Author Archives: nz223

Trying Origami for the First Time

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Prior to the event, I had always accepted that origami was probably something that I wouldn’t be the best at. As a painter, I never really care much to make the straightest lines because things are going to be getting blended anyways. Origami on the other hand, requires very precise and careful folding of paper to achieve the best creases and shapes. I was glad that most people at the event were not experienced with origami either. It was challenging to follow the youtube videos because the instructor would often get through the folding process much quicker than I could. This was okay though because in the end, I went at my own pace and was still able to create a crane that I was proud of (for my first try). I love working with my hands and creating art so I look forward to learning how to create more creatures!

Internships: to Stress or to Not stress?

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As the fall semester of my sophomore year comes to an end, I can’t help but stress about my plans for the summer. As a pre-health student amidst a pandemic, it has been understandably difficult to gain any experiences within the clinical setting. I attended the panel in hopes to get inspiration (and confidence) to look for internships that might introduce me to other aspects of health beyond clinical work. I hope to try to be productive this summer and to explore policy, media production, and more from a health perspective if I can get the chance. As a pre-health student I would argue that undergraduates are advised to focus more on GPA, test scores, and research and not so much getting professional experience from an internship. My initial fear of applying to internships was the fact that I did not have a solid idea of what experience I was actually looking for. The advice from the members on the panel was very assuring because they each encouraged students to try to apply broadly to internships. Alot of them shared the sentiment that they too were lost about where to start. Their experiences in their respective internships actually helped them realize either that they wanted to continue working in the field or that they indeed did not want to work there. I can agree that it’s equally as important to understand the things you are not interested in as it is to understand the things that you are interested in. In all, the panel really reassured me because I realized everyone starts from ground zero and it’s up to you and explore with trial and error to see what experiences you want to keep having.

Getting in the Halloween Spirit

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I love dressing up and celebrating for Halloween, but for obvious reasons this year’s Halloween plans were very different. I am glad I got to be at least somewhat festive this year at the pumpkin painting event. I really liked learning about Halloween facts and was surprised about some of the historical facts regarding Halloween. For my pumpkin, I opted for a more aesthetic design because I knew I wanted to keep my pumpkin around even past Halloween. I really like that these Rose events have taken me back to arts and crafts which is something I used to do a lot as a child but have never had the chance to do more as an adult. I really liked my fall leaf sun-catcher and hope to bring that and my pumpkin around each year for my fall dorm room decor.  My room is mainly neutral colors so I decided to keep the pumpkin white and add some black accents. I think it came out nice and matches my room well. It has a good balance of Halloween spook and general fall vibes!

A Piece of Autumn Light

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I’ve always loved natural light and am so grateful that my room has wonderful big windows to let the bright Ithaca sun in.  I was excited when Rose House hosted the fall leaf sun-catcher crafting session because Ithaca has made autumn my favorite season and I was ready to get into the autumn spirit. I’ve always been a crafty person but I had never made a sun-catcher before and though the use of tissue paper and contact paper was very interesting and innovative. I was surprised at how difficult creating a sun-catcher was for me! I wanted to go for a  natural-looking leaf to keep on my window all year as a reminder of the fall throughout the year (especially when all the trees die off in the winter). While I made my sun-catcher I was stressed because I was not cutting clean pieces of tissues into uniform shapes like most people were. I chose to rip up random sizes and colors and at the end I was very satisfied with the finished product. I absolutely love my sun-catcher and I like the way it looks when the sunlight passes through it.  I hope to keep this as a memory for every dorm room I stay in from now in because I think it really makes my window unique.

