October is definitely up there as one of my favorite months solely because of Halloween. The candy, horror movies, decorations, and overall spooky atmosphere make it one of the best times of the year. I was glad to be able to pumpkin carve because even though I myself have no distinct creative abilities it was nice to be able to see what everyone else was creating. It was also a nice destressing event to just let go and place my energy into something constructive instead of worrying about prelims (even though prelim season seems to just start and never stop).

This event was really fun because I most of my suite was there with me. I wasn’t a huge fan of the strong pumpkin smell, but carving was really fun.

I’m also glad I got to do this for Halloween. It was a really busy week for me so I didn’t really do anything else for Halloween. Instead, on Halloween, the members of my suite who went pumpkin carving put small lights in our pumpkins and took a bunch of photos.

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, and I always loved carving pumpkins as a kid. In the middle of prelims and a very stressful time in the semester, it was nice to take a break and return to a childhood tradition. My roommate is a senior this year and no longer part of the Rose Scholars program, but she attended this event with me and we had a great time carving pumpkins together again this year. It was a great way to celebrate the holiday and take a break from the stress of the semester. After taking a break,  I was able to return to studying with a fresh mind, and I really needed the re-set of doing something fun and relaxing. My favorite Rose Scholars activities have always been the ones that allow me to take a break, and this was one of those events for me.

For Halloween, my friends and I went pumpkin carving for the first time. Prior to this event, I never tried to pumpkin carving because I thought that I would cut myself with the knife. However, I found that pumpkin carving is both fun and easy once you get started. After carving my pumpkin, my friends and I put them in our suite as decorations for the next week. I look forward to attending this event again next year.

I never imagined myself painting a pumpkin during the week of Halloween in college. But, thanks to this event, I was able to do just that. I have decided to paint the pumpkin rather than carve one because when I was younger I carved a pumpkin with my siblings, it was more work and messier than I anticipated. Unfortunately, my art skills are very limited so I had a hard time painting what I wanted. After scrolling through different things I can possibly draw on google, I’ve decided to draw Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Honestly, I thought I would be able to draw a decent image on the pumpkin, but with my minimal skill and limited paint color choices, my pumpkin just had a blob of colors and even though I had a low standard, I was disappointed. After taking a snap of my artwork and sending it to my friends, I got replies back asking what the drawing was, indicating how bad my painting job was. However, obviously I did not care much about the actual outcome, I had a great time just doing a wholesome activity with fellow Rose residents and being able to converse in a positive environment. Also, my night was made when Beverly recognized my pumpkin drawing.

I hope in the future there are more wholesome activities that I can attend and be able to ask my friends that don’t live in Rose to join me.

Painting a pumpkin was a fun experience for me and perfectly timed for Halloween and Thanksgiving. It was a great Sunday night break from classes and homework and a nice socialization activity. I have not painted 0r carved a pumpkin in a long time, since I was a young child, so it brought back lots of memories. There was a big turnout at the event so I’m glad that lots of people took advantage of this fun opportunity. There were lots of pumpkins that were the perfect size for carving and painting (not too small and also not too big that they would be difficult to carry), and lots of tools, so overall the event was planned and put together very well.

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On Oct. 27th, I got the opportunity to participate in a pumpkin painting party! I based my painting on the entirety of the eighth season of American Horror Story – It showed the season’s storyline through abstract drawings. I had an incredible time painting, and I was able to see everyone else’s beautiful carvings and paintings. I sat next to Aiyana, and we related to each other, as neither of us felt incredibly confident in our artistic abilities. There was also a young man next to us who took an incredibly unique approach to carving and carved his pumpkin into a spiral. It was such a fun experience and nice to see everyone’s unique designs and creations.

Right before Halloween, we at Rose House had the pumpkin patch brought to us to paint and carve pumpkins.  What a treat, but the trick was, of course, what to carve, and what to paint.  Rose events like this made me realize how fun this program was, how social it could be.  We, least of all me, had much prior experience in the pumpkin painting department.  Carving, yes, of course but this new element I believe made the event novel.  We were able to see the different creative elements of our fellow Rose Scholars.  I was impressed by the different saying, the different motifs and the, somewhat serious, nature of it all.  I had no need myself to create a picture, I was really impressed by the color choices and by the way that I could layer my point on my pumpkin.  I think it is important for any blog post reader to realize, that many of our ideas of what should be on a Halloween pumpkin were incongruent with what actually ended up on the pumpkin.  Pumpkin carving is quite a traditional activity, we all know what is supposed to be on the outside of the pumpkin carving, some sort of rendition of the Jack-O-Lantern, however, the painting brought color in the picture.  We had folks mixing colors, creating a design that was lighthearted, a unanimous emotional choice, which was quite a departure from the scary and haunted faces that a pumpkin usually issues.  I think this was an important development because the pumpkin itself was thought of more like a canvas, something that one could doodle on.  There were of course haunted scenes, but the colors we had were bright, the pumpkin could help but be lighthearted.  I came away thinking that this sort of exercise where people could just create what they want with shared materials is an important way for us to communicate with each other.  Yes, we all know that we are academics, there is something a bit relieving knowing that we all can laugh and be silly at the same time.

