Author Archives: plr59

Conquering Test Anxiety

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I honestly expect to learn much from this seminar about managing test anxiety. I expected the speaker to iterate things that should already be common knowledge to test-takers and college students. Repeatedly, I’ve heard the same thing over and over in the past. “Don’t wait to the last minute”, “go to office hours for help”, “stay on top of your work.” These sayings are rather idealized study habits for college students that are easier said than practiced. I feel like many college students like myself begin the semester with good study habits and keep up with the classes as well as possible. However, things happen; we get bogged down by extracurriculars and other commitments and even having several difficult classes can get pretty overwhelming sometimes.

This talk was so much more than just reiterating basic study habits. The speaker did a great job focusing on things that we are more in control to help reduce the stress and anxiety about taking tests. She did a really good job just focusing on one’s mental health in general. She pointed out that even little things that many college students do on a regular basis can be a source of anxiety and fear for tests. For example, she brought out the fact that many college students think of themselves negatively when preparing for tests, saying things like “I’m so dumb” or “I am going to fail.” I think we college students tend to be overdramatic with these things, and saying negative stuff like that sets ourselves up for failure even when we don’t realize it. She talked a lot about mental and physical ways to cope with test anxiety, which I will definitely take advantage of during the heat of final exams. But overall, I’ve learned to come into a test with the intention of showing what I know and learned from the class, rather than thinking of it negatively.

Thinking More Introspectively with Career Planning

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A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a table talk with House Fellow Chris Barrett. Initially, I didn’t know what to expect from this talk. The group was very small and the topic seemed very general to have a specific conversation about. I came into this dinner thinking that I was not going to learn much; I had known for a while that I was going to pursue medicine and make a career out of it. However, Chris Barrett and his wife had a lot to share about their past and how they ended up deciding to live in Ithaca together. The conversation took a quick turn from career planning to their personal lives. It was really a breath of fresh air to hear about their stories and how they have come to live here. The relationship that Chris Barrett and his wife have together was honestly really sweet to see. They have changed their career paths and lives to be with each other and it was quite amazing to see how much they loved each other! Chris Barrett’s wife said that there are three things that are key in a relationship: love, trust, and communication. She compared it to a stool with three legs, and that if a relationship does not have any one of the three legs, it will fall. I will definitely keep this in mind for the future. But overall, I left the conversation learning a lot more about my future plans and how I will make it in the world.

Bringing Back My Musical Nostalgia

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Last Sunday, March 24th, I attended the open rehearsal for a trio composed of Matt Bengston, Aaron Berofsky, and a third member. I walked into this event and was welcomed by the calm, ambient atmosphere of the three musicians working on their music. I instantly felt a sensation of nostalgia because I was in several music ensembles during my years in high school where I played several wind instruments. In my wind ensembles, we had many times where we would play chamber music, which is musical groups split into four-five people to play a musical piece. Playing chamber music was one of my favorite musical experiences in high school because it played a significant role in each of the players, especially because everyone has a unique and important part. It also was very difficult in terms of rehearsing and practicing with other people because it forces you to think outside your musical bubble and play cooperatively with everyone else. Listening in on the open rehearsal really brought back experiences of when I would rehearse with others. The three musicians were very talented and were prepared with their individual parts. The change in the musicality from the beginning to the end of the rehearsal really showed, which was really nice because it seemed that they were all really receptive to each other’s criticisms and ideas. Overall, this event motivated me to pursue more music and hopefully regenerate my interest in it.

Meeting the President of Our University in a New Light

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To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I decided to attend the dinner reception with our president, Martha Pollack. In one hand, I’ve never met her in person or have had any communication with her whatsoever and had no judgment about her. However, our president has developed a reputation through social media and through the general consensus of Cornell students. Although everything should be taken with a grain of salt, especially because many of the remarks about our president have evolved through memes and jokes among the Cornell community.

I arrived at the reception in Professor Avery’s and our president was nowhere in sight. While waiting for her, I made a new friend in Rose Scholars and we were wondering what is taking her so long. We’ve waited for about a whole hour where we were expected to dinner by then and she still hadn’t arrived, which didn’t set the best first impression of her. When we had arrived at the dining hall for dinner, I really wasn’t sure of what to expect. I honestly thought I wouldn’t speak to her at all, just sitting in the side and listening to the other conversations. But before I knew it, I was greeted by our president and she decided to sit right next to us, much different than what I had expected. Initially, the conversation started off awkward, especially because I think we all felt weird talking to the president of our university. But the awkwardness quickly dissipated and we started to have a nice, normal conversation with Martha. This dinner was very nice because she told us about her career in academia and her duties as a president. Overall, I was glad that I went to this dinner because now I can imagine our president with the personality that I met her, rather than external points of view.

Should Injustice be Solved with Justice?

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On March 8th, I saw the movie Black Panthers with the other Rose Scholars. Although the movie has been out for over a year and has gained worldwide popularity, I, unfortunately, hadn’t seen the movie until just now. Even though I hadn’t seen the movie itself, I was aware that the movie was acclaimed for breaking boundaries with his portrayal of empowered African American and female characters. And after seeing this movie, I can conclude that the reviews were not wrong and it personally lived up to the hype. And, after being late for an entire year, I can finally say that I have watched Black Panther.

