The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

To me, the month of December truly is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the beginning of the holiday season, ABC Family begins airing its annual “25 Days of Christmas” special, and most importantly, I get to eat Christmas cookies whenever I please. I have always been an advocate of holiday spirit, hanging lights in my room and blasting Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”

While Christmas is really about the celebration of Jesus’ birthday, our society has transformed the holiday into an elaborate event where giving the most extravagant gift earns the most credit. I am not against this social norm in any way, and enjoy waking up Christmas morning to a tree with beautifully wrapped gifts lying underneath it.

One of the gift giving traditions I have always loved is “Secret Santa.” My group of friends from high school and I have always engaged in this festivity and get small gifts for each other. This year in college, I suggested to a few of the girls on my floor that we do an exchange and also asked  a few of our guy friends from the floor below. We were skeptical at first of the boys’ ability to pick out appropriate gifts for us girls, but we put our trust in them and had them pick names along with the eight of us girls.

Two nights ago, my roommate and I bought milk and cookies, decorated our door with a Christmas wreath, and turned up the Pandora Christmas radio. We invited the members of our Secret Santa over to our room to exchange gifts. The holiday cheer was spread throughout the room as we gave each other our gifts. The boys really held up their end of the deal and gave really thoughtful gifts to some of the girls.

When I was picking out my gift I realized how hard finding the perfect gift is. There are so many things to buy, yet I wanted to get the perfect one. I contemplated multiple necklaces, a few different shirts, and a scarf. I wanted to make sure my friend would love it and realized that gift giving is somewhat of an art. Buying a generic shirt would feel too impersonal, so I went with what I felt best suited my friend’s personality, and I ended up with a gold, long chained necklace with turquoise stones in the center.  

Seeing how much effort and thought each person put into the purchase of his or her gift made me realize how much a simple gesture can mean. The gifts were not expensive or elaborate, yet they were from the heart and that’s what matters in the end. The Christmas spirit was definitely in the air the night of Stuart Hall’s “Secret Santa.”

Arts/Cultural Response: Poetry Reading

The Palmer Museum of Art may not be the most populated with college students on a Saturday morning in chilly Penn State December, yet I was eager to attend the poetry reading held at the museum that morning. I have never been a fan of writing or analyzing poetry but there is a sense of peace that overwhelms me when I hear poetry. While I certainly do not have a talent for poetry writing, I can appreciate when a writer puts his or her emotion and passion behind a rhythm of words. I enjoy the fluidity of a poem and how words strung together in an irregular pattern can hold such meaning to a writer.

That Saturday morning, my friend Emma, accompanied me to the poetry reading led by my very own professor, Sheila Squillante and her husband Paul Bilger. As Sheila read through a collection of ten poems, Paul simultaneously presented a photograph that corresponded to each poem. The photographs were not at all what I expected, however they were incredible abstract pieces that both Paul and Sheila felt conveyed the same point of view. After the presentation, we (the audience) learned the photos were reconstructed after the poems were written. It amazed me that two individuals with such different talents could come together and create something so fluid and coherent.

This poetry reading brought me right back to my years of high school because each April, the English department would hold a day-long poetry festival featuring guest speakers like students and teachers of various subjects, even gym. The English teachers set up the festival in the library, with dimmed lights, a podium and half-circle seating which gave it a feel of a small coffee shop, very “hipster-y” event. This event was always a nice way to escape from the everyday stress of classes and it was fun to see friends reading poems at a podium. The poems read by my fellow classmates and teachers ranged from Shakespeare to Shel Silverstein to anonymous writers which satisfied a wide range of interests of the audience.

The reading was a perfect length of time-about 30 minutes-just enough time to enjoy the entire presentation while still keeping my attention. Although I probably would have enjoyed that extra 30 minutes for sleep that morning, I left the reading feeling intellectual and contemplative. I always love that about poetry; although I have no idea where to begin an analysis, I know that it somehow has meaning. Maybe one day I’ll have enough curiosity to figure this out for myself, but for now I’m content with listening to poetry for enjoyment without thinking too much into it.  

All Good Things Must Come to an End

1. Self-Evaluation 

Fifteen weeks ago, I was a high school graduate anticipating, worrying, thinking all day everyday about my future as a Nittany Lion. My thoughts were consumed with thoughts like, What are professors like? How am I going to survive finals? Will I make friends? What will my roommate be like? The normal thoughts of any incoming college student.

