Tenement Museum, Essays, and Spring Weather

Hi everyone!

We've had some incredible weather this week. Thursday was especially beautiful. Some friends and I went to Central Park after chemistry lab and just hung out for awhile. It was nice to forget about all of the midterms and papers that we have to do. Some of the trees are blooming in Central Park and a couple of us girls took a couple of blossoms from the trees. They were absolutely beautiful.
I wanted to spend the entire week outside just enjoying the gorgeous weather, but alas, this is the time of year where all the professors start giving tests and papers. Studying and writing papers takes a lot of time so I appreciate the time I have with my friends to just hang out.

My Seminar 2 class visited the Lower East Side Tenement Museum this past Sunday. I had a great time. It's incredibly interesting to actually see how these Eastern European Jews lived when they first arrived in New York. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to grow up in one of those tenements and get used to a such a new way of life. These immigrants were truly brave people.

The Eldridge Street Synagogue/Museum

                       

The Forward Building

An Old Movie Theater

I have a busy week ahead of me, but the thought of Spring Break is helping me stay positive. haha
Have a great weekend everyone. =)

Quote of the week:

No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which anyone can lead us is to restore to us the belief in our own guidance.

~Henry Miller

S.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today's weather was gawwwgeous. Simplyyy beautiful and so comfortable! If this was a preview of all spring days to come ( including how there were no allergies for me) I'm taking it! So long to my dreams for a snow day encore.

Last week, I went and responded to Besty's email about getting a free book. Who can refuse one? I remember watching the author, David Eageleman, on the Colbert Report and reading ( I think halfway) through his first book,Incognito. His smaller, more recent book, Sum: Forty Tales From the Afterlives, truly does give an insight into the many facets of the human mind. One of the vignettes, Metamorphosis, was extremely powerful and actually got me depressed for a second. The first paragraph hit me the most, especially how, of the three deaths Eagleman proposes in this afterlife, the third death, "is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time." Totally reminded me of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. A must read for Psych majors!

At the dorms, my floor has been in the midst of redecorating. We finally took down last semester's decorations and cleaned up the white marker boards. Doesn't sound like much, until you realize that the gunked on, stale marker writing from the last semester took about an hour of lysol spraying and vigorous rubbing off. My lungs were definitely upset at me. But finally, my floor is starting to morph into a new character for the semester, thanks to the help of a few residents on the floor and the CA.

Sunday was the first Goldsmith meeting for the year. It was a really great essay workshop, where we discussed the merits of a great essay. And of course, it allowed me to get back to the Macaulay Building, ever more pretty and peaceful on a beautiful Sunday. I didn't expect the meeting to get me so revved up for the semester mid way! Looking forward to our future meetings for sure!

Bio Test, Spring Weather, Brighton Beach

Hello. =)

I hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday. 

I am not a big fan of losing an hour of sleep starting today. College students need every minute of sleep that we can get. haha

I had a big biology test this past Thursday which I am glad is behind me now. I spent a good part of last week trying to memorize and fully understand all the topics. I hope I did well.

For my Seminar 2 class, we have to create a webpage about a particular theme relating to Jewish and Mexican migration and culture. My professor has started giving us instructions on how to start the research and how to build the website. It's definitely going to be a challenging project and one that will take a lot of time, but I think it'll be a rewarding experience.

We were blessed with some fantastic weather on Thursday and we will have some great weather this whole week as well. I can already smell spring in the air...

Yesterday, I went to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn with a friend. It was cold, but I had a good time. I love the peace that I feel when I go there. The beach seemed endless and I could have walked forever on the sand. It's just a nice break from the hectic lives that we all lead.

 

 

Quote of the Week:

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.

 

~Helen Keller

S.