SCSU art sacavenger hunt

This past week I wondered around campus looking for sculptures and paintings until on caught my eyes. I looked in a couple different buildings and I also took a look outside. Although I saw a couple none of them really brought me in. I didn’t find that great of a selection as well. However after a little while I found a painting done by Maryellen Considine-Woolley who I later found out after reading that she is an alumni of SCSU.

Maryellen received her BS and MS degrees from southern, she studied at a few different colleges as ell including Paier College Of Art, The school of Visual Arts and The Art Concentration in painting from Columbia University. She is also presently affiliated with SCSU as an art instructor for more than thirty years.

I was drawn to this piece because of the bright colors as well as although they were three separate paintings they all flowed together. I was not sure what message or time she was trying to get across at first glance, often times trees symbolize strength and flowers beauty however the last picture reminded me of an eyeball I wasn’t exactly sure what to make of it. I assumed the artist was trying to depict a time when she saw beauty and strength within someone or a culture. I really enjoyed this pictures the colors and the technique in which they were created were all lovely.

After reading the small plaque next to the display I found out that Maryellen was the creator and that this was a depiction of her experience one morning while walking through the Miramar section of Havana Cuba. She painted the large trees and flowers she was surrounded in. She believes them to be an example of the valor, tenacity, and generosity of the spirits of the people she encounter. I believe she did a wonderful job of showing this. I very much enjoyed looking at her paintings and I would definitely like to see more.

 

 

 

Time to step up my game

As the middle of my first semester came I had been starting to get lazy. My homework was starting to slip and my effort was declining. This shows in my midterm grades. My gpa is not as high as I would like it to be and there is definitely room for improvement.

Getting used to the new college grading scale is something I don’t exactly understand however I need to deal with it. In multiple classes that I take my midterm grade was based off of one test or one assignment. It’s difficult for me to agree with that because if you misunderstood the work or got a bad grade on that single assignment then your entire grade for that class is also going to be bad. This is something very different from high school. Normally there are multiple homework assignments and tests throughout the semester.

College has been a good experience for me so far. My organization has gotten better, my work ethics have improved and I’ve met great people however if I want to get my grades up to where I’d like them I really need to crack down, stop being so lazy and get my work done and in on time.

There is a class or two I know I have been struggling in and my grade definitely reflects that. To improve those grades I need to schedule meetings with my teachers to get some extra help. Overall my grades we not awful for my first half of the semester in college but they are not nearly as high as I’d like them to be.

 

Gym time equals fun time

                Living in the same room as two other people and being neighbors with friends can sometimes be a challenge to find peace. There is always something going on whether it be studying, family dinners, ice cream runs or sushi nights, I’m always having fun with them. My friends are a great distraction for me from my studies with them there is never a dull moment. So when this post was assigned I knew it would be no problem to find something fun to do. But I wanted to find something that was fun for me but I haven’t done in a while. I used to go to the gym a lot before coming to southern it was always a great way for me to have fun while doing something productive.

Now to many people the gym doesn’t sound like fun, it sounds like a lot of work. But to me behind all the sweat and burning in my muscles I’m happy. Being at the gym for me is fun. There is always music going either in my headphones or over the speakers and it is a great place for me to reflect. Even when I’ve had a bad day going to the gym helps because I know I am being productive, therefore I become happy.

Also going to the gym with my friends is always fun. Mondays and Wednesdays my roommates and I go to the gym we joke about our teachers and school work. It’s nice to unwind and put the troubles of the day behind us. Although many people don’t find the gym fun, I do. It’s a great way to stay or get in shape and it can be a good bonding experience if you go with friends or roommates because you’re all working together.

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions. By Oliver Windell Holmes Jr.

These past few weeks here at southern have been interesting to say the least. Learning to manage my time and get my work done while still having a social life has not been the easiest. There have been times that I have missed out on activities with my friends and there have also been times I postponed my homework and then ran out of time before being able to complete it. Learning to live with two other girls has also been a challenge but there are positives that have come from it. Over the past couple weeks college has tested me in many different categories and some of them came natural and some of them I am still trying to figure out.  

Creating my own schedule has been one of the most difficult things I’ve faced since coming southern. Prior to college my days were always pretty much the same; I had school, then I went to work, then I went home to do my homework and then I normally hung out with friends. Now I have to learn to manage my time better because unlike high school where my days were always the same, here in college each day my schedule is different from the day before it. I have to manage my time between; class, sleep, homework, eating and maintaining a social life. It was very complicated at first but after a couple of weeks I found that staying organized and planning specific times for me to do my homework and studying helped me keep track of my assignments and still have time to do everything else. For me if I am not organized then my work doesn’t get done and I fall behind quite quickly.

