My Involvement

            How am I a part of the environment around me? As I walk by the dining hall I think about the food shed and everything that surrounds it. After reading Coming into the Food Shed by Jack Kloppenburg, I think about how I eat there regularly and the negative impacts that imported foods can have on the environment. By eating there it is almost as if I am against the local food shed because I am almost 100% positive that the food there does not come from local sources. I want to say that I am pro-local food shed, but if simply say that, but I never reach out to try and make a difference then am I all talk and no walk? I get caught in the rut of the social norm where the easier path is the one I take. I take the faster route on my walk to the Joe rather than taking the scenic longer way by Manzanita Lake. Since it is easier for me to get food from the cafeteria on campus and I have a meal plan I do. I never go out and search for a local farmer's market.

            I look at people surrounded by their friends. I'm not with my friends right now. I don't have as much time as I used to for them. Time is the most valuable thing on Earth. I pack my days trying to fit in all the time I can get to work and hang out with friends. Time is precious. It is the currency of the world and everything revolves around it. Look at the parking passes on campus for example. Those with more money can buy more expensive passes so they can park closer and get places quicker. People without money have to take more time. Time is valuable because life is a onetime deal.

            I purchase a smoothie at the Joe. Sometimes I feel like consumer and a leach. What do I give back to society? I still have my whole life to give back. I'm in training to give back to society right now. After all that is what university study is. They want us to be well crafted citizens to enter the workforce. Once in a worker and a greater contributor to society then I can understand the politics of society that I am in better.. Until then i feel a little helpless and overwhelmed by how complex the politics and mobility of society are.