Author Archives: kam445

With Fame Comes Great Responsibility

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I attended the Playlist of Life table talk because I thought the concept seemed fun, and I was interested to see the effects that music has on other people’s lives. I’m not going to lie, I was also hoping to get in on some new playlists for my own leisure, although this was not as successful as I had hoped.

As with any passionate topic, people have very strong opinions. When the conversation turned to Kanye West, I was instantly provoked. I have strong negative feelings for West, as I feel he is not using his power or platform well. To be in the public eye comes with great responsibilities; what you say and do sets a precedent for who you are and can inspire others to do the same. West, in my opinion, has failed to uphold his duty of responsibility. To politically support someone who is against all forms of diversity is mind-boggling to me. And while I certainly see through his lies and deceit, I know that there are others who do not. There are people who listen to his music and take his word for certain. This is a dangerous precent, as he is not the best role model.

What I find specifically troubling is that people can set aside who he is as a person and still buy his music. When we, as consumers, buy, listen, or talk about a song or product, we are spreading fame and supporting what we are referring to. I cannot bring myself to do this for West’s music, and find it morally challenging that others are okay with it.

How Much Do You Notice? To What Degree Are Your Actions Yours?

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House fellow Tamar Kushnir started her discussion on free will in the most unique way. She said, “Sit in silence. What did you notice?” I guess I had never just sat and observed in that way, as we live in a very hustle-and-bustle society. It is rare that I even have time to just sit by myself, let alone watch the actions of others. Her thought provoking question truly opened the dialogue for the night. 

I had never really considered free will and its role in everyday life. I always assumed that it was simply a concept of personal choice. I never considered the societal pressure that exists in this concept. She brought my attention to this as she asked us to sit in silence and raise our hand whenever we felt like it. It took a while for someone to finally be the first to do so, and others easily followed. I chose to not follow suit, and I sat merely observing others. 

I think it is also interesting to consider this in the scope of age. Professor Kushnir studies this concept in children. Her studies conclude that when children are asked if they have to do something, such as eat ice cream, children less than four-years-of-age will respond with a passionate yes. Older children recognize that we have a choice. Is this a result of the same societal pressure found when we were asked to raise our hands? Or, is it a result of serious cognitive growth? 

CRISPR: Playing God or Saving Lives?

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Many people are afraid of genetic engineering, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. Most are concerned with the everyday practice of consuming copious amounts of GMO food in our society. Yet, many fail to consider that without this form of genetic engineering, many people would go hungry. GMOs are not bad, they are, in fact, rather essential. But, GMOs are not the only form of genetic engineering in our society, and those other forms are far more concerning.

What people fail to recognize is that genetic engineering is much more dangerous than simply modifying our food. We are entering a scary age of genetic editing for offspring, who are termed as “CRISPR babies.” While perhaps using CRISPR to remove a deleterious allele may be beneficial, it is difficult to draw the line separating morality and amorality. Moving in this direction enters a gray area that could lead to a severe class divide and increased discrimination for these “CRISPR babies.” Again, I do believe that this strategy could become beneficial, however, it is much too early for this technique to be implanted in humans. It is also difficult to monitor the results of this technique, as it is not legal in most developed countries and is borderline unethical.

There are even databases online for sperm banks and egg donors that allow the browser to search for very specific traits, all in hopes for the browser to be able to “engineer” their baby; while this is different from using CRISPR to genetically modify children, it sets a dangerous precedent. Being able to “select” traits that our children will have moves dangerously close to “playing God.” We need to be very alert and informed as this technology moves forward, so as to protect our society from becoming even more polarized.

Active Citizenry and West Campus

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Before attending this table talk, I always thought of West Campus as a mere place to live; I never really considered it a community of citizens. This talk with Jeff Godowski changed my mind, as I could clearly see that others view the housing system as more than a living situation. It became evident that we are all moving towards common goals to make our experiences as positive as possible.

