Weekly Blog: Week 28

It is a new feeling that has spread among seniors like a pandemic. This college process brings about all sorts of thoughts that we previously never had to think about, and along with it all comes emotions (and lots of them). While I am probably a more emotion-oriented person than most, I can't believe how many this process has brought about. I have lived most of my life away from loved ones, my parents being divorced and living far away from each other, so I never thought moving away for college would be difficult. Yet on the plane to Pennsylvania during spring break, I must admit to a rush of anxiety filling my mind and consuming every earlier assumption that this would be easy, like a hungry kid with cake and a sweet tooth. Nevertheless, the emotional drawback proved in the end that we are never truly invincible when it comes to life's changes. Instead of defaulting to my second choice of attending Lewis and Clark, I decided that pushing myself is usually the best approach, and this way I will learn more about myself than I would staying close to home. So in conclusion, I'd like to commend this process, despite its tiring and frustrating qualities, for allowing us all to discover ourselves a little more.

P.S. I will soon be an official Allegheny Gator, as soon as I take the leap!

Weekly Blog: Week 27

more than anything else lately, I've thought and wondered about
WHERE I WILL BE IN SIX MONTHS

Weekly Blog: Week 26

I recently heard on the radio, an author speaking about his latest book. He said that when he began, he couldn't write a novel, but he could write one page a day. This is what life is about. We often try to expect everything to happen automatically, especially in our "balloon generation" as described by Urban Dictionary as the generation who "expects awards and balloons for minimal amounts of work," as well as with growing technology to increase the efficiency of all possible. We try to accomplish huge tasks without patience, and we fail to see the option of doing so one "page" at a time. If life were a book, it is important to acknowledge every little word and letter, for some day the book will end, and we'll have just our moments to look back on.

Weekly Blog: Week 25

In reflection of the quotation, "become who you are":

We are born as infants, canvases,
with a lack of character or personality.
Without morals, values, or individuality,
we step into the world with paths to choose.
We decide who we are, through trial and error,
and we become who we are
through determination and drive.
It's not easy creating yourself,
but you certainly must try,
or else someone will do it for you.

Weekly Blog: Week 24

It's incredible, the emotions we can evoke through art. It's equally incredible that one can be so passionate in creating it. In this video, a woman creates piece after piece using only sand. She has disciplined herself in timing and is completely involved in her work, while she throws sand with great emotion. It is inspiring to see such a talented woman being properly appreciated by a teary eyed audience. She controls their feelings with every movement of her hand and uses that power to create a beautiful moment. In relation to Heart of Darkness, this is what some of us are capable of, under the right circumstances.

Weekly Blog: Week 23

As I sat in the passenger seat of my boyfriend's car this weekend, I asked why he wasn't using the windshield wipers. He told me he was thinking about the way our brains are able to see past these droplets of water and complete an image, despite our only seeing a percentage of the scene. We often take for granted these incredible abilities, as well as others that exist within us. People are quick to wipe away their talents, for whatever reason, may it be that others won't approve or that they just don't consider them to be special, and this is truly unfortunate. If we all noticed something about ourselves, and held on to it, and used a talent unique only to us in order to create a stronger character or benefit another person, we would all be in a better place. If we noticed the things we tend to ignore, we could appreciate life that much more.

Weekly Blog: Week 22

Yesterday, I went to Raphael House in San Francisco, a homeless shelter for families. I am part of a volunteer group that raises funds for homeless children to buy school clothes as well as awareness in the community. We watched a video at the Raphael House compiled of clips showing the lives of homeless children and the ways they interpret and respond to their situations. One boy of eleven compared his life to a game of chess; he said "one wrong move and you could lose everything," deep thought for a fourth grader. He spoke about how he has been homeless for the last five years. That's almost half his life. I can only imagine how transferring between schools, moving around, and not knowing where his next meal would come from could affect a person. His attitude, as well as those of the other children, was optimistic and strong. When faced with hardships, we can act in countless ways, a majority of them being not beneficial, or even ruinous. This young boy has somehow found a way to adapt to his family's lifestyle, with strength and much intellect. While most look down upon the homeless, or anyone out of place in society, I can only aspire to have character such as this kid.

Weekly Blog: Week 21

We spoke of carpe diem this week, and I realized another way to seize the day is through photography. With a click, one can capture a moment in time that will pass instantly and be, from then on, unattainable. To seize the day is to seize the moment; we often are too rushed to appreciate the small things in life. We pass by a flower without seeing its petals or another person without acknowledging their presence. To capture a moment is to notice the value a single object can have.

Weekly Blog: Week 20

I was sitting as T.A. in Mrs. Riley's CP English class as they discussed the next book they are going to read. In preparation, Mrs. Riley created an assignment prompting her students to write a poem about a person who has influenced their lives, in good ways or bad. I had nothing else to do, so I began to write.

Through your destruction,
I learned to grow.
I learned to put on a face when that was the last thing I wanted to do.
Through your destruction,
I was destroyed.
My heart broken no more than it was torn
by the clashing decisions about when to give up,
if I haven't already.
Through your destruction,
I built myself up again.
I distinguished between those who would help me through it
and those like you.
I made choices for myself about my future,
about the person I want to be;
choices about how to deal with the present, move on, stay still,
overcome the past.
Through your destruction,
I first learned to love, to ignore the hard times.
I learned how not to hate, how to settle.
Don't get these confused;
they are very different.

Weekly Blog: Week 19

We read about post-colonialism in an introduction and the author brought up the subject of power. Power is an important thing; it allows people to do great deeds and evoke change in the world. Someone who is powerful can lead a movement to better humanity or the lives of a group of people. But power is also dangerous. Greed goes hand in hand with power, and the two together can cause people to act terribly-- tyrannically. Power is also the foundation of inequality. It is a complicated matter; as one seeks power, for good reasons or bad, it is inevitable that once that power is achieved, there are others less powerful. This creates an imbalance, leading to discrimination and the establishment of superiority, derived from the innate characteristics of people.