Author Archives: svs57

Value of a Rose Scholar

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I found the end of the semester meeting very valuable. I especially enjoyed hearing other people’s experience in the program and learning about different series. The last activity (the 9 whys) revealed common themes of what people valued the most out of the program. In my group, we found that the scholar program was the perfect bridge to learn more about Cornell culture. Being a Rose Scholar, also, makes you feel apart of a community, which is essential for college. The program events were the perfect break from the busy Cornell academic life.  Without the program, I do not imagine myself ever experiencing a tour of the Art Museum or carving pumpkins. I especially found the Rose Cafe guest lectures very interesting, and these lectures exposed me to topics that I do not usually encounter in my normal classes. Most of my classes are large lectures, so; hearing a professor talk in a small group, discussion setting was very enjoyable. Through the program, I was able to see and learn more about Cornell and Ithaca.

 

 

Understanding Art

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I’ve been to a handful of art museums, and I never quite understood how some people can look at a painting or sculpture for such long periods of times. I believe that many people approach museums with the goal of viewing every exhibit to “get the most out of their museum ticket.” While this might free up time for other activities during a vacation, ironically, these people are really wasting their museum ticket.

Professor Schwartz’s tour of the Johnson museum yesterday was a perfect example of how to make the most out of an art museum visit. We did not see every piece of artwork or even every floor of the museum, yet I still found that this hour long tour was the most intriguing time I have had at an art museum. I learned about the importance of understanding the context behind a piece of art. Recognizing the setting of a piece of art, reveals the purpose and story of the work. We analyzed one piece of art that looked like a child had painted it. Considering the context, however, I learned that the artist was really mocking the current artwork scene in France. After WWII, many people only considered fine art to be artwork, but this piece’s purpose was to show that art can be nontraditional (the entire painting was created using sand and oil).

Next time, I visit an art museum I definitely plan on spending more time on each piece of artwork to truly understand the story behind the work and what the artist was trying to achieve.

Prelims and Music

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As my last prelim (before finals) approaches, I set up my study schedule and dread the upcoming days. Studying can be very draining, but, the playlist I listen to, somehow gives me the motivation and energy to prepare for the prelim. Sometimes when I drink coffee, I still have a hard time focusing on what needs to be done, but when I put on my headphones and crank the volume up, I suddenly feel hyper-focused. Recently, I have opted to listen to more classical music playlists. The calming music helps relax my mind. I often feel overwhelmed by how much I need to do, but listening to music has helped me hone in on one task at a time. Listening to music is a study habit that has been with me since the start of high school.  Without music, I honestly feel that my school work would be much more dull and tedious.

From the discussion, I found it very interesting to hear what music means to everyone. A good point that came up was: should we separate an artist from his/her music? For me, I find it hard to separate Kanye’s personal life and his beliefs from his music. Whenever I listen to his music, I can’t help but think about what he stands for and his beliefs. I feel that I am supporting an artist, as a person, when I listen to their music, which is why I consciously choose what kind of music I listen to.

If you are struggling to study, it might be worth playing some music in the background.

6 million lost votes.

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In 2000, George Bush won the presidential election by a couple thousands of votes. I knew that this election was very close, but I did not know that 6 million votes were lost. Voting is a pillar of the American democracy, yet many aspects of the voting system seem undemocratic. There are confusing ballots that can cause someone to vote for a different candidate, gerrymandered maps that can benefit a specific party (although this is improving), and poor technology that can distort the polls. I also find it hard to believe that there are still some parts of the country where votes are counted by humans. Imagine a poll worker forgetting to count your vote. Charles Steward and Stephen Ansolabehere’s discussion on voting rights issues was very eye-opening. Since the 2000 election, thankfully, the number of lost votes has reduced to around 3 million (roughly half of what it was in 2000). There is still a long way to go,  but technological advancements have greatly helped secure more votes.

Professor Ansolabehere made an interesting point that mandatory voting would benefit my generation the most (people ages 18-24). I cannot believe that my age group is under-represented. Young people should be the most active in politics because the policies politicians implement today will have the greatest impact on my generation and future generations.

As the next election approaches, I strongly encourage everyone to vote.

 

The Importance of a Political Discussion

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Growing up, I always found it a bit awkward seeing some of my close friends’ houses have political signs that differed from my house. At home, my parents would talk about how ridiculous the other party was.  I never brought up politics at my friends’ houses because I knew that it might bring up unnecessary conflict. Political discussion can be almost impossible, unless you are discussing politics with people that hold the same belief as you. From Professor Robert’s discussion, the survey he displayed showed that many Americans from each party (Republican and Democratic), found the other party “immoral” and “unintelligent”. I have observed that many people refuse to listen to other political ideologies or will simply see other beliefs as “wrong”. This attitude is an extremely big problem as it causes many Americans to only listen to certain news sources that are heavily biased. More importantly, however, this attitude prevents people from forming their own opinions, which creates a mob mentality.  To move forward,  it is necessary that people take an effort to educate themselves on other beliefs. I admit that it is very hard sometimes to listen to some of my relatives’ political beliefs, but making an effort to understand each side will help reduce the political polarization that is dividing America.

First Pumpkin Carve

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Pumpkin carving is hard.

Growing up, my mom loved carving pumpkins for Halloween. While my mom created crazy pumpkin faces,  I helped decorate the house for Halloween. For a child Halloween might be the perfect holiday; there’s spookiness, costumes, and of course free candy. Today’s activity reminded me of many warm childhood memories.

Surprisingly, up until today, I had never tried carving a pumpkin. I attempted to carve a crazy face into the pumpkin, which actually turned out pretty decent. It was a pretty basic face, however,  and I’m sure anyone could recreate it. For the individuals, like my mom, that can create intricate designs and enjoy taking out the sticky guts of the pumpkin, I truly commend you.

Ithaca might have the most quintessential setting for Halloween. The fall foliage along with the quiet and brisk nights make for the perfect Halloween. Even if you are not celebrating the holiday, I think it’s important to take a break and admire the season of fall.

Happy Halloween!

A couple photos later…

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Up until the start of this school year, I had not given any serious thought to possible future careers and life after undergrad. My email inbox is always filled with career related events/activities, which can get quite overwhelming. It is easy to delete these emails without even reading them. I find it so hard to picture myself in a career and living a completely new lifestyle. Just a couple years ago, I was still in high school! The photo session, however, has helped me realize that I could very well be in a full time job in a handful of years. Unlike my study habits, I do not want to procrastinate the pre-career process. This session has motivated me to dedicate more time for career development activities. I plan on finally creating a LinkedIn account and updating my Handshake profile information. Putting a little time aside each week for career related things will make the entire process so much more enjoyable and get rid of unnecessary stress. Most importantly, I am not going to delete every career related email I receive.  

Enjoying Work

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This week, I attended the UThrive book discussion. The biggest takeaway I got from the session was to put your happiness before success. As academics start to pick up, I am trying to be less goal-oriented or less focused on the grade outcomes of projects and prelims. Moving away from this rigid mindset, will allow me to enjoy the process of learning and have much less stress. Although grades are important, learning for simply the sake of learning is arguably more valuable. The practice is proven to increase happiness, and from the discussion I learned that a happier person is more likely to do well on an exam. For example, there was a study where one group of people watched a feel-good movie before a test and another group did not. Those that watched the movie received better scores. I have always had the misconception that a higher grade is correlated with a greater amount of time spent on the material. This study shows that working as hard as possible is not always the best option, which I will remember as the year progresses. Instead of revolving around deadlines this semester, I plan to focus on one thing at a time and enjoy the process at each step.