In the DIY Old Time Radio session learning about how radio is so powerful that it can reach a huge audience much more quickly than other formats really stood out to me. In fact, reflecting on this, since I travel by car pretty often I hear the radio frequently. Usually it is music whilst in other cases it is podcasts, etc. Listening to radio I realized that I learn a lot by just hearing the lyrics or what the people at the other end of the radio have to say even if I am not actively paying attention. In fact like discussed during the session our ears can foster our imagination much better than our eyes which I strongly agree with because even in today’s virtual environment listening to lectures rather than reading a textbook helps me understand the course material much better!

This Friday, I attended the movie showing of The Human Element, a film about environmental change occurring at a rapidly increasing rate.  Unlike most climate change awareness documentaries, however, this film took a more interesting and personal approach (in my opinion) that resulted in a more impactful message.  It highlighted both the current and future impacts that climate change is having and will have, respectively, on everyday, working humans.  For example, the film features a small fishing community that faces the harsh reality of a future sea level rise threatening their business and livelihood.  It also focuses on the victims — in addition to those fighting against — the blazing wildfires that have been wracking California for the last decades.  However, the film isn’t all negative; the final message of the movie is about how the human element, which has been throwing the other elements out of whack, could be the key to bringing all the other elements back into balance if it works to change its habits.

Attending the Ethical Dilemmas seminar was a fun, interactive experience. As we spent time discussing what we would do in certain situations, I was able to reflect on some of my own morals and values and how they differ from others. It even allowed me to realize the bias that I hold against those who don’t agree with answers. Specifically, I found that often I assume the reasoning for why someone might answer a certain way but being able to hear why someone thinks that certain way broadened my perspective. It was also interesting to see what people rationalized as acceptable and within what parameters do they set limits for themselves. I often do that as well and it was fun to hear others’ rationale.  

Watching The Pruitt-Igoe Myth film was another interesting look into our country’s history, specifically, the housing system in the 1960s and 70s. What struck me most about the film was the inclusion of people who had actually lived in the housing complex and watched as the project eventually fell apart. Often looking back into history seems like these events are so far from the present time, but these residents are living evidence of the Pruitt-Igoe project and the impact it had. Despite the downfall of the complex, listening to the stories of the residents was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. Specifically, since most of them were children when they moved into their housing unit much of their youth and prime years of growth were spent at Pruitt-Igoe. Many residents shared that even today they look back at their time there as precious. They recalled moments when the residents of the complex felt like a close family. It’s sad to think how their experiences ended when they still remember their time there so dearly.  

This Friday, I watched Pick of the Litter with GRF Maggie.  This documentary was all about how the dogs in the Guide Dogs for the Blind program are selected and trained to become official guide dogs for individuals who require visual assistance.  The process is a lot more rigorous than I was expecting, but it makes sense; after all, these people will be putting their full trust and even their lives in these dogs’ hands (or paws, to be more literal).  Cuts — or as the program likes to call them, career changes — occur at almost every step to ensure that only those dogs that have the mental fortitude for this job are kept.  For example, Potomac, a dog that seemed to have a calm demeanor, had a lunging problem; that is, he would go for anything on the sidewalk that distracted him.  This resulted in him getting cut from the program quite early, as that kind of behavior is a red flag since individuals who need visual assistance could not handle that kind of jerky action.  All in all, the film was awesome (even though it was sad at many parts) and gave a glimpse into a very impressive service program.

Last Saturday, I watched Episode 5 of the Queen’s Gambit.  To be completely honest, this was my first time attending one of the Queen’s Gambit’s showings, and jumping in halfway through, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  However, I was still able to understand most of what was going on, and I still found it very interesting.  Maybe it’s time for me to go catch up on the other four episodes before the showing of Episode 6, so I can enjoy it even more!

I thought the short discussion after the showing was a good idea.  It wasn’t too long to feel intrusive; it was just short enough to make sure everyone was on the same page about what was going on in that episode.  We also clarified a few concepts during that time such as what a fork in chess is, which was pretty relevant considering it was the name of the episode.  Since it appeared in both a metaphorical and a literal sense during the episode, this clarification was very helpful.

