Author Archives: Faith

We’re Professionals Now

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I’ve included a picture of my finished product.  It’s been a while since this event.  It’s May now! How time flies.  Anyways, since then my clay sculptures have dried.  If you can’t tell, on the right is a strawberry and the left is a raspberry.  Yum.  Why did I sculpt fruit?  Myself and the other attendees were encouraged to base our work on ancient Peruvian ceramics.  We were shown various water containers, each especially made according to the main job of the sculptor.  For example, a fisherman’s container would look like a fish.  Most pieces were shaped like a fruit grown in the Peru at that time.

I was nervous at first but the museum staff showed us the proper techniques to make a stable and pretty structure.  You can’t tell from the picture but my strawberry is actually a container.  Isn’t that fun!  Shout out to GRF Magdala for organizing such a fun and enriching event.  Maybe I’ll go again sometime and take my friends. (:

I’m Convinced

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My initial thoughts on Carl Newport’s TED Talk… I was brought to attention but not surprised that social media could have such an adverse effect on my attention span.  As a college student, this worries me the most out of all of his claims.  I know my concentration is extremely terrible but I never considered it could all be because of social media.  I will definitely be giving up some of my social media in an effort to regain focus on my studies.  (Pinterest not included. (; )

Newport has never experienced social media himself which I admit is unsettling since he advocates so strongly against it.  However, he has done extensive research and explains that quitting social media is much like a detox.  It usually takes two weeks for a user to not feel anxious about their time and inability to check their pages.  I believe this because I’ve experienced it on a small scale.  I quit twitter during the weeks and redownload it over the weekend in an effort to help me focus.  Mondays and Tuesdays I find myself checking my phone for my Twitter app.  Once I remember I’ve deleted it I then am compelled to think about the seriousness of the situation.  Usually I’m checking it because I don’t want to focus on something I’m supposed to be focusing on like homework or a lecture.  I’ve always believed Twitter is extremely addicting but was even more alarmed when Newport claimed it was designed to be addictive.

In addition to the neurological issues, the commercial and political cons of social media are too numerous.  The ways data collectors and companies are able to access and store your personal information and your online trends is scary.  We touched a little bit on the political scandals and soon-to-be trials surrounding this at our table talk today with GRF Sara.  I think we can’t really trust any of our privacy settings anymore.  There’s too much money involved and too many conspiracies out there for me to believe my information is safe.

Resume Writing Mini Seminar

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Resume writing is soooo important to college students.  In this stage of our lives we’re constantly filling out applications, many of which simply require a cover letter and resume.  In those two sheets of paper how do we make ourselves stand out to internship coordinators at the same time remain professional?

I took away many new ideas from GRF Seema.  One of my new personal goals is to keep from having gaps within my work timeline.  Hirers may be concerned by seeing a time gap for x amount of years or months months where I didn’t have any type of position.  This is especially a red flag in this stage of my life.  I should be constantly gaining new experiences to cultivate my skills and develop myself professionally.

My second goal is to gain certifications that will set me apart from other applicants.  Before I graduate I want CPR training.  I would also like to complete workshops to become advanced in recent versions of microsoft computer programs, photoshop and indesign.

Culture Culture Culture

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I’ve been in conversations regarding cultural appropriation before.  However, most of these conversations have happened only with people that look like me.  African American women like myself are frequent victims of cultural appropriation.  In a way, I almost feel as if I and many of my friends live in a bubble sometimes.  I don’t often think about the other cultures that are victims of appropriation.  In last Monday’s Table Talk, I had the opportunity to see multiple perspectives on cultural appropriation.  This was a rare and much appreciated instance.

We talked about all sorts of examples drawing from many different ethnic groups.  It was important for us to first identify what we believed was appropriation.  The group never quite reached a consensus on this.  Thought provoking questions made the definition harder to solidify.

Thanks to GRF Sam, the conversation flowed extremely well.  Beforehand, we were required to read two articles with opposing views to give some interesting perspective.  They were well selected and provided a great foundation for our discussion.

I forgot to ask about titles

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This evening’s session not only gave me the skills I needed to start my next paper but also made me excited to begin.  Magdala, Sam, and Sara all had unique stories regarding their writing backgrounds.  Though the process of writing can be tedious and tiresome, the presenting GRFs are obviously extremely passionate about their work.

I have only ever been excited to write creatively.  Creative writing lets me be honest about what I don’t know and understand.  There is no good and proper way to be creative.  So the anxiety is never there.

Sara encouraged me to bring that energy into my academic writing.  During the session, I noted practical ways to begin that journey.  First, I have to set a consistent location and time where I can work best.  This will allow me to get into what we call a “flow state” where I can easily work continuously.  Like myself, Sara likes ambient noise in cafes etc.  Sam likes dining spaces and coffee.  Magdala always has to have a cup of water.

The most beneficial potion of the session was when we addressed the pain of writing essays for different subjects and departments, for different professors, with different review styles.  I’ve always found this difficult.  Magdala told me what she wished someone had told her undergrad.  All writing is making and argument no matter the subject.  This may have cured me.

What About Us?

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I think millennials develop hypothesis more than we may realize.  With every web search I make, large or small, I usually expect a certain answer based on prior knowledge.  I count each of these predictions as little hypothesis.  For example, today, I googled to find why an how the Winter Olympics were established.  I was inspired to make this search after watching the games in Flora Rose House Dinning Hall last Friday. I will share what I found,  but first, I will share my hypothesis.

I expected a soppy narrative about how wintery countries felt left out of the Olympic games established in 1896.  While more tropical and temperate countries could pride themselves in their summer games, northern European countries found no place for their skiing and ice skating.  They longed to be a part of this new exciting international celebration and competition.  They expressed their concerns to the official Olympic people.  Eventually, the Olympic Winter Games were established!

Now, for what really happened…  The wintery countries made their own games.  The first winter games were called the Nordic Games and were held in Sweeden in 1901.  Only Scandinavian countries participated.  Ron Edgeworth’s article, “THE NORDIC GAMES AND THE ORIGINS OF THE OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES”  gives all of the juicy details but in short they were created for commercialism and nationalism.  Nationalism!  So I WASN’T far from the truth.

While Edgeworth’s article didn’t include a sappy story about belonging and passion for sport.  It briefly sums up the romantic nature of the Olympic games with one word.  People of all walks of life, backgrounds, and aspirations all take pride in representing their country.  This is why I watch the Olympics.  This is what draws me and the many viewers back every four years.

 

https://www.britannica.com/sports/Origins-of-the-Olympic-Winter-Games

http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/JOH/JOHv2n2/JOHv2n2h.pdf

I Wouldn’t Know

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Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I start the day with four lectures.  On Monday, February  5th each one of my professors began by jokingly discussing the superbowl.  For example, “Do I have any sore Patriot fans on the splendiferous morning?”  From this I gathered who the winner of super bowl 52 was.

The night before, I imagine I looked extremely invested in the game.  Really, I was just swept up in the glamour and culture surrounding American football.  Skinny girls in tiny shiny outfits, a popular rap or techno song, and bright lights welcome the teams onto the field.  Their bouncy jogs were like something from a sexy beach add and on that note someone next to me commented on unhealthy masculinity upheld by the NFL.

The Super Bowl is a world of it’s own.  They attract viewers of all cultures, ages, genders, and interest.  Among the viewers exists gamblers, sport finatics, music lovers and commercial appreciators.  I treat this all American holiday much how a little kid picks over a fancy finger sandwich.  I enjoying the anthems and results, the commercials, the halftime shows but as hard as I try, I never enjoy the football game.