A Ritual of Meaning-Making for Hard Times What does it mean to fall in love with the world? How can we locate moments of joy and meaning in times when our spirits feel diminished? Using John Green's book The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet, this FYRS course will explore how the small intersections of daily life-a favorite soft drink, an earworm of a song, the cool breeze of air conditioning on a summer day-can be brought forward as a practice of gratitude. We will dissect our daily habits and examine the ordinary routine through the lens of the extraordinary confluence of events that allowed for the routine's possibility. Consider, for example, the modern marvel that is indoor plumbing and how often we take it for granted; my grandmother, who grew up with an outhouse and a well, never fails to appreciate it. For the semester-long research project, students will investigate a specific "ordinary" product of the Anthropocene and unpack its significance.