Author: Julia Demskie

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Spring, Suddenly

For as long as I can remember, spring has always had a way of sneaking up on me, no matter how anxiously I await it. Somewhere along the line, while I’m too busy hoping for the days when I can step outside and be met with a warm breeze instead of frosted grasses, everything begins to bloom seemingly overnight. And so suddenly, the spring I waited for is upon me now, and the pink budded trees shower me with their petals as I move through my days.This spring’s arrival is not exception; I was shocked when the sweet scent of all thr flowering plants passed me by. My eyes followed its upward waft to see sun soak, saturated colors all around me where the grey of winter once made its home. Instead of usual cloud covered skies and grey bark, I saw a blue horizon and flickers of green leaves.

It’s easy, while in the heart of winter, to believe that the harshest season will last forever. How, in this same place which was once so barren, can life be so apparent, so unabashed, so loud mere weeks later? But year after year, spring persists. If you look for it, you begin to see signs of old seasons, even at the height of new ones. The seeds of April fall over the remaining brown, dried leaves of November, just as the moisture from long ago melted February snow will nourish the sweetest of July’s homegrown tomatoes. The seasons work, as all of nature does, in perfect balance; the whole world sings in perfect harmony.

I wonder, as I watch a bushy tailed squirrel climb the same tree where a firey red cardinal is perched, if the animals can hear nature’s song as I do now. Do they know their roles, how they carry seeds and help new things grow? Do they learn their place in it all as I do now, or are they born with a certainty I have never known?

I hope one day the seasons no longer sneak up on me as they do now. I hope I begin to recognize the way the cold, wet days of March give way to the pollen of spring and the chilled nights of early September make space for golden autumns. Maybe even more than this, I hope I master the ability to let each season be what it is. Instead of wishing away the stiff heat of summer, or complaining that winter’s bitter cold is lingering for longer than I can bear, I hope I can continue to remind myself that each season has a song, perfectly composed, that blends into one another like one long, cyclical piece of music, if only you decide to stop and listen.

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Becoming Confident with My Computer

One of the most important understandings that this course has brought to me so far is the fact that I am not inherently “bad with technology.” Throughout my years in secondary school, I thought of my lack of understanding or profieciency with computers was something I should just accept as a weakness of mine. Obviously I strived for improvement, but I always, to some degree, thought of it as an area in which I would perpetually be one step behind my peers.

This outlook has changed since beginning this class. I now know that I am capable of learning how to use technology to my advantage, instead of viewing it as some entirely foreign concept at best, and my enemy at worst. This was not an immediate transition. I ran into diffuclties quite early on in the course when I could not download the apps necessary to do the classwork on (such as this very program). Overcoming that obstacle, and learning more about my device during the process, allowed me to feel like I had more control over my computer, and more autonomy in my usage of it.

I would not go so far as to say that I understand computers perfectly; it is akin to learning a new language, a process which involves much time and practice. I do, however, believe that I have made more progress than I originally believed myself to be capable of before taking this class, and I know that my development will only continue as the semester continues.

In terms of material, I found the portion we have read so far of Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet particularly interesting. The perspective offered about women’s role in the development of computers so early on is one that was entirely new to me. I did not expect women to be so central to the history of the machines as we know them today because, oftentimes, we think of coding, math, and engenieering as male dominated fields. It was very interesting to learn that this was not always the case; women filled the role of a “computer” before the machines that term refers to today was introduced, and also were the main players in navigating how to use the intricate machines in a way that is helpful to humankind.