task I approached unsustainable. Yet in trying to take in the minuscule successes and joys and accept our species for what it is (faults and all), I found a renewed energy that actually made it a great deal easier to maintain change in my everyday and try to be a better human. As much as I pride myself on my realistic nature, I’ve learned from this class that being a human in this era isn’t about taking on all the guilt and burden of the failure of your species. It is about accepting the fact that, in addition to creating destruction, our species is capable of great change and beauty and we have to maintain a realistic sense of hope. For the sake of our planet and ourselves.