Busy Weeks, Seminar 4, and Motivation

Hey, everyone!

The last week has been kinda nutty with 2 exams and a paper for Seminar. It's only early March, and I'm already exhausted. Sometimes I forget how intense college can be. I can't complain though. Everyone's really busy studying and stressing. One of the things that motivates me when I'm feeling tired and don't feel like doing anything is hearing about other people's accomplishments. I'm a bio major  so looking at all of those early scientists who made these groundbreaking discoveries is really inspiring. They dedicated their entire lives to trying to figure out the answer to one specific problem in one specific field. I think that's pretty amazing. It takes a great amount of commitment and discipline to do that. The ITF's who work with Macaulay are also doing the same thing. They're all grad students who work on these interesting and complex dissertations for YEARS. I look at them, and I am just like,"How do you do it?!" I really admire them because pushing your brain to its limit is definitely not a painless process. But it gets a little easier when you welcome the challenge of that 10-page paper instead of fighting it or avoiding it. The days when I'm sitting there wanting to hit my head against the table because I don't want to write another lab report are not fun OR productive. I always get the most out of those days when I face an "intellectual" obstacle head on. So don't fear that big project or exam. Conquer it.

In my Seminar 4 class, we had to present the first part of our final project. Everyone had interesting projects. The first part of my project deals with the history of the NYPL and how it has developed over the 20th century. The second part will be a discussion of future renovation plans and the impact of digital technology and the Internet on how libraries are currently used by the public. What was interesting to me was that the NYPL developed with the goal of giving people from all different backgrounds access to a place where they could take their education into their own hands. At the same time, the library, particularly the main building on Fifth Avenue, was designed to compete with the prestigious libraries of Europe. In order for that to happen, a number of philanthropists have stepped in over the library's history to provide funding for the construction and renovation of buildings and the creation of new programs and services. The result of this is an institution that is both publicly and privately funded and that serves anyone that walks through its doors.

I picked the song below because Gavin DeGraw is one of the most under appreciated singer-songwriters out there. His music and his lyrics are simple, but they make you think.

S.

Song of the Week

Where did all the people go?
They got scared when the lights went low.
I'll get you through it nice and slow,
When the world's spinning out of control.

Afraid of what they might lose
Might get scraped or they might get bruised.
You could beg them, what's the use?
That's why it's called a moment of truth

I'll get it if you need it,
I'll search if you don't see it,
You're thirsty, I'll be rain,
You get hurt, I'll take your pain.

I know you don't believe it,
But I said it and I still mean it,
When you heard what I told you,
When you get worried I'll be your soldier.

"Soldier" by Gavin DeGraw