In this episode of the Queen’s Gambit, it was interesting to see the change in Beth’s character following Alma’s death. From the previous episodes, we have been exposed to the strange but still somewhat warm relationship between the two women. For Beth, being alone/not having a supportive person by her side was the norm, but with Alma there, she grew to feel the mother-daughter bond. Despite Beth’s independence shown throughout the show, it becomes more evident following Alma’s death how dependent Beth really is. From her moment with Harry to her growing reliance on alcohol and cigarettes, Beth is always looking for someone or something to lean on. Additionally, it is clear to the audience that Beth is obsessed with chess in an unhealthy way that makes her unable to control her emotions when she is consumed with the game. Therefore, after that wake-up call from Harry, I am curious to see if her training with Benny will change Beth for the better.  

Watching Kiki’s Delivery Service was a great way to end off my week! The film, which tells Kiki’s journey through self-discovery and learning her place in the world, reminded me a lot of this past year. For me, coming to Cornell last semester was the first time I’ve been away from my family and living on my own. As someone who grew up in a big family, I was scared about being alone and having to be truly independent. Like Kiki, there were ups and downs, and learning curves to adapt to, but my experience here so far has been great. Overall, the film was enjoyable, and I definitely look forward to checking out more works from Studio Ghibli!

This part Friday, I had the opportunity to watch Kiki’s Delivery Service hosted by GRF Tom with about 20 others in the Rose Scholars program.  This activity was reminiscent of an event last semester where we watched My Neighbor Totoro, and I was always hoping that another Ghibli film would be shown during this program.  I was thrilled when I saw this event on the calendar and immediately signed up, since I am a huge Ghibli fan!

The story of Kiki’s Delivery Service is all about growing up.  As people (and animals, in the case of the film) mature with time, they move along at different paces.  Even the closest of friends can find that their interests no longer align so perfectly anymore as they change at different rates.  However, the movie really does its best to portray this as not a bad occurrence, instead urging the viewer to strive to apply their skills to the things they want to do rather than stay grounded in the past.

Being able to attend the personal mission statement workshop gave me a great opportunity to self-reflect on my goals and overall purpose. I’m glad the session was small because it allowed for more interaction and made the workshop very engaging. As classes get heavier with the workload it sometimes gets hard to take a step back and reflect on why we’re studying in the first place. So, for me, this session allowed me to take that step back and understand what I value, what I aspire for, and the people that I want to be included in my journey. 

This past Saturday, I attended the chess meet with GRF Bassel.  To be completely honest, I had never played chess before, so knowing how each piece moves differently was the extent of my knowledge.  I had no particular idea about strategizing to achieve victory.  However, this limitation did not stop me from having fun.  I especially enjoyed watching and spectating other matches when my games were over and trying to learn from what other more experienced people were doing strategy-wise.  Hopefully, next time an event like this happens, I’ll be better and actually know what to do to win!  All in all, it was a great way to have some fun and decompress from the stress of the week.

Today I attended the chess meet and had a great time. I have been watching The Queen’s Gambit on Fridays with others in Rose House and I play chess a lot on my own so the meet was right up my alley. I have been playing people on my floor mostly so it was a lot of fun to play with other people. I particularly liked how if my game finished earlier than others I could spectate other matches. I normally play untimed games or ten-minute matches so the five-minute format was a pretty big change but it definitely was an equalizer across the board (pun intended).

Despite not being able to make it to the previous Friday Film for episode 2, I still was able to enjoy this episode without too much confusion. One thing I really enjoyed about the episode was seeing Beth more grown and independent.  Specifically, the way she carried herself through the chess tournaments demonstrated the confidence she felt in those settings. Comparing this back to her presentation while she stayed in the orphanage, her growth was very clear. Additionally, I thought it was interesting watching the relationship between Beth and Alma. While at some moments it seems very sweet and like a mother-daughter bond, it’s difficult to determine how genuine the relationship is considering that Alma serves primarily as a “manager” for Beth. Regardless, however, it’s nice to see Beth trust and lean on Alma for support, which is something she didn’t have back at the orphanage.  