Now fifteen weeks later, I can answer most of the questions with confidence. My roommate is awesome, I made an abundance of new friends, and college professors are very smart. I have not yet conquered my first round of finals so that is still to be determined.

Although I have only been a Nittany Lion for a few short weeks, I feel like I have been one for life. I know that choosing Penn State was the best decision I could have made for myself academically and socially. I am surrounded by people with the same goals as me, the same motivations as me, and similar interests as me. Within the short time span of my life at Penn State, I have already learned many important things about myself academically and socially.

Socially, one of the hardest things I encountered was making friends in the beginning of the semester. At home, I have had the same friends since elementary school and the simple skill of making friends had never been an issue. When I got to college, I had to re-make all my friends and it proved to be slightly difficult at first. I had to step out of my comfort zone and talk to people I knew nothing about. While it seemed daunting on the first day, every freshman was in the same boat as me and I now have some of the greatest friends I could ask for.

Academically, I had to readjust to sitting in class, having homework, and studying for finals because I had seriously slacked on all of that towards the end of my senior year. I quickly fell back into the rhythm of school and sort of enjoyed having a schedule again. Since I came into Penn State with an undecided major many of my classes were exploratory courses and I was eager to learn about different subjects than I had in high school.

With the semester coming to an end, I can safely say that I will NEVER go into a career in economics or mathematics. I took one class in each of those subjects and although the material was not too difficult to learn, I just realized I have no interest in either subject. I also took a psychology class and loved the course, as well as a French class, which is now going to be my minor.

One of my favorite classes (and I’m not just saying this because I have to blog about it…this is my honest opinion!) was English 15. I really enjoyed the structure of the class because it was very different from my high school English classes. We did not spend hours aimlessly completing “daily edits” or reading boring novels and analyzing each word of every book. Instead, it was a much more discussion-based class which I truly enjoyed because it made me think. I was encouraged to think about issues that were plaguing our world and especially our community of Penn State. In high school, I always dreaded the art museum field trips, but this class helped me view a different perspective of art. Because I was not forced to analyze art in a specific way, but was given guidelines of how to go about things, I felt I was able to express my feelings of art in a way that made sense to me. This class was not cookie-cutter English which made it one of the best.

After almost completing one semester already at Penn State, it is safe to say that I will gladly be returning for the next seven semesters and look forward to future classes and broadening my horizons through Penn State University.  

2. Blog Comments

http://liddycoddington.blogspot.com/2012/09/blog-analysis.html#comment-form

http://ideasoninspiration.blogspot.com/2012/09/turkish-delight.html?showComment=1348753809870#c8799344579648809665

http://derosag5050.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-arboretum.html?showComment=1349189184307#c3956151419357179413

http://joewater.blogspot.com/2012/09/what-garden-means-to-me.html?showComment=1349710193944#c6061474741440084268

http://artsfortheheart.blogspot.com/2012/10/theres-new-critic-in-town-without.html?showComment=1350316872682#c5908215289600986413

http://artsinthehappyvalley.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-red-and-brown-water.html?showComment=1355114720950#c1453603413614530955

http://theartsynittanylion.blogspot.com/2012/12/crazy-for-shwayze.html?showComment=1355115045861#c6177954029802632654

http://jimmyschlupp.blogspot.com/2012/12/artscultural-event.html?showComment=1355115475191#c39885666193554116

http://joewater.blogspot.com/2012/12/random-post-christmas-decorations.html?showComment=1355115871763#c1310099960769873969

http://samanthamartinblogspot.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-arboretum-at-penn-state.html?showComment=1355116404043#c5911328986535280285

3. Hi Ms. S, I completed my SRTEs!

Run Oya, Run

Oya is a young girl who relies on her natural born running ability to pull her out of her dreary life in the projects. While her life is not as fortunate as she wants, Oya is still surrounded by many people who care for her and help brighten her darkest of days. Oya’s number one supporter is her mother, Mama Moja, who is a strong, loving woman who strives to protect and provide for her. Oya has an admirer from a young age; Little Elegba, who flirts and teases Oya in hopes of winning her heart. Other important characters in Oya’s life are Shun, Shango, Nia, and Aunt Elegua. These people all play a vital role in Oya’s growth into a woman and watch her struggle to make life-changing decisions. The story line followed Oya from her decision to turn down a college running scholarship through her first heartbreak with Shango to her inability to bear a child. Oya struggles internally as she wants nothing more than a child of her own. There were many relatable issues that Oya faced such as the death of her own mother, her friend leaving for war, and catty friends judging her every move. Many people go through the same things that Oya experienced which created credibility for the story line and appealed to audience’s pathos. Audiences were able to easily relate to Oya’s struggles and life which made the play more enjoyable.

