Hi, everyone!
I can't believe it's almost the end of June, and the spring semester has been over for almost a month. Summer break always goes by so quickly. I've been having a lazy kind of break so far because my internship doesn't start until next week. I've been getting some cleaning done, and I've rearranged some things in my room so that I'm better organized. (Things always get a little messy during the course of the hectic semester.) I've also been hanging out with friends under the gorgeous spring sun. But omg, this pre-summer sun can be brutal. During my visit to Governors Island, I managed to get a bit sunburned. Even constantly reapplying sunscreen won't always save you from the ruthless midday sun so I've been trying to stick to indoor activities to avoid pre-mature aging. haha.
The Sunday after my Governors Island visit, my mom and I went to see Maleficent. Both she and I absolutely loved it for its underlying feminist and colonial themes as well as for its gorgeous imagery. (We saw it in 3D.) If you haven't seen it yet and want to avoid spoilers, please don't read the next three paragraphs.
There is this scene towards the beginning of the movie in which the man that Maleficent loves cuts off her wings. Many people described it as analogous to a rape scene because the man she thinks loves her betrays her so horribly and literally clips her wings, taking away her independence and power. She is forever changed by this moment and vows revenge. I loved that the writers decided to make this the reason for Maleficent's descent into "evil" because it is so reminiscent of the everyday stories that we hear about violence against women and its repercussions.
I also loved that it is Maleficent's kiss that ultimately awakens Aurora. The writers didn't succumb to the predictable storyline where a prince must be the one to save the girl. Instead, they chose to highlight a motherly type of love, which only amplified the feminist undertones.
And the colonial themes? As in Avatar, there is a land of creatures that live peacefully with each other and respect their environment, and there is a group of outsiders who want to control them. As you can imagine, this leads to a lot of fighting and heartbreak. This is always an important theme to explore because it happens all the time in real life. There are so many small "exotic" countries that get dominated and exploited by the more powerful countries. This can even happen within the same country as big corporations try to take land from people that have had it for many years. I hope people watch this movie and are reminded of the fact that fear of the Other is at the core of all desire to control, and we must try to understand those who are different from us instead of trying to control them.
The World Cup has been going on the last couple of weeks, and I've tried to catch snippets of every game. I told my friend that I watched more soccer last weekend than I have in the last four years, which is completely true. haha. I'm not a big sports fan, but it's the World Cup so I figure I should care at least a little :p
Enjoy the weekend, everyone!
S.
Quote of the Week
(In honor of Maya Angelou's death a few weeks ago.)
"My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return."
~ Maya Angelou
Friday, June 20, 2014
Saturday, June 7, 2014
All I need is sunshine and a good conversation...
Hi, everyone!!
It's been two weeks since the spring semester ended, and I've been enjoying my summer break by seeing friends, cleaning up my room, and just enjoying some time to myself.
The day after the semester ended, I headed over to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with a friend. The day started off as a cloudy Saturday morning but soon turned into a beautiful sunny one. We strolled through the gardens and just enjoyed being in the sun after a stressful finals week. I especially loved walking through the Cranford Rose Garden. It is actually one of the most romantic places in the city. It's filled with all kinds of roses in full bloom and has these pretty arches. Just gorgeous. We then headed over to Prospect Park with a blanket and just laid around doing nothing for a couple of hours. Doing nothing is sometimes the best thing to do.
Some time during our day, we passed by the Bailey Fountain, which is one of my favorite pieces of art in the city. (Last year, I wrote about this fountain in a post about Grand Army Plaza.)
The following Tuesday, I hung out with another friend in downtown Manhattan. We strolled through Union Square, Washington Square Park, Soho, and the Brooklyn Bridge. He even took me to a boxing gym at some point. Very cool. Another interesting thing was reading all of the notes that people (mostly lovers) write on the rails along the Brooklyn Bridge. I think it would be cool to come back years later to see what you wrote when you were young (and in love haha).