This past Sunday, I attended another calligraphy workshop with GRF Seema.  Once again, we watched some introductory calligraphy tutorial videos, specifically on lettering, and then moved into 30-45 minutes of writing on our own.  At the end, we did some reflecting on what was difficult and what was easy for each of us.

As I said in my last blog post about calligraphy, this was a really relaxing experience; it was a particularly good way to decompress before the next week, which is prelim week and thus packed full of long assignments and tests for many people.  Doing smooth hand motions over and over is certainly therapeutic and helped me relieve some of the stress that had been hanging on me.  I’m excited for a Part 3 at some point!

Attending last week’s writing workshop was very helpful. As someone who dreads writing school papers, I was glad that the session took time to break down the writing process and make it seem more approachable. Usually, I struggle the most with academic reports and knowing how to cut down on length to meet word limits, but the fellows, Zach and Seema, gave out great advice on how to tackle common struggles in the writing process.  

Another thing that I found interesting from what was mentioned was the idea that everyone works and writes differently. So, it important that we learn what works for us and play to our strengths. Personally, I’m a morning person, so I like getting all my work done early. However, I find that tackling a new paper during the early day makes me feel tired and unmotivated. So, I’m definitely going to take their advice and try working different hours to see if my writing flow is better suited during a different time. Overall, I’m glad I was able to attend the workshop and learn such practical information that can help me improve my writing!

This weekend, I attended the Pictionary event with URF Maggie, and it was an absolute blast!  I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work, but we ended up using the Skribbl.io website, which was super fun.  Even with my unfortunate drawing skills, I was happily surprised how many people were able to understand what I was trying to draw.  This was a great activity to relax from the stress of the week because it encourages you to use your brain but is also just super funny, so I hope this is offered again in the future!  I would definitely sign up again!

Last week’s Friday Film was another eye-opening learning experience about our country’s history. I especially was surprised about the culture of New Orleans and the very early ideas of civil rights pushed by black writers at the time. It’s a shame that the American history most of us are familiar with excludes so many impactful moments and figures that represented the African American experience. Unfortunately, the documentary reminded me of the Friday Film session about the decline of roller-skating and the roots of the activity in black culture. Much like what is happening with rinks around the country, the culture and history of Treme and Black New Orleans are being forgotten. However, this time it’s through disruptive construction for infrastructure and due to the detrimental effects of Hurricane Katrina. While the documentary ended on a more somber note, I still hope there can be a revival of the city’s rich culture in the future.  

On Saturday I participated in the trivia contest. I love Kahoot and had not played in a while so it was a fun and relaxing blast to the past to take away some of the stress surrounding my prelims. I enjoyed the questions about Cornell because I definitely learned some new facts.

Last weekend, I attended the calligraphy workshop.  I went in expecting to not be too successful, since I don’t have much innate artistic talent, and my handwriting is pretty messy.  However, GRF Seema was super patient and kind, constantly checking in to make sure we were doing alright or if we had any questions.  In the end, I was able to get through the alphabet using the materials provided to us (although I had to do a little bit of tracing sometimes) and was able to write my name decoratively.

I really enjoyed the event, even though I was nervous going in.  The music in the background was relaxing and eased me into the activity, and the discussion afterwards was good for learning what I could work on next time I try calligraphy.  It was a great way of getting my hands busy while taking my mind off the stress of school, and I hope it is offered again in the future!

I attended the viewing of the first episode of The Queen’s Gambit last Friday. I had watched the series last semester and really enjoyed it so I thought it would be fun to watch the show again and discuss it with peers. During my second viewing, I definitely caught on to more aspects than my first time maybe due to my foreknowledge of the plot allowing me to focus on things that were not the main ideas. Notably, I found the sound effect and music in the episode very interesting. When Beth was playing chess the echo added in every time a piece hit the board was fascinating as it added a sense of urgency to the scene that was out of the ordinary considering she was only learning the game in the basement of the orphanage. The suspense made the viewer feel as if something would happen to Beth soon, but nothing related to chess affected her for the rest of the episode. 

