Teach a man to fish...

Hey, everyone!

I spent last weekend writing up the first draft of my paper for my gene regulation class. It definitely required a lot of reading and patience to get through enough of the material to have a solid first draft. But I did it! Yay! haha.

Our second draft is due on the 25th so my plan is to actively work on the paper till then.

The same day that I handed in my draft also happened to be Election Day. After editing the draft in the morning, I voted and then headed to class. I know that many people choose not to vote because they feel like they can't make a difference, but they're wrong. If there are low voter turnouts, then politicians will feel like they don't need to campaign so widely and strategically. But if they see that voters are educated and that they will speak up, the politicians will step up to the plate as well. Basically, if we, as voters, become cynical and lazy about voting then politicians will think it's ok for them to be vague and do whatever they think is best instead of listening to their constituents. So what I'm really saying is "Get out there, and vote!" There are many people in the world who don't have the right to vote, and we should be grateful that we do. This country isn't perfect, but I like to think that we're progressing all the time.

We're currently studying Marianne Moore in my English class, and on Monday, we'll be reading some E.E. Cummings because Moore wrote an essay about his work.

Here is a Cummings poem that I love:

since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
- the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says

we are for each other; then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

Today was great because I got to run some errands, and unlike the majority of the population, I LOVE running errands! For me, they always feel like an adventure.

Then, my friend and I headed to Central Park, and took some beautiful photos. It was definitely chilly outside, but the trees and water were beautiful. And that made walking through the cold wind worth it.

S.

Quote of the Week

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

~ Maimonides