This was the first time I’ve ever done any yoga — and it was great! The instructor was so patient and helpful. She told us to listen to our bodies and no to do anything uncomfortable. Some poses my body did not like, but I did them anyways because I wanted to try it. I’m glad I didn’t choose to sleep in on a precious Saturday to go to yoga. I’ve been so stressed lately and honestly, while doing yoga I felt so relaxed. At the end when we were in the resting pose, I nearly fell asleep (I actually might have). She also gave us tips on how we could relieve stress on our own with simple yoga poses. Even if these do not count as rose scholar events anymore, I will probably sign up again if time permits! I even bought a yoga mat recently because of how inspired I was.
Author Archives: jm2586
Living in Ithaca?? The evolution
After this week’s very delicious house dinner (my favorite house dinner so far!), I went to my first rose cafe event. John Schroder came prepared with detailed handouts about how Ithaca looked before all the recent development. I think it is very important to know the history behind the land we stand on and the buildings we learn in everyday. The cafe was not focused much about Cornell university, but more about Ithaca as a whole. We learned about the evolution of housing for college students, the urbanization of Ithaca, and issues related to real estate and preservation. One of the most talked about topics was taxes; Cornell isn’t paying taxes and it is hurting not only Ithaca, but it’s students also. By not paying property tax (which would be many millions I assume), Cornell is withholding so many resources that the city would benefit from. This in turns makes the people who live in Ithaca have to increase their own prices in order to meet the cost of living here. Students can all agree that housing is too expensive. Cornell is aware of this problem, but not enough is being done in my opinion. There should be more university housing and Cornell should be contributing to the community. Ithaca does so much for Cornell and yet they aren’t giving back to them. However, I can see the flip side of this argument where Cornell is a big tourist site and attracts many people to the area. Without Cornell, Ithaca would likely be a still rural area. I am still conflicted about how Cornell should address the housing problem, what are your thoughts?
Ithaca is more than gorges, it’s priceless
I woke up early on this Saturday expecting a super intense hiking workout. The cascadilla gorge hike was anything but that! It was a leisurely walk through the nearby cascadilla gorge. I particularly enjoyed Todd’s sharing his wealth of knowledge with us; I would not have known anything about the gorge unless he had told me. I was shocked to learn that the gorge had so much history with Cornell and how much it has transformed over the years. Students like me who have never seen the gorge damaged or closed are very fortunate. However, I think I would have enjoyed an actual hike too. Since Ithaca has so many natural areas to explore, I thought that it would be a great opportunity for me to hike. Nonetheless, I loved learning about the gorge from Todd and will be back to visit the gorge again. Maybe instead of calling it a “Gorge Hike”, it should be “Gorge Walk”?
The Big Apple in Ithaca!
The day started off with a short informational session about apples in the Rose Main common room. It was very interesting to learn about the seemingly old-fashioned industry, because it is anything but that! New advancements in science (especially genetics) and agriculture have given rise to different lineages of apples with new functionalities. We talked about the stories behind Ruby Frost and Snap Dragon; a great deal of thinking goes behind the name of an apple. I’m curious to know where Granny Smith apples got their name!
To my surprise, the Apple Festival was much larger than I had anticipated. I was able to try so many different apple products that I wouldn’t have been able to back at home. Unfortunately, I couldn’t buy as many products as I wanted to because an overwhelming amount of vendors only accepted cash. My favorite was the hot spiced apple cider from a cauldron. I avoided candied apples as best as I could because I could hear my dentist’s voice in the back of my head telling me no. In general, my first Apple Fest was a success! I will definitely be going back every year to see what cool new products the vendors come up with.
Imperfect Kings
Walking into the room, I honestly had very low expectations of The King’s Speech since Academy Awards aren’t always right in my opinion. I am glad I was proven very wrong and that this movie was actually a beautiful story. While still vastly unrelatable (not all of us are royalty that have to worry about our image and reputation all the time), the movie boiled down to a very basic societal problem; pride rules all. It is hard for people to let go of their pride, admit their weaknesses, and seek help. This was especially true for the king who thought Lionel was lesser than him. It was nice to see the king eventually accept Lionel and ultimately improve his speech skills, but the movie all-in-all was cliche. It was the same generic prideful main character realizes he’s human too after he’s lost something; however, I don’t know how else the movie could’ve played out.
I like that the Rose events aren’t just about modern, fun movies like Moana because a movie like The King’s Speech has more depth and seriousness to it. I hope to see more events like these!
An Iris For You
I had been meaning to go to the garden, but never got the push to walk all the way there (I am unfortunately incredibly lazy). It was a great time with the other scholars, just like last time! I haven’t been to the in house events yet, but these nature outings have been great so far. If possible, I’d love to go to a state park with other scholars.
Betty was a wonderful guide and had so much information to share with our big group. I learned a lot about plants and I am actually considering picking up a plant biology minor now!! Basically, plants are really cool and I want to learn more about them. My favorite part of the tour was the herb garden; it was intriguing to learn that the elevated beds aren’t for show, it’s to provide the suitable for the plants within. After the tour with Betty, I stayed behind to give the garden a closer look and also bought some plant kits at the store. This morning, I saw the first sprouts!! I will definitely visit the garden again (especially in the winter to see the winter garden). 
Organic and Wholesome Time
It’s crazy how many things Ithaca has to offer people; I don’t think I will ever run out of activities to do while I am here at Cornell! This was my first Rose Scholars event and I am very excited for future ones already. I was able to go on the trip even though I had forgotten to previously sign up because the GRFs were so nice and understanding. I have always loved farmer’s markets, and this one is definitely the best one I have ever been to.
The market had a nice location, and I especially enjoyed that it felt like it was tucked away in its own special little culture. There were pretty lights strung through the entire venue (if it’s open in the winter, I expect the market to be very pretty!!), great smells, and super welcoming stores. I bought some honey, juice, and plants. The plants are now sitting in my dorm (their names are Bean, Bon, Sai, and Leafy), while the honey and juice have long left my stomach. I will definitely go back to the farmer’s market again! It was such a nice atmosphere to be in because all of the workers felt like they were truly passionate about their work and were so friendly.