The Bare Bear

I’m cold, colder than I’ve ever been. I feel bare, empty, and alone. I was once a proud black bear and feared nothing, but now I fear myself. Who am I? What is my purpose now that my fur is gone? I don’t even look like my kind. I’m wandering the forest, a place I know so well. The trees, the trees are as tall as they have been my entire life, but now they seem much larger. I can feel the eyes of the creatures around me, piercing my sense of security. Even the squirrels stare in awe at my abnormal body. When did this happen? Who cares, I must find my way home.

One paw after the other I go. I wonder if this was a joke. Why am I still here and why can’t I find happiness? Even before the knockout, I still couldn’t have her. Is this why I’m still marching? Her name was Delilah and she was beautiful. Her black coat glistened in the sun. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight. If only I could see her again. If only I had my fur. My eyes, they see just as well as they always have but this forest doesn’t look like home. I can’t find my place here. I hear noises that I’ve never heard before. This place is broken, native to my memories. I continue to walk, I continue to feel the cold truth of reality, that I am an impostor to my own kind.

I spot something on my meaningless journey. I hear familiar sounds of splashing water, hitting rocks. My nose twitches and my head rises. Through the obscurity of my mixed emotions, my natural instincts take over and I begin to run. Even though I’m bare, I guess that there is some parts of me that never change. The smell of water and fish fill my nose and I stop abruptly. A lake, the only thing that is familiar to me. Now that I think about it, I don’t remember the last time I’ve eaten anything. 

I slowly walk into the lake, one of my paws enters the water and I jerk it back to land. The coldness of the water far exceeded anything I’ve experienced. If I leave now, I’ll starve to death but if I get in the water, I’ll be cold but I’d get a fish. Fishes don’t see me as a monster, do they? They wouldn’t run away, I’d be able to eat. I try again, one paw into the water but instead of pulling away, I hold it there. I continue to walk into the water, my head bowed searching for fish. The coldness is almost unbearable but I have to try, I have to continue to fight, so that I can see her again.

Gradually, the water became warm, or I became warm. I can’t really tell the difference. It wasn’t as bad once I had gotten used to the water. I can see the fish, I can’t even tell that I have no fur anymore. I catch the fish as swiftly as I would have when I had my fur. I’m starting to think that I can live, maybe, just maybe. I get out of the water and watch as the fish in my jaws slowly loses life. I find some place to rest as I nibble on my dinner. I wonder, could I actually live without my fur? In this place, could I live with being the outsider? My ears shudder as I hear a crack from a distance. A tree branch probably but again, my curiosity takes over. I stand up and walk towards the source of the noise. I saw a figure that looked like me but something was different. I continued to walk and the figure jumped and looked back. The fur, the fur is white.

The white colored bear walks towards me and I want to run away but I’m fascinated. I’ve never witnessed something so amazing. It looks like it doesn’t belong here, just like me. Why would it be here? This white bear must be lonely, just like me. I want to talk to it but I don’t know if it will speak back. It doesn’t matter though because now I know that I’m not the only different one. I was once a black bear but now, I’m seen by all as the bare bear. No matter what I do, this is who I am now. 

Making a River - Day 8

Today we went canoeing at Bellbrook. It was amazing and I was surprised at how many times I went into the muddy water. I had steered, which was hard but once I had learned a few tricks, I was able to steer. Though I had to switch three times because of the excessive crashing.  Afterwards. Once we were back at school we wrote a recipe poem on how to create a river.

To make a river, it takes four layers of mud,

At least 40 rogue tree branches,

And rocks, lots and lots of rocks.

The scenery will do,

If the bugs are few.

One thing that I have taken away from this is that the struggle is real.

The group 

The bus

The dock

The beginning

A Turtle Vignette - Day 7

Today we wrote two vignettes about nature. A vignette is a snapshot of something. To create the snapshot, very descriptive words must be used. We did a practice vignette and this is what I wrote.

