I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into this class. I knew it was an environmental literature class, but after finding out we focus on that through the lens of mermaids I was even more excited. Before finding out we had a theme of mermaids, I thought this class would just be based on writing about nature and talk of climate change but I ended up getting so much more out of it! I really enjoyed this class and I think that’s mostly because of how much I learned through our discussions. Every text we read showed me a new way of thinking about the environment, human responsibility, history, and power. Even when I didn’t fully understand a reading at first, our conversations helped me see it differently. 

If I had to name my biggest takeaway from this class, it would be that humans and nature are NOT separate. This idea sounds simple at first, but it completely changes how you see the world. So many of the texts we read pushed back against the idea that humans exist over here and “nature” exists over there. Instead, they kept showing how tangled together everything actually is and how our choices, economies, stories, histories, and the land itself are all connected as one.

Before this class, I think I unconsciously saw nature as something you go into, visit, protect, or escape to. Now I see it as something I am already inside of all the time. What we eat, what we buy, where we live, how we travel, and even what we value all shape the environment in real ways. At the same time, the environment shapes us and our health, culture, fears, and futures. There is no clean line between the two.

That’s why this idea is so important. If we believe humans and nature are separate, it becomes easier to exploit land, ignore environmental damage, and treat environmental issues as optional or distant. But once you realize we’re part of the same system, environmental harm is no longer something happening “out there.” It’s something happening to us, too. That shift makes responsibility feel personal . 

This class taught me that environmental stories aren’t just about trees, oceans, or animals, they’re about people, power, memories and connection. I’m leaving this class with a new perspective and I now know how important it is for us as a society to change our cultures to protect the earth in which we depend on to survive.