[i] The view of a tree from below; sunlight sneaks through like fairy lights and causes my childish imagination to run rampant.We lay under a sprawling magnolia tree, caught under the penumbra of its branches. Our fingers dipped lazily into the plush lawn of grass that cushioned our soft and childish bodies, and all seemed pleasant in the world. It was a balmy day, and a haze of pink floated lightly across the sky, promising a coral colored evening. As we swayed to the hum of bees under this cavern of leaves, this quintessence of perfection, my eight-year-old self composed its first poem. It was simple, trite, and completely incorrect in terms of grammar and vocabulary, but I was content with my composition. It was at this time that I developed the first trickle of passion for nature, but I had not the faintest idea that such an experience could have also spawned the ardent love I hold for writing today. I will forever think of the way those branches intertwined and the sunlight peeked through when I think of writing.
“…a human imagination is shaped by the architectures it encounters at an early age…the way we imagine is also affected by streams of scent flowing faint or sharp in the larger oceans of air…” [ii]
I attribute my early romping in the fields of Mississippi to my current love for the countryside. Perhaps this is why I have always loved describing nature, rather than industrial objects. It has always been easy for me to surround a mountain with poetry or cover the ocean with a blanket of prose. Every story I’ve ever written has involved a great detail of place and has had an underlying emphasis on the significance of nature. As I read over my old essays and stories, a common theme emerges: whether blatant or symbolic, the environment permeates my words.
“And it is that single thing, the power of the human imagination to extrapolate from an odd handful of things—faint movement in a copse of trees, a wingbeat, the damp cold of field stones at night—to make from all this a pattern—the human ability to make a story, that fixed in me a sense of hope.” [iii]
[iv] 
[v]
William Faulkner and John Steinbeck: both beautiful writers, both made their careers out of their environments.
Two men I admire very much for their ability to incorporate the environment into their works are William Faulkner and John Steinbeck. Not only are they masterful storytellers, but the loyalty they harbor for their respective places is admirable, and communicates a great impact on the reader. Faulkner is well known for his focus on the decadence of his home state Mississippi, while Steinbeck concentrated on his beloved Salinas Valley in California. Steinbeck says, in particular, of his masterpiece East of Eden, that it is “...the story of my country and the story of me.” [vi] Writing about your environment is, in many ways, writing about yourself. These two men have taken their darling hometowns, and have constructed novels that not only use nature as a frame, but that also comment on the human condition.
“The real topic of nature writing, I think, is not nature but the evolving structure of communities from which nature has been removed, often as a consequence of modern economic development…It is writing concerned, further, with the biological and spiritual fate of those communities. It also assumes that the fate of humanity and nature are inseparable.” [vii]
Through their words, my first revelation appeared in regards to my love of both nature and writing, and most of all, of making an impact: I cannot simply write about nature. As much as I enjoy describing bark or sand, such indulgences should be saved for poetry. I must also be able to tell a story that nature surrounds and either affects or is affected by, a story that touches people and makes them ruminate.
“If you’re intimate with a place, a place with whose history you’re familiar, and you establish an ethical conversation with it, the implication that follows is this: the place knows you’re there. It feels you. You will not be forgotten, cut off, abandoned." [viii]
I feel that writing and nature are very similar in what they demand of a person. They both require a sort of vulnerability: to write truthfully is to bare your soul for criticism and to be felt, while to be affected by nature is to allow yourself to feel and experience without attachments or selfishness. Thus I feel that I must meld the two in order to accomplish a greater goal, for my concerns with the population’s declining interest and care for nature refuses to lay dormant. In this aspect, I must become a “leader”.
“However, intellect alone will not make a leader; leaders execute a vision by motivating, guiding, inspiring, listening, persuading—and, most crucially, through creating resonance.” [ix]
[x] Walden Pond, where Henry David Thoreau was inspired to write his masterpiece Walden.