The river, clashing with the rocks, following the breeze of the wind, looks as if it vanishes in the horizon. It rests tranquilly but at the same time it pushes, rides, and erode the rocks. Splish-splash the water goes, as the fishes swim and the water curves. It moves like a snake, the scales glistening in the sun. The bear, stares at the water focused on one thing, fish.

This was about a river from a human perspective, taking in the scenery. My second vignette was about a turtle that decided to take a break in the middle of the pathway. 

The water is where I want to be. Slowly, I’m walking, one minute step at a time. I have enough time and I don’t want to be bothered. My claws scratching the pavement, please can I just be in the water. My tail drags along following me around. This is quite exhausting, maybe I should take a break. I can see the water, so close but so far away. I guess I will just have to wait here. 

Kayaking - Day 6

Today we went to Eastwood Metro Park and I went kayaking for the first time. What I saw was fallen tree branches sticking up from the water. I also saw little green stuff floating in the water which is known as duckweed. As I was paddling, I heard a lot of birds chirping. I didn’t hear much because I was so focused on not tipping over into the water. I could smell the trees and they smelled like pepper. 

With a few of my friends, we started to splash each other with the water. It felt amazing, the cool water would roll down my back. It would hit my face and I would feel a quick sensation of tranquility. At first, I was scared because when I first got into the kayak, I almost tipped over. Though, once I was in the water, I wasn’t that scared and I was able to paddle pretty fast. I liked to watch the water as I paddled because I liked the ripples after the paddle moved.

Planning a Hike - Day 5

Today we simulated preparations for a hiking trip for however long we wanted and wherever we wanted. This was after we had learned about Cheryl Strayed, a woman who had hiked the Pacific Crest Trail for 96 days. To complete the simulation, I had a partner. We decided to choose the Pacific Crest Trail. We wanted to hike 2,000 miles. We also decided that we would walk about 22 miles a day. This would take us about 90 days to complete. For our backpack, we had to figure out what we wanted to put in the bag and the weight of the items. This is what we decided on,

1 Water (gallon) – 8 lbs.

4 Water bottles – 5 lbs.

1 Tent – 4.52 lbs.

3 First aid kits – 6 lbs.

2 Bungie cords – 3 lbs.

Food – 20 lbs.

Extra clothes – 5 lbs.

1 Swiss army knife – 0.3 lbs.

1 Compass – 0.6 lbs.

1 Flashlight – 2 lbs.

10 Batteries – 0.8 lbs.

2 Bottles of Sunblock and Chap Stick – 2 lbs.

Medicine - 0.5 lbs.

Gun (9 millimeter) – 2.1 lbs.

50 Rounds – 11 lbs.

4 Books – 0.5 lbs.

The final overall weight was 68.52 pounds. Creating this list required a balance in the things that we needed and the weight of each item. This was difficult because anyone could say that they needed something but in the reality of a hike, some things were unnecessary. My partner and I had to think of the most important things first, the things that we couldn’t live without. Next, we had to establish the things that will help us, like a flashlight. We also had to figure out the quantity of each item so that the item could be used efficiently without weighting too much. 

Nature Is My Friend - Day 4

Today we went to Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm. We learned about three different communities in nature, grass, forest, and wetlands. Also, we learned about the things inside each of them. The producers, things that make their own food, such as plants. The consumers, things that eat producers and other consumers, such as foxes. Finally, the decomposers, things that help dead consumers and producers get broken down, such as bacteria and fungi. My favorite thing that I saw at Aullwood was the horses, Mick and Red. I enjoyed witnessing their different personalities and interactions with humans.

Once we returned to school, we wrote a meditation script and the purpose was to take the reader somewhere, anywhere, and we had to use sensory details to create a good meditation script.

You are strolling through the forest, embracing nature from the scent of a delicate flower manipulated by the wind, to the sound of birds chirping, all with their own unique perfections. Your shoes sink into the mud but not very deep as you stride along the path. You continue to walk until you spot a stream. Excited, you take off your shoes and socks and slowly walk into the stream. You feel little fish swimming around your legs as you stand in the stream, letting the current of the water cool your legs.

