Cultural Assignment!

This semester my organization S.M.A.R.T (Student Minority Recruitment Team) required that I attend a program called S.M.A.R.T Talks. S.M.A.R.T is an organization composed of minority student who recruit other minority student to attend Penn State University. This is done through large events such as Spend A Fall Day and Achiever’s Weekend. This specific S.M.A.R.T talk was held on a Monday in the Shields building where our general body meetings take place.

            During the S.M.A.R.T talks we place our seats in a circle so we are facing each other. No one is allowed to sit in the middle. After all of this is set up a member felicitates questions. This was a second time I attended an event such as this. I knew what to expect and the specific direction the talk could take. After the SMART talks I was walked away pondering the several questioned asked during. They are never a disappointment. I especially liked that during these talks I got to interact with our members. Also it was interesting to hear other perspectives of the transition into the Penn State University community.

This specific talk was focused around how it feels to be a minority at Penn State University. During this talk I learned several facts for instance there is a high percentage of Hispanics on this campus than there are Blacks. It was also interesting to hear how others classified them selves. For instance when applying to colleges on my applications I was told to but my race down as what my fathers race is.  However I don’t classify my self as just Black. I classify my self as both Hispanic and Black being that my Mother is from Ecuador and my father is an African American. During this talk I found there was a grey area in the statics because in which category do I fall under. There was another girl is from Jamaica born and raised. She considered her race Jamaican. Thus furthering the confusion between the race and ethnicity. Although I learned race is classified, as the color of your skin and ethnicity is your cultural background. Another topic that came up during the talks was the issue of tuition for minority students. That hit home for me as well because my parents are basically paying the full out of state tuition for me to attend Penn State University.

To further enrich my experience I would have like the S.M.A.R.T talks to be longer than hour. Toward the end of the talk I felt like those who were talking were rushed and did not fully get to express their opinions. Also I think it would great to involve other organizations with members of other ethnic and race back grounds.

            Overall I enjoyed my experience. SMART talks will be something I will continue to attend in the future.  I really enjoyed hearing other minority stories and knowing I am not the only one who had a hard time adjusting.

*Handed in a hard of my other Cultural Assignment. Which was about Vagina Monologues. 

            

My Last Blog!

When I heard you are required to take a basic English class. I thought to my self “oh lord” I am going to have to a read a bunch of books and learn vocabulary. To my surprise how ever English 15 ended up not being anything of the sort. At first I was really nervous about writing my first paper I had never written a paper in college before and I wanted to make sure the language was prefect and the grammar was pristine. I thought if have those two qualities I would do more than “ok” in the class. However I learned quickly a paper whatever topic it maybe research or a memoir requires several other qualities. For instance my writing has always been unorganized, jumping from thought to thought. So to better my organization I started to write down all my ideas and then rearrange them so they make sense. I also learned that paragraph and sentence structure is very important when trying write a masterpiece. I found it interesting how just rearrangement of words could make a story or fact more intriguing. Personally I believe my writing has evolved immensely over the course of the semester. I learned several new techniques that I make I sure use throughout my writing process. English 5 was also very helpful throughout the semester. My tutor and I only met once a week to review the assignments I was given in English 15. It was nice however to be able to pick someone else’s brain for ideas.

            The project I love the most was the memoir assignment. That assignment for me was the most fun. It forced me to be more creative with my writing and look at the person who I was. The blogging assignment was too on my other favorites. It was nice to be able to write in a more relaxed tense while having interesting topics to discuss. My least favorite assignment is the research paper. I have never had the experience of writing a research paper for an English class. I struggled mostly with who to write the paper and how to organize it. Because throughout high school the research papers I wrote were mostly factual based.

            Overall English 15 as course taught me several things. I am more than happy that I am walking away with a new perspective of writing and language. In the future I would love to take another English class so I can further my writing skills. 

The Fairy Tale New Year's Eve!

The boring movie “New Year’s Eve” consumes about two hours of your time. It depicts a fun and optimistic night in Time Square.

While most New Yorkers stay in their comfy homes and watch the ball drop. This movie shows the melodramatic lives of different characters and their path taken on this “magical night” on New Year’s Eve in NYC.

There is not one drunk fool and the cops are quite nice. We New Yorkers like defining New Year’s Eve as amateur night. In the picture perfect make over however the glitter and sparkles take over the evening and everything falls into place. Confetti falls when clock strikes 12. Forgiveness and new beginnings are on the rise. New Year’s Eve becomes a life changing night.