Like with the previous Friday Film, I entered knowing nothing about the showing content. While I had previously heard of the Queen’s Gambit, I had no idea what the show was about, so I was watching the episode with a bit of confusion at first. Then, as the episode progressed and Beth’s journey with chess began it made me really wish I had known the basics of the game in order to truly appreciate her skills. However, I still enjoyed other aspects of the show such as the exploration of themes and topics such as early addiction, sexism, and coming of age all through a young girl’s perspective within a historical context.  

In terms of the technical aspects of the show, I really enjoyed the overall cinematography. When Beth initially arrived at the orphanage, I was set on the idea that the show was a horror one. Specifically, because of the controlling character of the orphanage’s director paired with the overall gray cast lighting, the show gave me an eerie vibe. Eventually, I realized I was wrong in my initial assumptions, but still, the settings, lighting, and overall technical composition shown in the first episode worked well with the themes touched upon. I admit I was frustrated that the episode ended with that cliffhanger, but it definitely has me drawn to watch the next episode! 

For the first week back in Rose Scholars, I attended the Friday Movie Night and watched United Skates. I was initially intrigued by the film reading the description because in my hometown both roller rinks had closed. As I watched the film I was amazed at the devotion the people in the film had for their hobby and the sense of community the roller rinks provided. I had no idea of the magnitude of the activity. Despite the unfortunate reality that is facing the people in that community as the rinks are being shut down around the country, it was inspirational to see people coming together from across the country to attend National Skate Parties to keep the traditions alive. I think my favorite part of the film was the section where they were showing all of the customized roller skates. As a kid, I had very basic department store skates, and I would never have guessed that people customized skates like the ones shown in the film.

Today the Rose Scholars and I were joined by a variety of panelists representing various areas of Cornell’s advocacy centers with regards to safe and healthy relationships. Naomi was the representative from the Advocacy Center, and she gave us great advice on how to navigate healthy relationships and gave some great insight on how to navigate them throughout covid in particular. Shura Gat shared a key resource, which was a link where you can report an actual Bias Incident to Cornell. I found this super interesting because I am particularly passionate about the issue of implicit bias that is present in our day to day lives. I love how Cornell has created a form that can actually bring light to various incidents and help create concrete change due to it.

The United Skates had me feeling a roller coaster of emotions. Prior to watching the film, the word roller skating meant nothing to me; unfortunately, I don’t know how to roller skate and the only thing that the activity made me think of was a friend’s birthday party that was at a roller rink back when I was in elementary school. Needless to say, I knew nothing of the history behind roller skating or the rich culture in skating. Initially while watching the film I couldn’t help but smile. The environment of the rinks was so lively and welcoming that it really reminded me of home. I come from a large family who loves to dance. So, for me, summer weekends growing up were filled with barbeque nights at my cousins and family friends’ houses where all my aunts, uncles, and older cousins gathered to drink and dance all night to various genres of Latin American music. Therefore, watching the joy and fun that the black community had when they gathered to roller skate gave me such a nostalgic feeling of my childhood. 

However, as the movie progressed and the blatant discrimination against the African American community tore through the lives of the rinks across the country, I grew both angry and sad. While the film ended on an optimistic note about the revival of some of these rinks, I couldn’t help but feel especially emotional for the communities and everything they’ve lost. However, I’m glad to have been able to watch the film and now spread awareness to those around me about this rich culture and history that unfortunately only continues to live on for many as past memories.  

From the guest speaker, Nicholas, our ears create a more vivid world compared to what our eyes can do. Radios can create a whole world that can imagined by the viewers through the diction and tone of the speakers and sound effects. Before the internet and other more recent technology, there was radios that aired shows. Nicholas was able to show us how household items can create appropriate sound effects for some. Two notable examples were shaking a bottle to mimic the sound of a rattlesnake and a bag of rice to imitate the sound of rain. Fast forwarding to today, we see a rise of podcasts that tell a story by touching on different arrays of topics. The hosts of these podcasts can create an intimate bond with their listeners.

Although I am not an active podcast / radio listener, I feel this connecting when I listen to music. I go beyond the rhythm and beat of the song and feel a connection to the lyrics. Therefore, when Nicholas said words can carry a movie, I agree with his statement as it applicable to songs as well.