You raise your arm and lift your head. The moonlight gently resting on your face. You reach for the stars. One little dot doesn’t look like much but you piece them together and you make a story out of them. You wiggle your toes and you dig further into the stream. You want to lay in the creek but you didn’t come prepared. You get out of the stream and pick up your shoes, a tiny spider crawling around the top. You watch, fascinated, as you let the spider roam around your shoe until you release onto the ground. You retrace your steps as you walk back. You listen to the birds and you smell the wind. Nature, a beautiful world where the journey never ends.

Mick (left); Red (right)

5 Trees and a Creature - Day 3

Today we went to a place called Cox Arboretum and our mission was to enjoy nature. Of course we had an assignment to complete though. What we had to do was take pictures of five different trees with their leaves, bark, and name plate so that we can identify them later. Also, we had to take a picture of a creature. This only took about 15 minutes and we had taken a whole lot of pictures of turtles. Do to the way things were set up, we had about two hours to just have fun. With a couple of friends we went on our own little adventure through rocks, a maze, and a giant tree tower. 

Afterwards, we did outside yoga. I felt like I was going to melt away into the grass because it was so hot. Eventually a light breeze would brush over my face and I would feel so peaceful. Today turned out to be very peaceful day, even though a turtle tried to bite my friend. 

Bald Cypress Tree

Shumard Oak Tree

Leaves of the Button Bush Tree

Red Sunset Maple Tree

Bark of the Sycamore Tree

Snapping Turtle

My Time At Delco Park - Day 2

Today we embarked on an adventure to Delco Park. We met up with another author named Rob E. Boley and he showed us a different side of writing. What I learned was that writing was not just a big wall of words. For example, we did an activity that used three random words to use as a base for a haiku. My three words were “our, native, and tree.” This is what I got out of it,

Our home is broken

Native to our memories

Tree is my buddy

It was fun to come up with a random haiku from random words. Also, I learned that we could also make dialogue from random words. This time, we used a whole sentence instead of three random words. My words were, “No other region in the Eastern US can compete with the Smokies for growing tall trees.” I created a dialogue that started with a dark conversation but it was hard coming up with sentences that made sense.

“NO one could defeat the darkness of death.”

“OTHER than me of course. I protect the Region of Hope.”

“REGION of hope? Hope is nothing but an illusion designed to hide the truth of the fact that death is inevitable.”

“IN the light, through the darkness, there is always hope.”

“THE fact that you still hold on to that myth, shows that you are already drowned in darkness.”

“EASTERN.”

“US?”

“CAN you please stop saying random stuff?”

“COMPETE with the logic of truth. You started it!”

“WITH the light, right?”

“THE idiot. What is wrong with you?”

“SMOKIES my homies.”

“FOR death.”

“GROWING up to die. Wait, why am I talking about death?”

“TALL you stood but now you die.”

“TREES will grow from my death. Hope lives on.”

This activity showed me another aspect in writing. Also, it will help me come up with ideas when it comes to writing.  

The Journey Begins - Day 1

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately…” –H.D. Thoreau

The beginning of this journey began with this quote. As a group, we gave our own interpretation of what to “live deliberately” meant. To me, to live deliberately means to live life “doing” rather than thinking about the “what ifs.” It was only 15 minutes into STEMmersion and I already was thinking about life. Living deliberately pondered in my mind the entire day. After we discussed our thoughts to the class, we did an activity to get to know each other. We drew our hands on a piece of paper, put our names in the palm, and wrote five things about ourselves on the fingers. Once that was completed, we walked around the classroom and introduced ourselves.

Then, we did an activity using blocks. This was to help us with team work in my opinion. I also see it as a way to visualize the steps on the journey of life. A man named Scott Geisel spoke to us about nature writing. He gave me the inspiration to look at nature in a different perspective. Even when I went outside for recess, I stood still and just embraced nature. It was perfect timing considering that we were going to do yoga but our yoga instructor couldn’t make it. Even though this was the first day on my journey, I have learned a lot.