Michael Lopez

Ms. Storer
English 3H Block 5
January 22, 2020
Socratic Seminar Reflection
In one of the inner circles, somebody brought up the Australian fires. While talking
about “Nature,” a member brought up the wildfires and how nobody appreciates what is
around them until something bad happens. This group was very good at making a real-life
comparison of the story and it made it so much easier for everyone else to comprehend and
fully understand.
I really liked that this group had a good discussion mostly on the real-life comparisons of
the story. The best comparison was the wildfires and when Kate brought it up, everybody’s
eyes lit up and it was obvious they were understanding it a lot more.
When I spoke, I did not have a clear understanding about the “Civil Disobedience”. It
was kind of hard for me to understand so my contribution was very different than others. When
I talked, I could definitely tell that some people were confused. I. brought up that maybe his
cellmate was falsely imprisoned because there was no tangible evidence and there is no way to
prove that he did it which is the reason why he is imprisoned. Next time we have a Socratic, and
I say this every time, I would like to come in with a better understanding but its my luck that we
choose the hard ones. :(
Most people on earth have not witnessed the beauty of the place we call home and
once they do, they realize that nature is relaxing, it allows you to have a better relationship with
yourself, and the sad feeling one gets when nature is destroyed.
In my essay, I will talk about the positive and slightly negative aspects of nature. It has a
profound effect on making someone feel calm and relaxed. From personal experience, just
sitting outside for a couple hours allows me to clear my mind of all the stress and pain. It is a
really nice feeling and it gets better after I reach a point where I can fully take it in. When I am
relaxed and at peace, I am able to feel better about myself. Confidence is a big problem for me
and when I feel the slightest bit of confidence, I am a much better person. I always have
negative thoughts so positive thoughts are welcoming. Sadly, sometimes nature is destroyed. It
is a hard thing to take in since it is such an essential part of this earth. At the same time it is
almost slightly positive since it makes people appreciate what is here a lot more.
As I stated above many of my life experiences haven’t been the best. A lot of the time, I
just sit there and react poorly. Let’s say something happens on a school night. Since I walk to
school, those 10 min are very helpful in making me feel better so that I am not a mess when I
get to school. Same thing if something happens at school. Since I enjoy taking photos, going out
to the beach or Julian is just such a fun experience to take in and capture. I like to take photos
to keep as memories and share with others. It is fun to look around and think about the
composition of a photo I could take and how it would look. When I get home, sometimes the
photos I took were bad, but after editing, I could make the nature look even more beautiful
than it already is.