After attending a Bridgerton discussion which was practically a “book club” except with a tv series, it became clear to me that the series Bridgerton was more interesting than I thought. I was in a difficult place because I had heard of the show but had never had the time to watch it yet but as everyone was engaging in leading conversations about the drama that went on in the show, I was just itching to want to binge watch the show now. After the discussion, I immediately watched the first two episodes and I was definitely not disappointed with what I have seen so far. Overall I am thankful that I attended the discussion on Bridgerton and I look forward to finishing the rest of the series hopefully not too soon for the sake of my health.

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Professors Daniel Schwarz and Shirley Samuels. Professor Samuels currently teaches at Cornell and specializes in American Studies. She was formerly a House Professor at Flora Rose House and has been involved in Cornell in a variety of ways, including the Cornell Washington Program and more. I love how involved Professor Samuels has been within the Cornell community, and it shows through her involvement. Professor Schwarz has taught in the English department for 53 years, and his proudest moment has been pursuing the Cornell PHD Program in his own academic years. We gained each of the Professors’ views on COVID and teaching over zoom, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Professor Schwarz believes zoom is no excuse for slacking in school or not making the most of your education. He believes that bringing the same energy to zoom creates similar results to teaching in person. It is an unprecedented time, but it is important to adapt to the situation and make the most of it.

Over break, I along with many others around the world binge-watched the Netflix original Bridgerton. This show was produced by Shonda Rhimes and is set in the Regency Era following members of the high society or “Ton” during the Debutante season. Watching the show, I found it to be very entertaining and enjoyed the short 8 episode arc which kept it from becoming boring as often happens in other shows. I was excited to break down my thoughts of the show with other Bridgerton fans. Our discussion ranged from its portrayal of purity culture to the show’s decision to portray an alternative history with a racially inclusive regency era. Overall, it was a lot of fun to rehash our favorite parts of the show and hear what others thoughts were on the show. Personally, I am looking froward to season 2!

After watching the second episode of Chernobyl, I was very intrigued by the aftermath of the explosion and the different reactions between the main characters in the show. This episode was more emotional, being that we are starting to see more people be affected by the radiation along with the bravery shown by the pregnant woman who’s husband was dying in the hospital. After this film I was reflecting on selflessness and sacrifice. Most people sacrifice themselves as an act of love which is one of the most beautiful acts because you do not care about yourself, you are acting on impulse to help others.

More than a Word was a very interesting documentary — I did not think that there would be so much controversy over people portraying Indians in an offensive way like that in sports. It’s very very interesting what the different arguments were for keeping or not keeping Indian faces / names and it was sad to see natives caught in the middle of this issue.

Making paper leaves was so fun! It was a nice way to spend my time and get to know how to make some leaf art. Since I signed up a little late, I had to make some out of some post-its, but it was still fun to make some arts and crafts with people nevertheless!

The movie First Man was really interesting to me as I didn’t really know a lot of the intricate details of the first moon landing. Seeing this film really allowed me to see the intricacies of this, and it was overall a very eye-opening experience.

The seminar on American sign language was. I was surprised by how intuitive some of the words were. Compared to learning other written languages in highschool which require a lot of grammar skills and are sometimes unintuitive sign language seems to be the opposite. Although it did require a lot of thinking for me because I was new to sign language, many of the words made a lot of sense. For example, a lot of the direct objects are just pointing at oneself or someone else. Other verbs were also very intuitive and seemed to flow as well. Additionally, the grammar is very simple compared to my experiences with learning Spanish and the endless conjugations. I think that sign language should be taught more even if it is at a basic level. It is so accessible and easy to practice. I had a lot of fun practicing the signs such as signing my college and major. It was also fun to learn some of the more “interesting” signs.

The grad school seminar was one of my first exposures to the grad school application process. I never thought too much about the application process before. It seems as if there are a lot of differences but also similarities to undergrad applications. The main point I took away was to do research early. Many different schools seem to have very different requirements on testing, recommendations and even submission time. I remember House fellow Zach mentioning that one of his friends missed the submission deadline for a key application. Even things that may seem obvious need to be researched as soon as possible. I think researching early is also good to see if you are  fit for grad school. I know that I am still uncertain whether I want to attend grad school right after completing my undergraduate or maybe after working in industry for a few years.