During the trivia, there were a lot of facts revealed to me that I did not know prior. For example, the fact that there are serial killers’ brains put on display in one of the buildings on campus. Or that Cornell University was the first Ivy league to have women as students. I was surprised because I thought that I knew more about Cornell, but apparently there is a lot more that I still need to learn. The fact that surprised me the most was that the chicken nugget was invented here.
Author Archives: fc268
The smallest careless mistakes can have a huge domino effect
During this event, I watched the last two episodes of Chernobyl, despite not having watched any other prior episodes. However, it was still easy to follow along. The episodes were very intriguing. It was clear that there were many careless mistakes made that could have prevented the death and impaired health of many individuals. The part that intrigued me the most was the fact that the entire explosion of the power plant was caused by the rushing of a safety check and assigning an inexperienced employee, all in an effort to make money and gain recognition for developing such a device. If certain characters in the film had just done things the textbook way instead of essentially being lazy, the explosion would have never happened. It was also interesting that the radiation had long term effects on people that were in the surrounding area which is sad because they had nothing to do with the explosion and weren’t even aware of the predicament.
Our surroundings are more fragile than we think
The movie we watched was Jungle life, due to technical difficulties. The documentary explained the vast amount of species and habitats that exist in a particular jungle. One thing mentioned in the movie that surprised me was that most of the species that had existed years before, are now extinct. At a first glance, it doesn’t seem that way because the jungle is already huge. One would never think that most of it is gone. This made me realize that many of us do not realize how easy it is for our actions to have a large effect on nature. Mostly because it doesn’t have the ability to say “hey, stop you’re hurting me.” However, if it did, we’d probably be more inclined to be more proactive in saving our environment.
Cornell has intricate architecture
During this event, we were assigned an image to try to color on google sheets using just the cells and filling them with the appropriate colors. The images were all different buildings on Cornell campus. The building that I was assigned was a very fancy and edgy design. Although it was beautiful, I could not picture how I could possibly recreate this image using a bunch of boxes, especially since the building had a lot of curves and smaller details. However, this did teach me some problem solving skills because when me and my partner got stuck, we somehow figured out how to make the drawing look at least something like the image we were given.
I Do Not Know How To Paint A Pumpkin
Usually I can say that I can paint pretty decently for someone that does not do it that often. As long as I have some inspiration, I can usually make something that is at least pleasing to the eye. But this day was not one of those days. The pumpkin that I painted did not come out as planned so I ended up covering the whole thing in dark red. I was happy to see that other people were successful in making their pumpkins look good. But, on the bright side I learned that in the past women used to think that they would see their husbands if they looked into a mirror on Halloween. Now, whenever Halloween comes around again, I’ll be looking in mirrors ;).
Our Harm to the Planet is reversible
The movies watched during this event made me realize things that I did not notice before and provided a sense of hope. The film was a documentary that dove into the various species that exist within a particular rainforest and how these organisms depend on their surroundings and each other for survival. There was a particular scene where a particular type of plant would depend solely on the rainfall to hit against its leaves and cause ants to fall into it, essentially serving as the plant’s food. This made me realize that with climate change becoming more severe as the years progress, the changes in climate could completely diminish this plant’s source of food. However in the second movie watched, towards the end there was a scene where the narrator explains that if we leave nature alone, it could reclaim areas that we have once taken over and polluted. This gave me hope in the sense that despite all the damage we have done to the Earth, it can still heal if we give it time.
I finally forced myself to leave my room
For the Explore series, Exploring Cornell, I finally had an excuse to leave my dorm and take in the warm Sun that we were granted with so late in the semester. I visited sites that most students likely see on their way to class (on a normal day) like the Mcgraw tower and Hollister Hall. While at these sites I realized that I never usually get the chance to embrace the beautiful scenery that Cornell actually has. When outside, I usually either rushing to get to my destination because I’m on a time crunch or I’m too busy stressing about an upcoming exam. This was a great opportunity for me to embrace my surroundings and take a break from stressing about my academics.
Rose Playlist
During this event I heard a variety of different types of musical tastes that did not know existed among the residents of Flora Rose House. One of the songs played that surprised me the most, and that I enjoyed the most, was a Japanese song. I don’t remember the name of the song, but while hearing it, it made me feel like I had briefly travelled to another dimension. It helped me relax and momentarily forget about all the assignments and exams that I had to do. I was true bliss. But, of course like all enjoyable things, it only lasted about 3 minutes. However, I will forever remember that music (especially those of Rose residents) can drastically help with stressful times.