Oya faced adversity throughout her teenage years and into her adult life, yet the issue that struck me the most was the fact that she was unable to become pregnant. Being a woman myself and hoping for kids one day in the far future, I can sympathize with Oya and understand her disappointment and frustration. After her running career ended, Oya focused her life on creating a family and she desperately wanted a child. Seeing her neighbors with babies crushed Oya’s spirits and I think her sanity was at stake in this situation because after her mother died, Oya did not know what to do with her life.  She thought a child would bring her stability and happiness and was truly discouraged because of her trouble with pregnancy.

While each of the actors and actresses put on an outstanding performance, I was most compelled by the character of Shango. I enjoyed the way his character progressed from a sex-driven teenager to a young adult with goals and a well-disciplined attitude. Even though Shango matures into a real man, he still has a little bit of fun in his personality as he teases Oya, who is flattered by his attention. The scene when Shango first returns from war, he tries to seduce Oya by cupping her ear in his right hand. His subtle actions show that he has grown up, yet still has a bit of his playful personality.

This show was the first one I have seen in the Penn State Theater, however I have seen many other live performances on other stages. The stage itself was much smaller than many of the other shows I’ve seen, yet I felt like the characters utilized the space very well. I enjoyed that in some scenes, the characters were closer to the audience such as the church scene. I felt connected to the characters when they got close to the audience and made eye contact with certain people. I was unsure of what to expect, as this was a college-level performance, not a Broadway show, which I am accustomed to watching. With this being said, I was very impressed with the amount of talent and skill these actors and actresses presented.  

Movie Review: Higher Learning

“How many people came here to change the world? How many people came here to learn how to make a lot of money?” Sounds like the typical first-day-of-college spiel address to the incoming class of freshman students who have many things on their minds other than the academics. However, for the students attending Columbus University, making money soon becomes the least of their worries as they are thrown into social situations where they must face real world violence, racism, and hatred.

The film, Higher Learning, directed by John Singleton, begins with a rally of students and a speech from an authoritative figure encouraging the students to fulfill their potential. The camera pans across the crowd to briefly introduce the main characters including Malik (Omar Epps), Kristen (Kristy Swanson), and Remy (Michael Rapaport). Each of these students has a goal to obtain an academic education, but throughout the movie each learns a hard lesson in life. While Kristen finds herself in the midst of a rape situation, Malik is struggling to balance his academics and athletics, and Remy has no social group to fit into until a group of Nazis take him in and make him feel at home.

The opening scene caught my attention because it reminded me of a familiar situation I was in a mere two months ago when I arrived to Penn State for the first time and President Rodney Erickson gave us, as a freshman class, a welcome speech much like the one in the beginning of the movie. As a college student, I felt a connection to the characters because I could understand some of the stress they were feeling with school work piling up and having to balance different aspects of college life.

With that being said, a great college movie must consist of characters that can relate to the audience, meaning college students. This was achieved because each of the characters in the movie fit into a different stereotype or “clique,” so many college students can relate to the feeling of fitting in or oppositely, not being able to find their group of friends.

A successful college film must also have a plot with issues that college students actually face. Unfortunately, rape, violence, drinking and fitting in are topics that most college students are faced with or know someone who faces these issues. By having a plot that is not to elementary or too adult, this movie brings about issues that college students are most likely to relate to. By doing this, the movie captures and successfully holds the attention of their audience.

One scene in the film that was especially relatable was towards the beginning when Kristen was invited to a party, drank a little too much, and ended up walking home to a boy’s frat house where they began to make out and things spiraled out of control. Kristen was raped by that boy who she thought she trusted, which, sadly happens all too often on college campuses.

The characters in this movie went to college thinking they wouldn't be learning anything more than just math and physics, but soon realized the had deeper issues in life to learn about. Overall, the students were constantly facing struggles and situations where they were forced to learn about themselves in a way that may have been uncomfortable for them, but turned out to be positive in the long run.

Although the main audience is college students, any moviegoer who is interested in learning a lesson outside of their own issues would be a perfect candidate to see this movie. Filled with dramatic, tense scenes to violent, heartbreaking scenes this movie will appeal to many audiences.

Through all the violence, discrimination, and segregation brought up in the movie, the film ends on a somewhat ironic note. The last song being the National Anthem, which suggests that even through all the issues that these students encountered they, and we as an audience, all can relate to one another in a common struggle to engage in a higher learning. 

