{"id":1506,"date":"2019-04-16T02:10:14","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T02:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/?p=1506"},"modified":"2019-04-16T02:10:14","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T02:10:14","slug":"the-dead-cedar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/uncategorized\/the-dead-cedar\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dead Cedar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In one of my first encounters with the Guilford Woods, I cam<\/g> across an old dead tree that stood out from the rest. Every time I come back into the woods I visit this tree. Standing here I see how it stands out because it\u2019s surrounded by a bunch of American beech trees.\u00a0\u00a0The trunk of the cedar tree is twice the size of the beech trees.\u00a0\u00a0The bark is slick and multicolored.\u00a0\u00a0It almost looked as if it had been sculpted with clay.\u00a0\u00a0The branches stretch in awkward angles.\u00a0\u00a0I wonder how something so beautiful, could be dead inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Without any words, I feel a sense of recognition from the tree. Its branches almost extend down and envelop me with a loving embrace.\u00a0\u00a0My problems of not fitting in here seem insignificant.\u00a0\u00a0The tree feels me and I feel it.\u00a0\u00a0I sit down beside its trunk and think. Being Asian American at this campus is just like being a cedar tree in an area full of American beech trees.\u00a0\u00a0I begin to wonder if the tree feels lonely.\u00a0\u00a0Can trees feel lonely?\u00a0\u00a0My Native American Religion class would say yes.\u00a0\u00a0I sit and listen.\u00a0\u00a0I wonder what the tree looks like on the inside. How could it be dead and stand so tall and beautifully?\u00a0\u00a0I stand up and take a step back to see the whole tree.\u00a0\u00a0As I stare it is like I am looking in a mirror, seeing my own reflection looking back at me.\u00a0\u00a0I think maybe it died of loneliness here.\u00a0\u00a0Grappling with the idea of leaving the college, I wonder if the tree would have left if it could.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never thought that I could or would ever have such an emotional connection to a tree. Then I found this tree. It spoke right to me. The longer I was in its presence the more I felt like we were connected. Somehow I think it understands me in a way that others can’t. I wonder if my other Asian American friends back home ever found something so grounding in their life. I know that other people feel the way that I do but just suffer in silence. Everyone faces loneliness. Even this tree. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In one of my first encounters with the Guilford Woods, I cam across an old dead tree that stood out from the rest. Every time I come back into the woods I visit this tree. Standing here I see how it stands out because it\u2019s surrounded by a bunch of American beech trees.\u00a0\u00a0The trunk of … Continue reading “The Dead Cedar”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1506"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1510,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions\/1510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ds.guilford.edu\/classes\/english\/228-2019s\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}