The Matrix has been a movie that I always intended to watch, and I finally was able to get to watch it during one of our Rose events. The Matrix falls under the genre of science fiction, which is one of my favorite genres. It was fascinating to follow the storyline of the main character, Neo, who gets to know the truth about his existence. One thing that I found quite astonishing while watching the movie was the small details in the use of the red pill and blue pill. Neo had to decide if he wanted to know the truth. The blue pill will allow him to return to his regular life, whereas the red pill will allow him to find out the truth. Neo chooses the red pill. However, the blue pill represents more than just returning to one’s life but ignoring the fact that something else is going on in their lives and who wouldn’t want to know the truth about their existence. The red pill gives a sense of power, as one might end up and see the truth about their own life. The red pill will, however, prevent one from living life as they would, which may be a scary thing to many. This movie presents a lot of dilemmas that the audience might present a different analysis.
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Life’s Playlist
Our discussion started off listing all of their favorite songs. We talked about music that fits into our lives. One person mentioned that Soca reminds her of her family. That made me thinking about the type of music that I like, which is in correlation to my culture. Someone shouted out Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is you.” Many people immediately disagreed about listening to Christmas music for Thanksgiving, and one reason was that they felt by Christmas, you would get tired of that type of music, making it feel less like Christmas. Quickly our discussion shifted to talking about Kanye’s music. There was a pretty heated discussion about his music and his credibility. There was a political aspect that was discussed alongside his music, as well as how his religion fits into his music. Overall, it was great to see how different types of music fit into people’s lives.
Gourds turned into Nightlights
Last night, I was able to make my own nightlight, but it was not a typical nightlight, it was made out of gourds. I did not expect that a vegetable can become so beautiful. We were able to drill holes into the vegetable to make our own design and even had the opportunity to add colored beads to allow for some colorful light. This was a great experience because I was able to learn about a form of art here in Ithaca that is unique, creative, and fun. I truly enjoyed this event, as I was able to make something of my own, and learn about this unique form of art.
It was great to see the effort and time that the work Graham Ottoson does takes to do. There were extravagant examples she showed us, and I was astonished that something that amazing can be made out of a vegetable. She has a passion for her work, and it was a great experience to have her share that with us.
That is NOT Us
During the movie Us, the audience is introduced to a young girl who experiences an event that she would never forget. While detouring away from her parents at a carnival, she stumbles upon a tunnel, where she meets her look-a-like, her shadow. The sinister music in the background led the audience to believe something happened to the girl. After this traumatizing event, she never spoke of the event. As an adult, she comes back to the carnival with her husband and children but soon finds out that it was a big mistake, as her childhood nightmare become her worst fear. After a suspicious knock at her door, her family meets up with their look-a-likes, who are plotting to kill her and her family. A significant twist happens at the end. The details in the movie eliminated certain portions that would hint to the audience the ending of the film. The twist at the end was unexpected. However, the sinister music that was heard at the beginning of the movie when she was at the carnival occurred again when she went back to the location of the carnival years later. Additionally, many coincidences kept happening, where she believed that something was after her. Her biggest fear is losing her kids in the same tunnel she was lost in as a child, that traumatized her terribly. She fought to keep her children safe and went to any extent to do that. However, in the end, it was more than just traumatizing for her; the audience finds out that she lost her actual life, meaning that her shadow switched lives with her. The audience believed that her shadow coming back to her was the real Adelaide getting revenge on the shadow for ruining her life. The whole time the audience was on the side of the main character, who we thought was the real Adelaide; however, with the plot twist, it is hard to determine who you would support.
Getting to Know Our Peers
During the mini-seminar with Jeff Godowski, I was able to get a better perspective of the people I go to class with, eat with, and live with. I really enjoyed interacting with my peers and getting to know them better. I realized that we have a lot in common; for example, the community service related events and school-related events we go to relate to our future aspirations and careers in some way. I also found it interesting that many of us had common hobbies and interests, such as health and wellness, community, intellectual inquiry, etc. all of which are intertwined into our lives one way or another. We all prioritize things differently, some of us prioritize health and wellness over community, or intellectual inquiry over community, but regardless, we were able to see how and why we all choose that category, which I was intrigued to listen to. It was a great experience to come together with my peers and understand that we all have common interests and have had unique experiences.
