Environmental Analysis was a chance to start considering the way I approach my studies and where I want to go with this work.  The course assignments invite us to explore various methods, research tools, and analytical frameworks.  These tools included situated research, actor-network maps, ArcGIS mapping and storytelling, and various research methodologies.  In starting to think about applying these approaches, we worked together on labs, on figuring out what we are most driven to study, and on designing a research project I could do while studying abroad. I also began thinking about what I wanted to focus on for the next few years through starting to develop an ”area of interest.”  I also worked on a collaborative project to design a field research project to conduct while in Thailand about community livelihoods and mangrove conservation on the coast there.  This time gave me a chance to reflect deeply on what brings me to these studies, keep creating this website that tracks my process, build community with my fellow students, and get some hands on practice with tools I will use moving forward.

Of course, covid caused abrupt and drastic changes to academia and the lives of students starting early 2020. I was not able to study abroad as planned, logistics of school were unexpected, and of course, my own thinking and perspectives on these topics have changed since then.