Last Sunday I was able to carve another pumpkin. Last year was my first year doing so and I absolutely loved it so I had to do it again. It was a very nice destresser and gave me an opportunity to intereact and catch up with friends that this semester’s hustle hasn’t let me see much of. I truly appreciate Flora Rose’s events and how they bring a community together in a healthy way. Sitting down and having to think about how I want to paint my pumpkin was definitely a break from the usual thinking I have to do on the daily. Such a relieving moment cannot be left unappreciated. I also took another pumpkin for cooking purposes! I look forward to being part of this event once more next year! It most definitely is a classic event!

Attending the pumpkin painting/carving event was the perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit! It was a relaxing evening filled with paint and pumpkins. I learned there are lots of different ways to go about decorating a pumpkin – paint stripes, paint a design, carve a face, carve a picture – the list goes on and on. What was even more special, however, was how everyone started with the same round, orange pumpkin, yet ended with a novel creation. It truly showed the power of creativity and how everyone thinks differently. This type of creative thinking is essential to solve problems, invent new solutions, and work out conflicts. In short, creativity is needed in every type of task, and it was certainly on perfect display here!

Last Sunday, I attended the pumpkin carving event with my friends. I enjoyed this activity in that I was able to relax, let go of stress, and have a fun time with my friends. This activity took me back to my childhood as I was painting and being creative. I liked how this year’s pumpkins are smaller and each person had a chance to carve their pumpkins. I genuinely enjoy all the art-related activities for Rose Scholar. I wish there are more holiday-themed events in the future.

Last week I enjoyed the experience of painting and carving pumpkins in the rose event. Seemingly a simple and common holiday activity, I uncovered many joys throughout the process, and recognized that it is important to connect with others through shared art. For example, my roommate and I had a great time coming up with creative designs to paint on our pumpkins, and sincerely enjoyed the experience we shared. The most significant aspect I took from this activity was certainly that it is important to have a creative outlet to occasionally resort to in order to relieve stress, something I find is really lacking in my everyday life. I was thus inspired by this event to pursue more activities which exercise my creative thought and imagination often!

Carving pumpkins immediately brought me back to when I was eight years old and carving them in class for the first time. It was one of the most interesting experiences. Before coming to the event, I was feeling kind of stressed since I hadn’t gotten that much work done and Monday was quickly approaching. However, as soon as my knife sunk into the skin of the pumpkin, I immediately felt like how I was when I was eight years old and learning about Halloween in elementary school.

It made me think a lot about how much of an effect activities that we may consider “mundane” actually have a profound connection to how we feel and the memories associated with that activity. I wonder how many possible activities could immediately bring back those feelings from memories that I formed so long ago. For example, thinking back to elementary school, I wonder how it would feel to make those thanksgiving turkeys that we formed with paint and our handprints. Would it feel stupid or would it be comforting? It’s definitely something to think about as I get older and those memories seem more and more distant.

Pumpkin carving and painting is one of my favorite Halloween activities, and since coming to Cornell I did not think that would have a chance to do either. However, I have had the chance to do both twice. My dorm room now has six pumpkins total, excluding one that already molded. I’m not sure what we’re going to do with all of the pumpkins, but they sure do liven up the place. Since I had already carved a pumpkin, at the event I decided to paint a pumpkin instead. To keep it classy, I went with a Spider-Man design to match my costume for this year. The yellow eyes really make it spooky, but the spiders could use some improvement. In hindsight, the spiders really aren’t anatomically correct, and I realize now that I completely forgot what spiders look like. I had a really great time at this event, and I hope it becomes a tradition (granted it isn’t already one)!

I’ve never painted a pumpkin nor carved a pumpkin before, so I was really excited to pick my pumpkin out and get creative. I painted my entire pumpkin a light blue color and drew eyes all over it. It’s not the best looking one out there, but I put a lot of work in it and I’m proud of the end result.

Fall is my favorite reason. And now that fall is here, with the pumpkin spiced lattes and the changing color leaves, it is time for me to take out my sweaters and be part of the season. One thing I love about Cornell is the scenery and it’s most beautiful in the fall. It is really nice to see the leaves changing colors as I walk up and down the steep slope. But the best part of the fall at Cornell is that it’s not too chilly. A simple long sleeve with a nice sweater is all I need to survive my day outside of my room; I don’t need to pull out my parka and my snowboots.

Now that Halloween is right around the corner, I’m really excited for all the spooky activities Ithaca is setting up for. I can’t wait to go trick-or-treat around Rose and stop by each RA.