The movie itself didn’t disappoint in any way; the actors/actresses, the cinematography, the music, and the effects all pushed cinematics to its full potential. But the movie had several important themes that allowed me to reflect on societal standards and the transfer of power on a large scale. The thing that got my attention the most was the difference in ideologies of T’Challa and Killmonger, and how their upbrings developed these specific ways of solving injustice. Killmonger grew up in a society where minorities are constantly underrepresented and mistreated, whereas T’Challa grew up as royalty and lived in a society where Vibranium gives them power. I was empathetic towards Killmonger’s agenda for a little because, although his methods of resolving those mistreatments were a little extreme, his cause wanted to end the injustice that African Americans and other minorities have faced for hundreds of years. T’Challa cannot understand this the same way as Killmonger because he hadn’t grown up like this. But Killmonger’s strategy is not the right one because he wants to empower minorities by bringing down the ones in power, whereas T’Challa wanted to empower by minorities by bringing them up. It poses the question of whether the injustice of racial issues should be dealt with an extreme way such as Killmonger’s way, or a more uplifting way like T’Challa.

How Qualified Am I Really For This Job?

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I attended the Rose Scholars event on Thursday, February 21st with Christa Downey. Initially, I was quite hesitant to attend this event because I had already attended a Rose Scholars that was meant to prepare us for going to future interviews. While the first event focused on specific details with how to have a successful interview, this seminar took a rather different turn. Christa Downey ensured us to focus on our qualifications for a job rather than other factors, and how those specific qualifications would transcend in an interview setting. This is why I chose to attend this attend because I wanted to get into the minds of the people who will choose to accept or deny me in their work environment. Downey gave us a list of qualities that would be necessary to have in a successful workplace. She split us up into groups of 2-3, where she asked us to talk about past experiences where we had shown this quality and why it is important to have this. My group was assigned professionalism and work ethic, and we discussed times in our old experiences where we had demonstrated this. We concluded that many would relate professionalism and work ethic to appearance and how you hold yourself up in a professional setting. Personally, I had an internship in the summer where my co-workers were dressed casually, despite the intense and professional environment. This shows how professionalism is not just due to physical appearance, but how you present yourself to your co-workers and peers. After listening to all the groups talk about their experiences and what they perceive to be expectations, I know have a more insightful look into the minds of employers. On my next interview, I will take into account on how I present myself and how to properly demonstrate my qualifications.

Accepting Social Media as Labor: Why is it so Hard?

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What started off as a mere insight into looking at our data usage turned into a heated debate about oppression and forced labor. I was very surprised by the outcome of the event because I was confused at people’s stances. The definition of labor may be a gray area, especially because labor is such a general term and what constitutes labor is rather vague. I took the liberty to look up the definition of labor, and there were so many different variations of the same word. But I assumed to take one definition that seemed applicable to this conversation. One of the three entries for labor in Merriam-Webster defines it as “ human activity that provides the goods or services in an economy.” If accepting this definition of labor, then why wouldn’t social media use be considered as labor? The use of social media provides a service because the consumer is exposed to an advertisement, which earns money for the company that produces the advertisement. Magdala posed a very interesting point during the dinner: since we don’t get to choose to be a recipient of this advertisement, is it considered forced labor? Of course, when we think about forced labor, we think about very gruesome and intense cases of forced labor where it is a permanent lifestyle for many people who actually endure trauma and oppression. But taking the case of a very loose version of forced labor, perhaps that social media use is a form of forced labor. However, I think that the reason that social media use may be considered forced labor is that many people who use social media are unaware that people are profiting off them. Perhaps this should be more transparent to people when they sign up for services such as Facebook. Then, they would have the personal choice to whether or not to accept their position as a profit machine to the corporation.

Let the Vagina Speak

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I joined the Rose Scholars on our trip to go see the Vagina Monologues at Bailey Hall. To be quite frank, I initially did not know what to expect. I originally chose to attend this event because it was the only one that fit my schedule this week. But boy was I surprised.

As a guy, I don’t have many conversations about these topics to people, and I am simply ignorant of the many nuances behind woman’s health because I am not one. I regularly don’t have conversations about sexual health and habits with other people because it is a relatively uncomfortable and not-talked-about subject. Rather than shy away from the dangers and tribulations of sexual health, the women embraced it. They took command of the material and talked about topics that are important because women have to deal with it every day. The variety of skits drew attention to the several obstacles that a woman has to go through during their life. And unfortunately, many women endured trauma and pain through many parts of their life, in many different regions of the world.

I didn’t know what to think about the topics that these women had talked about. It was hard to be in a position where I couldn’t relate to most of the topics that they talked about. But I felt a sense of respect towards women in general, especially these women who were confident enough to speak for half of the human population. In a time of empowerment for women, it was very nice to let them have a voice. Let them speak!

Is Grad School the Right Choice For Me?

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I attended the mini-seminar for Grad School 101 about two weeks ago. Both the house fellow and the GRF talked about their experiences about applying and transitioning to graduate school after their undergraduate studies. I have been indecisive about my post-graduation plans for as long as I can remember. I am a second-semester sophomore and I still haven’t fully committed to a major. I am currently considering majoring in biology and/or mathematics and intending on pursuing a career in the medical field as a licensed physician. Although I have always been interested in pursuing a career in medicine since I was a kid, I had considered many other options during my personal and professional growth. When I first started my studies at Cornell, I intended on fully committing to math and going to graduate school in mathematics to conduct research and teach. However, I quickly learned that although I am very interested in the field of mathematics, research is probably not my strongest suit, especially in a field that I am not fully devoted to. Although graduate school in a specific study is probably not for me, it was very interesting to hear the stories that the house fellow and GRF have experienced. It was insightful to learn about the differences between an English Ph.D. and a chemical engineering Ph.D. I was more able to relate to the experiences of the chemical engineering student as I am geared more towards a STEM approach. Overall, I found out that the prospects of graduate school is still a viable option for me, but more likely not going to be the case because it is not what I am most passionate about.