Last Friday, I paid a visit to my old high school. I hadn't visited since last May so it was good to be back to see some of my old teachers and to have conversations with them about what's been going in my life and theirs. I love going back because they remind me of where I've come from and how far I've come already. They always say how proud they are, and they're always happy to hear about my accomplishments. It's important to stay in contact with your old teachers because they're full of good advice and encouragement.
I finally took a look at my grades this past Wednesday, and I'm happy to report that I did well this semester. I must have taken the biggest sigh of relief when I saw them. All of the stress and worry is all worth it when I see those beautiful A's. haha.
Yesterday, I took a trip out to Governors Island, which I hadn't been to since Macaulay freshman orientation back in 2011. Since then, they've opened up some cool new spaces on the island. One of them is Hammock Grove, which is a series of red hammocks attached to wooden poles (the hammocks will eventually be attached to trees when the trees get big enough). I loved laying on the hammocks just rocking back and forth and enjoying the sun. They also opened up a new playground. I got on a swing for the first time in years, which was a lot of fun. It was a great day.
Oh, and before I headed over to the island, I hung out for awhile in Bowling Green, which is gorgeous with its bright red flowers and fountain.
Yesterday, the Macaulay Class of 2014 had their graduation!! So exciting. I'm incredibly happy for them and for all that they have accomplished.
S.
I think I'll switch over to "Quote of the Week" for the summertime and maybe start back up with the college tips when the fall semester begins.
Quote of the Week
"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."
~ Oscar Wilde
It's been two weeks since the spring semester ended, and I've been enjoying my summer break by seeing friends, cleaning up my room, and just enjoying some time to myself.
The day after the semester ended, I headed over to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with a friend. The day started off as a cloudy Saturday morning but soon turned into a beautiful sunny one. We strolled through the gardens and just enjoyed being in the sun after a stressful finals week. I especially loved walking through the Cranford Rose Garden. It is actually one of the most romantic places in the city. It's filled with all kinds of roses in full bloom and has these pretty arches. Just gorgeous. We then headed over to Prospect Park with a blanket and just laid around doing nothing for a couple of hours. Doing nothing is sometimes the best thing to do.
Some time during our day, we passed by the Bailey Fountain, which is one of my favorite pieces of art in the city. (Last year, I wrote about this fountain in a post about Grand Army Plaza.)
The following Tuesday, I hung out with another friend in downtown Manhattan. We strolled through Union Square, Washington Square Park, Soho, and the Brooklyn Bridge. He even took me to a boxing gym at some point. Very cool. Another interesting thing was reading all of the notes that people (mostly lovers) write on the rails along the Brooklyn Bridge. I think it would be cool to come back years later to see what you wrote when you were young (and in love haha).
Last Friday, I paid a visit to my old high school. I hadn't visited since last May so it was good to be back to see some of my old teachers and to have conversations with them about what's been going in my life and theirs. I love going back because they remind me of where I've come from and how far I've come already. They always say how proud they are, and they're always happy to hear about my accomplishments. It's important to stay in contact with your old teachers because they're full of good advice and encouragement.
I finally took a look at my grades this past Wednesday, and I'm happy to report that I did well this semester. I must have taken the biggest sigh of relief when I saw them. All of the stress and worry is all worth it when I see those beautiful A's. haha.
Yesterday, I took a trip out to Governors Island, which I hadn't been to since Macaulay freshman orientation back in 2011. Since then, they've opened up some cool new spaces on the island. One of them is Hammock Grove, which is a series of red hammocks attached to wooden poles (the hammocks will eventually be attached to trees when the trees get big enough). I loved laying on the hammocks just rocking back and forth and enjoying the sun. They also opened up a new playground. I got on a swing for the first time in years, which was a lot of fun. It was a great day.
Oh, and before I headed over to the island, I hung out for awhile in Bowling Green, which is gorgeous with its bright red flowers and fountain.
Yesterday, the Macaulay Class of 2014 had their graduation!! So exciting. I'm incredibly happy for them and for all that they have accomplished.
S.
I think I'll switch over to "Quote of the Week" for the summertime and maybe start back up with the college tips when the fall semester begins.
Quote of the Week
"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."
~ Oscar Wilde
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