As I rushed to get a pumpkin, I scoured the room for paint and paint brushes. With no particular design in mind, I grabbed an abandoned palette of attractive colors, and one odd gold color. Since I realized that the gold color matched that of the pumpkin, I decided to paint it onto the pumpkin, hoping that an idea would pop into my head as I painted.

Usually, when I approach a task, I don’t do anything. I sit there, staring into space trying to figure out the best course of action based on all of the possible consequences of my actions. All of them. If I was choosing an outfit, for example,  I would first stand there thinking about the decision because I am too anxious about starting, but at some point, I would choose a shirt and put it back only to pull it again, all the while pondering my decision. This troublesome and time consuming process of overthinking caused me to try another technique: just do anything.

When it comes to pumpkin painting, this approach did not work too well, either. I felt that by painting in random spots on my pumpkin, I was tackling this task immaturely and ultimately wasting time and paint. I knew that before doing anything, its good to plan, reasonably, of course; I can’t just do things without thinking. When I stopped my aimless painting, that is when I got an idea, and a good one: paint the pumpkin’s indents white. And now I have a beautiful white striped pumpkin in my room! 😀

After carving my pumpkin, I have learned that pumpkins do not smell nice and carving one takes a lot of work, even if it a mini pumpkin. I didn’t realize while carving that if I removed all the pumpkin flesh around the circles, I would be left with two giant empty circles because the disks would just fall out. Thankfully, someone pointed this out to me! I solved this by leaving a bit of flesh at the bottom of the circles, but removed the top skin layer. It is also surprisingly hard to make precise lines and my lightning bolt ended up being fatter than I wanted. My pumpkin is still really cute!

I can definitely say that fall is one of my favorite parts of going to school in Upstate New York. I love watching the leaves change color, the crisp air, and (of course) pumpkin flavored everything. However, with all of my prelims and projects in the past few weeks, I haven’t really had the chance to truly celebrate fall. Back home, I would always paint or carve pumpkins a few days before Halloween with my friends and family. That is something that I’ve missed, but having the opportunity to paint pumpkins while surrounded by my friends was a fun way to soak in what was left of the fall. Although I am not a great artist, I enjoyed the therapeutic and fun feeling of being able to let my creativity flow.

I know that this time of year is busy, but I would encourage everyone to take time out of their busy lives and to enjoy the fall. There is so much to do around here that will allow you to de-stress and refocus, so please take the time to take care of yourself and have a little fun.

I am not the most creative person.

So while the prospect of pumpkin painting sounded fun, therapeutic, and festive, the task seemed slightly daunting. I always seem to lack both whimsical ideas and technical skills required to make fun pieces of art, or in this case, pumpkins. It was nice to recognize that those fears were fruitless; I had a great time and the process was stress-less. I forgot, going into it, that the childlike joy of painting pumpkins–which I used to do with my brother when we were kids–outweighs the difficulty. After realizing that no one could judge my ability, because at the end of the day it was a pumpkin for me and me alone, the process was enjoyable.

Moreover, this event allowed me to talk to new people in a relaxed, light-hearted environment; always a bonus.

Cornell is such a beautiful place to experience fall and more specifically Halloween, and this event boosted my excitement for the festivities of the season. I would encourage people to sign up for events such as these, especially as the gloom of prelims can often shadow the joys of the season.

October is the season for Pumpkin everything! However, at Cornell, October is also the season for Prelims!

This evening pumpkin painting session was extremely relaxing for me, and allowed me to destress from my prelim worry. Sometimes you forget what an activity, like painting a pumpkin, can do for you. With prelim season in full swing, and pumpkin season being in full swing, I encourage you to take a break from all your stresses and enjoy a relaxing evening painting a pumpkin (or doing some other non-academic activity)! Sometimes in the rut of things at Cornell you forget to balance academics and extracurriculars, but be mindful, and remember to take out some time for yourself!

THE SCARIEST PUMPKIN OF THEM ALL

Signing up for this event, I thought I am the only person who is going to carve a pumpkin for the first time. I came in and confused about what to do. Why do we have to cut off the crown and scoop out the seeds? Then the person next to me explained the process. After a while, I am getting the hang of it and enjoy the process. I also meet new friends during this event, in which we have fun getting our hands dirty while scooping out the seeds. I thought it was unique that everyone has their own design, and it is incredible to see all the creativity in the room. Overall, I really have a lot of fun carving the pumpkin not only because I learn something new, but also I met new people in the community.

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!

Halloween is around the corner! It’s awesome to take a glimpse of what people do during Halloween (I’ve never seen nor celebrated Halloween before). Pumpkin pies in dining halls, pumpkin carving and painting… I can’t help but wonder why the pumpkin is so closely associated with Halloween.

It’s nice to see all the smiles and laughter while each person meticulously craft and paint on their pumpkins. What a great opportunity to de-stress during the busy semester.

Either way, Happy Halloween! I’m sure we’re all getting our horror stories and nightmares from the endless prelims and homework 🙂