A Calm Sunday Start

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With this semester essentially having no breaks, I have been really struggling with taking time out of my week to practice a self-care routine in the midst of all the exams and assignments. I have been feeling extremely burnt out from school work and most days I feel like taking time for myself isn’t possible even though I could take some of the time I use to scroll through my phone to be more active instead. For months I have been trying to implement yoga into my routine a few days a week and I hope in the future it can be more frequent. This event seemed like the perfect opportunity to get the ball rolling. Taking Lewis Freedman’s virtual yoga class on a beautiful Sunday morning in front of my window was relaxing yet so rejuvenating that I felt ready to take on the day. This is really different from my usual routines on weekends which usually consist of me waking up extremely fatigued from sleeping too late the night before. What was most rewarding was how quick, yet effective the session felt. In just an hour my body felt stretched and my mind felt calm and motivated. This one session really showed me just how possible it is to squeeze in an act of self-care into my busy schedule. Having a teacher guiding the session was really helpful so I want to take a full yoga course here at Cornell so I’m more knowledgable about yoga and can more easily fit some sessions into my routine.

2020 Parallels from Chernobyl

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Episode 2 of Chernobyl was thrilling, eye-opening, and at times, felt a little familiar. While the Chernobyl explosion was extremely different from the COVID-19 pandemic– different circumstances, different time periods, and an entirely different aftermath– I couldn’t help but notice the parallels between how the situations were influenced and manipulated with politics, in-denial, and pure misinformation. Professor Legasov offered a stark resemblance to Dr. Fauci as he used pure science to warn the officials of the severity of the situation, only to be belittled and accused of creating hysteria. In the end, science leads the way in the investigation of the site and sure enough reveals a catastrophe that is far worse than anyone can imagine. It made me wonder how history has a way of repeating itself. I question why people are so reluctant to face the negative, unsettling realities of the world and turn a blind eye in hopes of everything “feeling normal.” Is it politics? Is it just being misinformed? Either way, I think what both this episode and 2020 has showed us is how integral it is for scientists and health experts to have active roles in governing bodies and for us as the public to listen when the numbers, the atoms, and the viruses talk.

Taking it Step by Step

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In a class I took my first semester at Cornell. HE 1115, the instructor Mike Chen always emphasized how important it was to complete little chunks of work each day instead of waiting until the few days before an assignment is due. I struggle with this since, often, just the idea of completing a major assignment can stress me out so much that I wait until the latest appropriate moment to begin. This lesson was also something that House Fellow Zach Grobe made a point to emphasize in his Grad School 101 Seminar. The process of applying to grad school– researching schools, taking exams, writing essays–while balancing my semester workload is one that often stresses me out when I think of what my last year at Cornell might look like. I don’t want my last year to be burdened by the thought of all the work I am going to have to do for applications. This seminar really helped me realize how important it is to start the process early on just to continually familiarize myself with the deadlines for each step. This way, it is easier to visualize what needs to be done by when and to have ample time to plan out each move such as taking specific standardized exams, asking for letter of recommendation, writing a personal statement. When I am stressed about school assignments, I often find that just starting the assignment helps to alleviate a-lot of the stress because I feel like I am being productive and I realize that the assignment is not that bad after all. Hopefully, I can motivate myself to apply this to grad school applications so that future me is able to enjoy her last year at Cornell.

Nostalgic Card Making!

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Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved doing arts and crafts– cutting paper, gluing collages together, and doodling until my markers went dry. With creative and artsy projects in elementary school turning into mundane papers, exams, and textbook readings as I’ve reached higher education, I truly missed getting my hands dirty with paint marks and glue. Taking just an hour out of my busy day to spend time living one of my greatest childhood joys brought me lots of peace. Not only was creating cards such a nostalgic moment, but what my specific card symbolized to me was also really special. When my cousin was doing her undergrad at Cornell over six years ago, she sent my older sister and I handmade cards because she was away while our family was celebrating Eid. Now that I am on the very same campus and she’s away at medical school, I  thought it would be nice to return the favor and send her an uplifting message. I’m really excited to mail it away to her in Syracuse and I hope this card can make her day a little better and brighter. I love the way my card turned out and how I was able to merge all the pieces of my kit into one creation. I will definitely be making my own cards from now on because I really enjoy the creative process and making my cards so personalized!