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JackSherrickSecondEssay 10 - 19 May 2021 - Main.JackSherrick
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| | | How The Land Got Here | |
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< | Tens of thousands of years ago, vast glaciers inched their way across the land that would later come to be called Illinois. When the glaciers began to melt and recede to icier climes at the end of the last ice age, they left behind a 100-feet layer of rich sediment and revealed an alien terrain. The landscape had been completely flattened, extending for unwrinkled miles in every direction to the horizon, "hardly presenting a bush to relieve the eye." The glaciers' parting gift of top soil was perfect for Big Blue Stem, Compass Plants, black-eyed Susans, and the countless other prairie grasses that clung to the earth with such adamant ferocity that the landscape of Illinois has been all but impervious to the powers of erosion that threaten to alter its topography. | >
> | Tens of thousands of years ago, vast glaciers inched their way across the land that would later come to be called Illinois. When the glaciers began to melt and recede to icier climes at the end of the last ice age, they left behind a 100-feet layer of rich sediment and revealed an alien terrain. The landscape had been completely flattened, extending for unwrinkled miles in every direction to the horizon, "hardly presenting a bush to relieve the eye." The glaciers' parting gift of top soil was perfect for Big Blue Stem, Compass Plants, black-eyed Susans, and countless other prairie grasses. These grasses clung to the earth with such adamant ferocity that the landscape of Illinois has been all but impervious to the powers of erosion that threaten to alter its topography. | | | People embraced the alien landscape the glaciers left behind and learned how to live among its grassy residents. Indigenous groups would conduct prairie burns that scorched the earth with a heat so intense that forests were unable to establish a foothold in the region. However, prairie roots run deep and the grass stems would burst forth from the enriched ground reinvigorated after each burn. Now, the prairie is all but gone, eradicated in an instant and replaced with fields of corn and soybeans. Illinois' glacial inheritance is being squandered on corn syrup and ethanol by America's Prodigal Sons. | | | Initially, I thought my background with conservation would lead me towards environmental law. I thought my "why" would be preserving America's quickly disappearing natural landscapes. However, I instead felt myself more pulled towards housing law. Moving from the Midwest to New York has made me realize that I had been taking the space I inhabit for granted. I had been used to sharing my space with green things rather than human things. I now understand the importance of making a small space your own while you're amidst millions of other people trying to do the same. | |
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< | I want to make sure people have a space of their own. Not only a place to retreat to in times of trouble, but a place to share with others in times of prosperity. One of the greatest gifts of ownership is not the power to keep people out, but the power to let people in. To open up your small space to allow others to enjoy the intimacies of the home. No man is an island, and that truth extends to the small spaces they most intimately inhabit. A few weeks ago, I began doing work with the Tenants' Rights Project. My goal with the TRP is to help people set down roots without fear of displacement, to help people feel secure in the spaces they inhabit so they can share that space with others and thrive in other big spaces outside their homes. Protecting these small spaces is essential to my practice. | >
> | I want to make sure people have a space of their own. Not only a place to retreat to in times of trouble, but a place to share with others in times of prosperity. One of the greatest gifts of ownership is not the power to keep people out, but the power to let people in. To open up your small space to allow others to enjoy the intimacies of the home. No man is an island, and that truth extends to the small spaces they most intimately inhabit. My goal is to help people set down roots without fear of displacement, to help people feel secure in the spaces they inhabit so they can share that space with others and thrive in other big spaces outside their homes. Protecting these small spaces is essential to my practice. | | |
Space in Law School |
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