College has not only tested me academically but it has also tested me personally. Living in a triple dorm has not been the easiest thing in the world. Trying to share a 10ft by 10ft space with two other girls has brought up many issues. Each one of us has our own style and our own way of living that in some aspect of another has conflicted with one another. With this being said sharing a room has pushed me to be more open with other girls and understand that everyone is not the same and just because I like to keep my side of the room neat does not mean they do and just because two of us want to go out on a Thursday night does not mean all three of us have to. Learning to coexist with other people is just a part of growing up and although it may not be easy it is necessary.

 College is a territory in which I am still becoming familiar with. It has posed all sorts of new questions and new ideas. It is here I that have been confronted with the reality that I am growing up. Although I am still getting used to college I am very happy I came and this first half of the first semester has taught me so much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCSU Clean Up Day

Two weekends ago I participated in the Southern Connecticut State University day of service with the Omega Zeta Pi sorority. It was an amazing experience, I got to meet so many new people and I was able to help clean up New Haven. The group I was with was sent to clean up a couple of parks I enjoyed cleaning the parks because it felt good to clean up for the kids. While we were at one of the parks there was a peewee football game going on and the kids took the time to come thank us. As well one of the mothers came over and gave us all little waters because we were thirsty. I really enjoyed seeing how grateful everyone was and I would love to do it again.

 

***** my phone deleted all of my pics but hopefully I can get them back and I will put one up of me!******

Stepping out of the box

I am a fairly outgoing person, I love to talk, I love meeting new people and trying new things however a couple of weeks ago I decided to give Greek life a try which is something I’ve never done before. A friend of mine invited me to a rush event for one of the sororities here at Southern Ct State University. I wasn’t really sure about going because it wasn’t anything I had ever seen myself doing but after a little thought I decided to give it a shot and in the end I turned out to really like it.

That nights rush event was a ton of fun. We played a capture the flag game against one of the fraternities here a SCSU. I had a great time, it was a lot of fun meeting the girls and some of the guys, it was also a plug to kick the boys butts. I didn’t feel pressured into anything it was a very welcoming and fun community.  All of the girls were so much fun, the sister of the sorority and the other girls rushing. I was very glad I went.

I had so much fun I didn’t stop with the capture the flag game I continued to go to some of the other events and I got to know a lot of people I didn’t know before.  We played a couple more games including kick ball which was a lot of fun although we didn’t win.

I think being a freshman here a southern brings so many new opportunities to try new things, they have many different clubs and organizations, there is something for everyone. It’s so important to expand our minds at this stage in our lives because this is the time when we are experimenting and becoming an individual. It’s also important to step outside of our comfort zones because who knows what you will end up liking and who you will en d up meeting.

 

 

Lights, Camera, Action!

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Taylor Spielburg

Although I am no Steven Spielberg I think I did an okay job on my first video project. It was a little complicated at first and I won’t lie I was a bit overwhelmed but I am happy with the way it has turned out. Going into this project I thought finding people to interview was going to be the easiest part but I was very wrong. I thought making the movie was going to be super difficult but I was also wrong.

I started out this project by making a check list of what I needed to do because I knew if I didn’t have it all written in front of me I definitely would forget parts of it. I made deadlines for each task that needed to be done and for the most part I was able to stick to it. For me the three hardest tasks were one, making it informative yet interesting, two finding staff/faculty willing to be interviewed and three, picking a song. I feel that for the most part I was able to overcome my obstacles, the video is informative and hopefully isn’t too boring for most people and although it took a while to decide on a song I think the one I chose was good. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get two staff/faculty members to interview I was however able to get one of the cafeteria workers to talk to me for a little. I asked him he thought no one wanted to talk to me and he said he thinks it was because of the topic. He said that because healthy eating and school cafeteria foods are such a controversial thing that most people don’t want to get involved. I guess I understand that and now looking back I probably should have planned ahead of time and left myself extra time to find more interviewies.

Using Windows Movie Maker was actually much easier than I expected! I enjoyed getting to know the program however there were a few things I still don’t understand so I wasn’t able to do as much as I would have liked to but I am happy with the way my video came out.

                                                                  

 

 

***** The link to my video won’t work so I will try to post it separate and hope for the best!*****