Where have we seen a similar plot with a different holiday you might ask? Well in last years film “Valentine’s Day” which was too directed by Garry Marshall. The two films coincide with the different points of view of the same night and intertwined events.

What would New Year’s Eve in Time Square be with out the ball dropping? Claire (Hillary Swank), the new vice president of the Time Square Alliance will be fired if she doesn’t fixed the ball before midnight.

“New Year’s Eve” has it all. There is drama, love, and even some comedy.  A couple goes neck and neck in a race to have the first-born baby in 2012 for a prize of $25,000. On the other hand the rock star Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi) is performing a concert and trying to win back the love of his life Laura (Katherine Heigl). A little love drama is always necessary on New Year’s Eve right?

We then see Randy played by sexy (Ashton Kutcher). He seems to be the Grinch of New Year’s Eve. He hates the holiday and all things associated with it. Randy gets stuck in the elevator with Elise (Lea Michele), who is Jensen’s back up singer.  The two fall in love how practical.

Lastly, the old draw out story of a teenager begging her mom to let her roam and party alone.  Kim (Sarah Jessica Parker) who plays the mom that won’t let her daughter Hailey (Abigail Breslin) party alone and get her kiss on midnight.

At last for the fairy tale ending! Sam (Josh Duhamel) is determined to reunite with a girl her he met the year before on the same day. She leaves him a note like Cinderella leaves her prince her shoe. Her note states they are to meet in the same restaurant a year later.

Michelle Pfeiffer plays the character Ingrid as an assistant who has access to the hottest New Year’s Eve party. Paul (Zac Efron) a bike messenger makes a deal with Ingrid to make her list of dream come true in exchange for some party tickets.

There is then the sad tale of a cancer patient Stan (Robert De Niro) who has a nurse (Halle Berry). She sits by his side and tries to make his last wish come true. Which is to watch the ball drop from the rooftop. How ironic?

Would I drag my self out of bed to pay almost $12 for this movie? No. It is quite cliché. There was a unique plot. There were how ever a few good laughs and Cinderella stories always touch your heart. 

So what we like to PARTY!

Personally it does not bother me that Penn State is or was known as a party school. We are still one of the top schools in the nations. We like to party hard but study hard as well. Partying relieves stress. Imagine a life with all work and no play. Life would be extremely boring and predictable. However when you add partying into your schedule it adds a little “flavor” to your life style. Personally I live in New York, the first thing people do when the get off work is go to a bar to dance and drink. State college is not the only place where people drink they lives away on the weekend. Another question we need to ask our selves is why is drinking associated with partying or having a good time? I feel as though drinking is apart of our society as whole. However I do think from the stories I have heard and from the pod cast The American Life, Penn State did and does need rules and laws to keep them from getting out of hand. The part of the podcast I found to be most memorable was the scene where the 50 year old women gives the 21 year old a drink to help celebrate her birthday. This specific gesture shows how embed drinking and tailgating is with out Penn State society. It has been apart of culture for a long time and I personally feel like it will never change. I cannot imagine going to a football game with out watching people chug beer and eat pulled pork on a roll. While at time I did feel the piece was a harsh, it displayed the truth about what was taking place on a regular night. I feel as though they looked at both sides. The speakers remembered being young and in college and they talked about their personally college stories. They talked about how they drank and did idiotic things in college. But I think the factor they were trying to stress was it is “OK” to party and have a good time but do it moderation. People do not need to drink until the black out or die. I would like to stress the Pod Cast did not change any of my views about the university. I would love it here no matter what. I am not worried about getting a job after I graduated. It also does not bother me when people as me If party a lot or that my school is associated with partying. I do believe that the focus needs to be on our pride our unity and strength as a community! Over and Out!

What is ART?

What is art? We each have our own personal understanding of art what is.  Some of us dance, paint, or write I feel that art is something that is creatively put together to express an emotion or concept. For example when some dances you see and feel their emotion and soul in every movement. They creatively take body language and steps placing it into a sequence to display a message. I believe that is the definition of art a various combination of “things” put together to display something else.

When you look at a painting you see an image. When you take a closer look you will find a message or an emotion buried in the piece. However as artist my self, before I look at the piece as a whole. I try to get as close as I can with out touching the work of art. I look at the artist’s stroke and blending of colors. When you are this close you can see where the artist struggled the most because of the added layers. You see we the colors blended precisely together. Then I usually step back and observe the piece, from left to right. From this point of view you every detail comes together to make a face or arm. After that, I that notice to the emotion displayed and I try understand what the artist is trying to say. I feel when you look at a work of art like this you understand the artist and will grasp a enhanced definition of what is portrayed.

