Florissant

Cody Parker

Essay on Florissant

The Florissant fossil beds revealed much, of which I was not previously aware.   Redwood trees are not typically associated, with Colorado, and even being a lifelong Coloradan, I was not aware the state was ever home to the illustrious tree, commonly standing hundreds of feet tall, which I typically associate with California.  The tree served as a reminder of how little one knows even about their own home.  Thoroughly searching a place would reveal much.  Applying the same concept, one could search the crevices of the house, the most obscure of a close friend’s thoughts or even the remote corners of one’s own mind.  My thought process strayed heavily at Florissant, and was perhaps a bit arbitrary, nonetheless, it reflected my nature, and what I believe is an instinct of many, and that is to internalize information and translate the information in a manner which is relatable to one’s self.  Two other regrettable items of further self-discovery occurred to me at Florissant: First, I have not particular interest in ecology.  While I am capable of finding landscapes aesthetically pleasing, and I do wish to know more about how the world came to be, particular aspects of ecology are rather mundane to me.  Second, I have a short attention span.  Unless I am particularly grasped by a certain subject my mind strays far and it wanders quickly.  After a few moments of exploring Florissant I began to think about anything and everything.  Simply put, I did not feel the ideal though patterns at Florissant, but what control do I have over my mind?