Four main ideas were presented during this talk regarding what we want to get out of our experience: health and wellness, cultural learning, intellectual inquiry, and active citizenship. All of these are extremely important in everyday life, as without both necessary health and desired knowledge, we are nothing more than a small dot on the planet. This talk truly changed how I view West Campus, and it opened my eyes to just how valuable this experience is. I need to start viewing this as a place to make myself a better, more informed person. I need to make everyday I have here count towards making West Campus a better place. And, as a result of this talk, I will continue to move towards this goal.

Thank Goodness For The Invisible Stitch

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After an extremely busy week of prelims and interviews, I was happy to see that an event was dedicated to one of my passions: sewing. I have been sewing for as long as I can remember, as my mom is a talented freelancing seamstress who made my Easter and Christmas dresses until I was about twelve-years-old. From clothes, to headbands, and everything in between, I was always happy when I had a needle in my hand. I figured that this event would be the perfect stress relief for me, and maybe I could learn something new!

It turns out that I learned a very essential skill, known as the invisible stitch. Whenever my pants needed to be hemmed, I always took the short cut and just sewed a visible seem around the circumference of the pant leg. While I knew this sometimes (okay, often) looked dumb, I didn’t know how to fix it. SA Beverly and her mom certainly solved my problem! Now, my pants look much neater, and I don’t feel as silly as before.

The night ended in SA Beverly giving us the fabric we worked on, which I have now turned into a pair of light-weight sleep pants! I am so grateful this event was offered, and now I have a new skill! SA Beverly’s mom was also so sweet, and it was really endearing to hear their relationship over Skype. Overall, this was a fantastic event that I really enjoyed.

“You made a nightlight out of what?”

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That was the question that my parents asked as soon as I called them to gloat about my artistic accomplishment (which I have very few of). I was so proud of what I had made that I had to call them; this was one of the coolest things I have done here at Cornell! My parents, especially my mom, were fascinated with the concept and wanted to know more information. As a result, I now have plans to meet my parents and grandmother at Gourdlandia some Friday afternoon, so we can all make gourd nightlights! This was such a valuable experience for me and provided a necessary stress relief from prelim season. I truly hope this event happens again, as it was such a fun and memorable experience.

“How Ugly Am I?” The Struggle To Take Just One Good Picture

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I was thrilled when I heard that there was going to be a headshot event for Rose Scholars! I had not had my picture professionally taken since my senior portrait, and let’s be honest, I would not want to send a picture of myself from two years ago into a prospective employer. It was time for an update, and Rose Scholars provided the perfect opportunity. There was just one problem: I hate every picture of myself that is taken. I can always find something wrong with my face, whether it is a hair out of place or my eyebrows being uneven, I always hate the way I look. Luckily for me, the photographer was so kind and let me take as many pictures as I wanted. As it turns out, the pictures that she took photos turned out great, and I actually liked how I look! Thanks to Rose Scholars, I now have a headshot to send in for internships and shadowing experiences this summer!

Getting Comfortable With Being “Good Enough”

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Since coming to Cornell, I have been faced with the desire to be perfect: get perfect grades, be accepted to highly-rated clubs, and have a flourishing social life. And yet, in the midst of all this, I was not happy. It is not uncommon for freshman to struggle in college, but for me, it felt different. All my friends loved Cornell and found their places, but I did not. I was not happy, and I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. I held this feeling coming into sophomore year, and it was not until attending the talk about the UThrive book that my viewpoint changed. The thing that stood out to me most was that I need to get comfortable with being good enough. I never wanted to be just average, and I strove for success in everything I did. But at the end of the day, my happiness comes before making myself sick over being perfect. I know that I can do anything I set my mind to, but sometimes it is hard to be positive in such a competitive atmosphere as Cornell University, especially as a pre-med student. Yet, this talk taught me that happiness takes more than simply being successful. Happiness takes duration, strong will power, and self-care. I realized then and there that I was placing more focus on being successful and was neglecting my own being. This book talk was more than a mere talk for me; it was the wake-up call I did not even realize I needed.