A Naturalist in the Fabric of Life 

My love for nature started with playing outdoors. I used to create worlds, push boundaries, and discover a thriving universe in nature. One day, while standing at the edge of a forest, I witnessed a deer's death for the first time. I watched from a distance as the young animal lay on the grass, taking its last breaths.

After a few moments, the deer's head drooped and stopped breathing. I felt a sense of sadness, realizing that my life had ended. However, I soon noticed that nature embraced the departed life, making it its own. Insects and birds appeared, and predators almost entirely consumed the body the next day.

This experience taught me that life and death are intertwined and something has to die to give life to others. In this ecological fabric, everything is connected, and no actual death exists. I learned that nature is a cohesive whole where all organisms, including humans, have a place to fill.

My love for both the cruelty and the beauty in nature has never faded, and I strive to learn more about the fantastic species surrounding us. I take notes, photograph, and collect material to understand my identity in this biological fabric. Nature is my school and my temple, where I learn and feel reverence for creation, and like Linnaeus, I believe that one should know the names of plants and animals. By understanding the different species of our neighbors, we are less likely to harm them.