A Garden of Thought

Having been at Penn State for over a month now, I have become incredibly accustomed to speed walking, rushing from class to class, and dodging bikers and other students roaming around campus. Homework and exams have been piling up, so the field trip to the Arboretum last Monday was a nice break from the constant busyness that encompasses my life as a college student. It was my first trip to the H.O. Botanical Gardens and will most definitely not be my last. Upon seeing the first bunch of flowers, I was mesmerized. I felt a sense of tranquility flowing through me as a wandered the gardens with a few of my classmates. The garden gave me a sense of peace and it was refreshing to experience the nature and sun since the main source of sunlight I usually receive is through my dorm window waking me up at 8am.

Many of the flowers were rich in color; there were purples, yellows, corals, and whites. There was a patch of red peppers that caught my eye because they seemed out of place in the sea of flowers. I wondered if they were edible, and if they were, would they be Spicy? Flavorful? Bland?

 

As I continued down the path of the garden, I came across a trellis of large, green leaves with a simple brown bench sitting in the middle. I was taken aback by the simplicity and romance of this structure. My cheesy girly-girl side was revealed when I mentioned to my classmates that I dreamt of being proposed to in a place like this. This place was magical. I walked under the canopy and looked up to find green gourds hanging from the roof of the trellis. I laughed at this because I thought it brought a sense of humor to such a romantic, calm place.

The garden offered many different types of plants and trees, but overall I think I loved this place so much because of the feeling I had while walking through the garden. It was so peaceful and I enjoyed stepping away from my busy life on campus to explore a place that I probably would never have if it weren’t for Ms. S! I was especially fond of the benches placed in corners of pathways because I could see myself perched for hours just drinking a cup of tea and thinking. Simply thinking. The arboretum is a place where people can go to just think. About life, flowers, school, pretty much anything. At the beginning of the trip, I walked around with classmates, commenting on various aspects of the garden, but towards the end of my stay, I realized I wanted to roam the garden alone next time I visit.

I usually don’t enjoy waking up on Monday mornings after a long football weekend, however, a trip to the arboretum made it little more bearable. I look forward to returning to this wonderful place in the future!

A Friday Morning Spent with the Arts

Affirmative Action

Jerry Kearns, American

1987

While I saw many beautifully crafted pieces of work in the Palmer, the piece that stood out most was a painting titled Affirmative Action created by Jerry Kearns. The red and yellow buildings faded in the background contrasted the main image of the woman in black and white, scooping piles of debris with a shovel. The woman is wearing a dress and heels, but is in no way a “girlie girl” because she has muscles and a look on her face that says, “Don’t mess with me.”

This painting, which was created by using acrylic paint on a canvas, was completed in 1987. This was only a mere twenty years after President John F. Kennedy signed the first Executive Order to promote actions that achieve non-discrimination in the workplace, also known as affirmative action. The piece clearly depicts a woman in the workforce and goes to show that women are just as capable as men to do any kind of work. I was also very pleased to see that the artist was a man who clearly supports women’s struggle for equality and acceptance in the workforce especially.

I think the most obvious reason I connected to this piece in particular is that I am a woman just like the one in the painting. I can relate to her because I, too, will one day be a working member of society and hoped to be treated equally with men and other women. I am a supporter of affirmative action because I believe everyone should have equal opportunity to show his or her capabilities. If a man can do a job, why shouldn’t a woman at least be given a chance to prove herself too?

The first way this painting gains credibility is through the title, Affirmative Action. Many people know the definition of this word, which automatically helps audiences understand the piece. Jerry Kearns, the artist, was a professor of art at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which adds to his credibility because he is an expert on art and has contributed to the world of art in ways other than just creating paintings.

I think the piece of art is making a very obvious claim supporting affirmative action and the equality of women and men in the workplace. I think the artist was attempting to portray the physical and mental strength of the woman through her body language and facial expression in order to persuade audiences that women deserve the equality and respect the same way men do in the workplace.

Last Friday was my first time visiting the Palmer Museum and I had a very good first time experience. I have never been a museum fanatic, yet I am not completely opposed to museums either. I think my stance on museums is neutral until proven otherwise. This visit was different from most of my other museum visits because I am used to going on field trips or with family, thus experiencing the museum through a guided tour. This trip however was a self-guided tour and I enjoyed exploring the paintings and sculptures at my own pace. I don’t see myself going back to the museum voluntarily, but if I was assigned to go back for another class I wouldn’t dread the experience.