I feel as though the best works art are things are not explained, and the definition is not told to you. I like looking at a painting or listening to song without knowing who the artist is or what their goal may be. When you observe something with a blind eye or ear. You create your own story. For example when I took the trip to the Palmer Museum of Art and I found piece of Goliath. I had no prior reference to who the artist was, what era they were born. I did not even look at the title. The piece captured from across the room. It was large and red was bright yet dim at the same time.  The piece spoke for it self. By the time I had sat down to write about it. I formed my own story line of why this woman was carrying this mans head. However it turns out as I looked up the artist and the piece. I discovered the woman was a young boy and the man’s head that was being held was actually a beast. Again art is what ever you want it to be. It is how you see the world. How you place things together.

 Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists. He is a surrealist he take objects places them in areas would they would never be found. His works of art really make you think because there is a message behind every piece. The piece of his I love the most is “Persistence”. This specific piece distorts several pocket watches. I believe this piece of work to question if time is real or not. While we are sleeping in our dreams time is relevant.  The painting takes away what you have always known to be real and put into perspective. This is why “Persistence” one of favorite pieces. 

Persistence 

David with the head of Goliath!

             There have been several artists that have reconstructed the event David with the head of Goliath. In this oil painting by Girolamo Forabosco there is a young boy holding a bloody head over his shoulder. He has a slight smirk upon his face as though he is proud to be holding the head. The view also should take notice the young boy is draped with a red cloth and wearing what appears to be white pants. The contrast of the red and white is very appealing to the eye. The color white is frequently associated with innocence’s and purity. Which I feel the artist uses this to depict a sense of sympathy and to highlight the boy’s age. The boy’s age is emphasized because children and youth are too associated with innocence. The color red relates to death and blood shed. Thus reiterating the image of the decapitated head the boy is lugging over his shoulder.

            If you look up this history of this painting you will find the image exhibits a story from the bible. It is suppose to represent the victory of the shepherd boy David over the giant Goliath. In the bible it is an example of the power of God overcoming a greater evil. While although the painting does not show the actual battle. It vividly illustrated the words “and David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem” (1 Samuel 17,54) In addition David is also know as the founder of civilization. We can also relate David to the hero Hercules.

            I was initially attracted to this specific piece because it had a sense of dark but goodness wrapped into one piece. I felt this way because the of the colors red and white. Also the young boys smirk played a great role in making feel like he was innocent even though the evidence was right above his shoulder. The head however did not look human, so I assumed he has a specific reason for killing the beast. Which is when I realized there had to be more than what was being shown in the painting. I found this when I did more research. This painting relates to my values because God always does over come evil. When you feel you cannot keep going God gives you the strength to keep moving forward.

            Forabaosco creates credibility because the curves of the boy’s body imitates the same style and stoke of Forabaosco’s first teacher. Also the soft blurs the outlines and atmospherically blends together. He is known for his self-portraits. My overall experience was a peaceful one. I mostly go to museums in New York City, they never let you take a photo or even get close enough to the piece to look at stroke the artist has. I walked right in a got to look at each piece in my own timely matter. I got as close as I wanted. I loved the fact they let your wonder how you pleased. I would definitely go back! 

My thoughts of my OWN blog!

As a kid I always wanted to keep a diary or a journal of every major event that occurred throughout my day. I thought it would relive stress. I could write about all the people I despised. I could confess my love for the boy down the street. But what was point no one was ever going to read it. No one was ever going to care about the things I had to say. However blogging is different you can express your self and people who are interested can read what you post. While it is public you can post things and make them private just so you can keep them personal. I think blogging is just like a therapist. Especially in this day in age with all the pressures from the media and social status we need a place that we can be ourselves. A place where out looks do not matter just our thought and our voice.

Personally I have never had a blog. Now that I have created one there are a few keep things I made sure it has. For example my blog must be full of fun and interesting opinions that people of all ages can read. Also I want to make so my page is easy to navigate. The color scheme was another important factor because I wanted it to represent me but be appeal to others. For these very facts I choose the warming in inviting shade of orange. When a person deems oranges as their favorites color.  It means their personality is out going and enthusiastic I choose the light blue to accent the white background to place a focus around the middle of the page. Which is where the meat of the information is. For my title of my blog I used a curved font to represent my handwriting. Thus allowing the reader to know that a real person is writing this blog not a computer. On the bottom right corner I also placed a link to my about me page. I did this so after the reader is done reading if they are interested in learning more about the author. They can click the link to learn a little about my background and develop a better understanding of why I write about the thing I do. 

                                                                 Lauren Rhoden