The Twists and Turns of the movie Housebound
Housebound was a movie that kept you at the edge of your seat. Some twists and turns were unexpected, allowing me to feel the tension in the room. Once in a while, I heard gasps in the room. By paying attention closely, you noticed that the events leading up to a twist had slight changes in the tone of the music in the background, as well as the angle of the camera. Sometimes the music signified that there were changes to the storyline. In terms of the angles in which the scene was filmed, the camera would avoid the corner in which the supernatural activity would occur. In one instance, the lights went out, and someone was standing in a corner, following that someone was harmed. Besides it being a horror movie, there were times were subtle jokes were included. It lightened the tone of the film, as well as allowed the viewers to get a better understanding of the characteristics of the actors. Overall the movie had lots of unexpected outcomes, and it was a great experience to share the thrill with the other residents of Rose.
Lights, Camera, Professional Headshot
Tonight, as I went to go take my professional headshot, I was able to speak to some of my peers about their career paths. We were able to share our experiences and even offer each other advice. I expected the event to be one in which you just walked in, took a picture, and left; however, it was more than that. I spoke to a peer who explained that she was pre-med and interested in engineering, she planned to pursue an MD-PhD. It was great to hear about her aspirations, and even get some advice from her. In terms of the headshot, I realized that the lights and slated, an upright position enhanced my picture. This event was a great opportunity for me to start building up my career profiles.
Happiness Leads to Success
During the UThrive book read with Zackary Grobe, I initially thought that it would be merely a summary of the book, but we all discussed ideas much deeper than just a summary. We made connections between our lives and the advice given to us through the book. While reading I did make connections to my own life, and how I would adopt these changes in the upcoming school year. However, through the conversation with my peers, I was able to get a different point of view, as well as new changes that I should consider for this year.
One idea that came up that stuck with me was “You’re good enough; Don’t stress it.” As college students, we are constantly pressuring ourselves and sometimes our criteria are so unrealistic that when we don’t reach it, we are hard on ourselves. Another big point that we discussed was that happiness leads to success. Through our discussion, we talked about individuals that measure their happiness based off of their success, but it is happiness that brings success. Upon reflection of this event, I thought about this phrase and I realized that if you truly enjoy doing something, your work will be the fruit of your success.
During this meeting, we spoke about building new relationships. As students here, we should be opened to meeting new people and making new friends. We should not limit ourselves to the same group of people we are constantly around. This conversation went further where we spoke about roommate issues. Zachary Grobe mentioned that if you have a roommate, the first thing to do is set boundaries early on and be honest from upfront. Living with someone with no boundaries and no honesty will cause rough living. Based on this, I reflected on my freshman roommate situation, which did not end very well as I moved out into a single. I should have spoken to her about what I am comfortable with and uncomfortable with when I first moved in. This discussion with Zachary Grobe and my peers allowed me to think about new ways to approach different situations.
It’s more than a Summary
Last night, I had the opportunity to sit in on a blog post writing seminar. I was able to learn new terminology and get a better understanding of how to write about an experience. Writing about yourself or experience can be a challenge for a lot of people because you have to dig deep and figure out how an event has impacted you. While at this event, I reflected on my experiences writing memoirs in school, which I found challenging as I had to think about how I wanted to express this information.
Zackary Grobe pointed out great tips and suggestions that can help with personalizing a writing piece, which can be done by including small details that have a personal connection to the writer. He frequently mentions that it is not just a summary, it is more than that; it is about placing yourself in the situation and realizing how you feel about it, as that is what makes blogs captivating to the audience. Not everyone has the same ideas, reflections, or experiences. It allows the readers to see how an event affected you. Through this, our community of students would be able to learn more about each other.
One part of the event that captivated me were the commercials that Zackary Grobe showed us. Although they were short, there were really small details in the videos that added significant effects to the overall story being told. With the Subaru Forester commercial, I was able to pinpoint certain sound effects that allowed the viewers to feel what the actors were feeling. For example, when the ambulance was at the scene of the car crash, there were sounds of sirens and radios murmuring in the background. Upon hearing that, I was anxious to know what had happened and if anyone was hurt. The commercial portrayed that Subaru was a reliable company, and one way it showed this was through the accident, where everyone was saved and no one was hurt. This seminar taught me to pay attention to accessory details around me as they are just as important as the information explicitly presented.