Guiding and inspiring are the most important words in the aforementioned quote. I seek not to viciously attack or offend anyone’s opinion, but to provide arguments that make people think. My personal vision as a leader is somewhat different from the standard definition. The word is often accompanied by images of a businessman in command of a meeting, or someone at the head of the pack. When I think of a leader, however, I think of someone who inspires others. By writing, I hope to inspire others the way that authors such as Faulkner, Steinbeck, Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman have inspired me; especially in the way I see the natural world. I hope to write works that make people parse and consider the repercussions of their actions in regards to their environment and the people around them. I do not wish to point fingers when I write, however. I feel that indirect mentions, the consequences of the absence of nature, are a more profound and potent argument. When such an argument is the backdrop for a truly engaging story, people are more willing to stomach such statements. There must be certain candidness in such writing, however. We must be completely open with ourselves, for how otherwise can we be open to others?
“Without recognizing our own emotions, we will be poor at managing them, and less able to understand them in others.” [xi]
This trait is not only important for writing, but for leaders. To disregard emotions is to be a slave to ignorance. Knowing and recognizing certain emotions is key in being able to connect with other people. And with this connection, we can proceed to guide, inspire, teach, and learn—all aspects of being a sound leader.
Until very recently, I had misgivings about having English as a second major; I thought that Plan II was very intensive in that area, so I did not want to feel as if I were majoring twice in one vocation. However, even as I scrolled through the list of courses required for the English major, I found myself ecstatic and eager to partake in every single class offered. Banned books, reading poetry, Russian literature—all of these classes grabbed at my very heartstrings. Even with this heady platter of delectable courses, however, I was still hesitant about leaving behind every other education that did not relate to English. I still wanted to learn about chemistry, government, and several foreign languages. I refused to be intellectually barred from other types of intelligence. This is why I am grateful for the opportunity that Plan II offers to grasp everything related to and outside my major, for I believe that the myriad of courses required of me are all key in allowing me to appreciate the world on a finer level. What better for me to lead through my writing than to be able to be eloquent in every single subject, so that it affects everyone on a different interest level? I will be able to relate to my readers through the knowledge or interests that we share, and in this relation, I will be able to capture their hearts and minds. Some of the most important courses to take, I feel, are those that deal with other cultures (for example, my Film and History in Latin America class), and those that deal with philosophy and thinking for yourself. For writing is not only about reading and being able to put words together: it is being able to put words together to have meaning and purpose. Can you think for yourself? Can you make others understand? Can you connect?
I see the world with the soft pads of my fingertips and the soles of my feet. I see it with closed eyes and sweet smells. I believe it was Andrew who, in the class discussion, said that giving back to something that has given itself to you is one of the greatest things you can do. Nature has given me solace, beauty, and most importantly, the inspiration to write and think. What better to give back than the words it gave me? To devote myself to the written word for the rest of my life, and inspire others with those words—this is a true heaven. My leadership may not be physical or apparent, but knowing that I have the opportunity to arouse the thoughts and feelings of my readers in my passion—this, I believe, is a form of leadership at its finest.
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[i] View of a Mahogany Tree from Below. http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/image_full/usa/photosvideos/photos/view-of-a-mahogany-tree-from-b. (accessed October 14, 2008).
[ii] Lopez, Barry. 1996. A Literature of Place. U.S. Society & Values 10 (1): 262
[iii] Lopez, Barry. 1996. A Literature of Place. U.S. Society & Values 10 (1): 265
[iv] Between William Gibson and William Faulkner. http://www.cultureby.com/trilogy/Faulkner_1.jpg (Accessed October 14, 2008).
[v] The Flag in the Wind. http://www.scotsindependent.org/features/quotations/John%20Steinbeck.jpg (Accessed October 14, 2008).
[vi] Pearson, Pauline. 1990. East of Eden. http://www.steinbeck.org/EastEden.html (accessed October 15, 2008)
[vii] Lopez, Barry. 1996. A Literature of Place. U.S. Society & Values 10 (1): 261
[viii] Lopez, Barry. 1996. A Literature of Place. U.S. Society & Values 10 (1): 263
[ix] Goleman, Daniel. 2002. Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Harvard (X62)
[x] Rowinski, M. Walden Pond at Sunset. http://people.bu.edu/dix/walden3.jpg (Accessed October 14, 2008).
[xi] Goleman, Daniel. 2002. Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Harvard (X64)
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