It was a fascinating film to watch because at first I thought it was going to be your cliche, kids will be able to build a stronger and more just government than what we have now. However, all of the issues that the boys were having with the opposing parties were direct parallels that occur in real life. For example, the POC candidates were being targeted due to their ethnicity and race, which unfortunately is a routine tactic used by people in real politics. Since the film’s setting was in Texas, I liked that the spotlight was on the issue on gun violence and rights. It was interesting to watch how knowledgeable the kids were and how their personal lives were affected by the contention.
Author Archives: rk587
Listening to the Sounds of Protests
When I think of the sounds of protest, I hear chanting, ardent cries for freedom, anger, passion, longing, and hope. I think back to the recordings of protests led my Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that I heard and learned about in elementary school, to protests that my neighborhood and I organized in high school to combat hate crimes committed against the South Asian Muslim community, to the BLM protests that took place all around the world this year. The impact that the sounds have is more impactful than I imagined because when I think back to all the ones that I’ve participated in, the first thing I remember are the multitudes of distinct sounds, voices, music, and chanting that collide to become one harmonic piece.
The Art of Origami
Coming into this event, I felt more confident than some of the prior arts and crafts event hosted by the Rose Schools Program, particularly the ones involving paint. I’ve always loved art, but I don’t think I’ve been particularly good in it. With origami, I’ve always felt safe due to its very precise nature-one fold here, another crease there and voila, a crane! With painting, there’s a lot of uncertainty with how the final product may come out to be like. One smudge in the wrong place, and the painting can easily go awry. The first few activities were pretty easy to follow, but the frog one had me completely confused. With origami, you also have to be careful of the shape and size of the folds, just as you’d need to be cognizant of it in painting. But one wrong fold in origami, and you come out with something completely disparate than what you intend to make, whereas with painting, you can probably improvise to make the mistake into something else! Nonetheless, the activity was quite therapeutic in the midst of finals!
Chernobyl- Episode 2
This was a scary yet empowering episode to watch because of all the parallels it has to our current pandemic. The episode began with people mistrusting the news and not believing that there would be severe health consequences on people’s health even miles apart from the explosion. One of the first scientists to realize that the explosion would negatively effect people for years to come was a female. Unfortunately, people didn’t believe her (mostly because she was a female so they didn’t think her statements were credible), and those who didn’t initially believe later faced the devastating effects afterwards. Similarly, women in STEM continue to face this misogyny in the workforce. This made me reflect about our current state of affairs with COVID-19. I recently read about how a Turkish-Muslim couple found the vaccine, but due to the negative portrayal of Muslims in the media as well as the perception of Muslims in France right now, they haven’t been getting much publicity.
Cards for My Friends
This was one of my most memorable Rose House events because of the impact it had later on! I had a blast crafting decorative cards for my friends, not only was it therapeutic, but I was able to implement my creative energy and see others’ artistic prowess. GRF Seems card making skills were amazing and was a source of inspiration as well! I ended up making a card for one of my friend’s and when I give it to him he was very surprised because it turned out to be one of the first time’s he’s ever gotten a card. Even though my card was mostly humorous, I was able to relay my gratitude and appreciation for having him as a friend and I could see that he appreciated it. Card making is very underrated nowadays and I think we should start normalizing card giving to more people! it’s a small token of gratitude and it can make someone’s day exponentially better because unfortunately, we don’t show each other enough how much people mean to us!
Zoom Virtual Yoga
Lewis Freedman, a Cornell Fitness Instructor, did a magnificent job in guiding me and the other Rose Scholars in a relaxing, yet energizing workout in the morning. I always intend to do some light morning yoga but my problem is just getting started. Seeing the other Rose Scholars on zoom was motivating and got me to pull out my yoga mat to join the others! After Lewis Freedman’s meticulous step by step directions of how to do certain poses, what to think, and how to feel while doing them, I have a better understanding of the poses that work best for me and most energizes me for when I do yoga on my own now!
Buzz..Buzz..Buzz
The Rose House Buzz Talk with Prof. Julia Felippe and Prof. Andre Kessler was very eye opening because I was able to learn about the journeys that they underwent in order to get to where they are today. Both of the remarkable speakers hurdled mountains (in the case of Andre Kessler, quite literally) in order to earn doctorates in their remarkable fields. They both gave very thoughtful advice in order to maximize our experiences at Cornell and how to go forward with out endeavors. Prof. Julia Felippe advised to “always go for it” because it all depends on perspective. A lot of people think that if they do something, there are just o many things that can go wrong; however, she encourages us to think about all the things that can go right! Furthermore, Prof. Andre Kessler, talked about all of his research endacors before starting his career at Cornell. The most prominent one was when he had to travel o his own from some European country to the Galapagos- the route of travel was quite eccentric and tiresome. He had to take a plane ride, train ride, and then a helicopter that dropped him in the middle of the forest (I can’t imagine myself being stranded in the middle of the Galapagos!). All in all, I learned a lot about their incredible journeys and really inspired me to take advantage of all the different opportunities that Cornell has to offer.
Virtual Study Session
The virtual study session hosted by GRF Sam was a surprisingly very productive co-working “space.” I loved his implementation of the pomodoro study method where we worked for 45 minutes straight and then had 5-7 minute stretch breaks. Since this study session took place right after all of my semi-final examinations, by that point I only had one more project left to do and this co-working session was the perfect balance of productivity and socialization I needed in order to get the motivation to get my project started. Moreover, I plan to implement the pomodoro technique more often because I realized that if I’m able to get work done for 45 minutes straight- with full focus and no distractions it’s a lot more productive than dragging an assignment out for 2 hours, that can easily be done in 1 hour. All in all, this was a lovely study session and I’m glad I learned a new studying strategy!