Why are we "here"?

I really enjoyed Gregory Coniff's piece called "Landscape is a Point of View".  He says nature is the "...shaper of the soul".  The natural world really is a way to see the world, it gives you your unique point of view and how you see things.  In my high school (affiliated with the oh-so-awesome Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, MN) we talked about the natural world pretty much every day.  We studied how it physically works, how humans have changed and adapted to it, and how humans use it to fulfill both basic needs and unnecessary desires.

I am so excited that we got to talk about this idea of environment/landscape/place, because it's something that ordinary history classes often overlook.  Our physical surroundings play a huge part in our lives.

For example, one reason I chose to come to St Olaf was to live on a beautiful campus that offered lots of ways to study the natural lands.  College life would feel very different if I was on the sandy beaches of Hawaii or the mountains and valleys of Colorado.  Minnesota truly fits my personality, with the seasonal changes offering lots of beauty and ways to enjoy the outdoors.  I'm glad that St Olaf is located in a good-sized town, but is not simply plopped in the middle of an urban area.  Our community is set apart, almost like our own "City on a Hill" that the Puritans aspired to have.  I too have started calling this place "Home", because my dorm is my new norm and this is where my second family is.  I am part of this landscape.