Peace Corps
Having graduated college with a major in Visual studies I will be preparing for my Peace Corps experience. During my first trial year in south America most likely Brazil I will be learning Brazils language and picking a focus group to work with. I will naturally be drawn to the english and liberal arts groups and try to find a way to make them colloid. My first couple months away will be very hard; noting that the only time I was away for an extended amount of time was when I studied abroad. I will miss my family, familiar faces, the easy access to food, water, entertainment. It will definitely be hard but it will allow me to look at myself through a whole different sense. I will see with my own eyes the effects of our government on other countries and make a difference. During my first few months I hope to meet one or two people I can really let my guard down with and feel a connection to; I think this will really determine weather or not I can make it the two years.
After going through the training I will choose liberal arts as my focus field because it does not pin me to one specific job. I can be more flexible in terms of how I approach and help this specific community. I have met Lola who lives down the street and has been practicing her english with me. We do not always understand each other word for word but we naturally felt comfortable with one another. I have my first class this afternoon and I am nervous how the children in the community will feel about having a gringa has their teacher. As much as I want to relate to them and see myself in them I can not. I was brought up in completely different circumstances than these kids how could they respect what I have to say. Of course someone like me made its; I had supportive parents, education, money , plentiful food and water and they were lucky if they had one of those things. I am hoping that they see that I care and want to share everything that I have learned and paid for with them so they can succeed like me.
My class went okay. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting but I guess that the students showed up at all is a good sign. I started the class with some brain teasers and a get to know you activity so we could all feel more familiar with each other and surprisingly the kids have never played such things. It is exciting to see the similarities and differences we would never encounter if it wasn't for traveling and forcing yourself into a different cultures. Things we consider "no brainers" are not necessarily taught worldwide. I am going to see if I can work with older students because I find that all though the younger kids are honest and interesting to analyze I don't have as much knowledge on how to weave intellectual academic information in a simple kindergarten level. In hopes that I can find students that are enthusiastic about the arts and are more developed so I could establish a high school newspaper run by the kids in the community.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Turning 21
On the eve of my 21st birthday I will be in New York city with my five of my closest best friends. It will also be my friend emmi and isabellas birthday but they will be turning 23. This time it will be all about me because 23 is less significant than 21. Being with them on their 21st was agony. We will take a noon megabits ride and arrive there at eleven so we have plenty of enough time and won't be screaming at each other or the uber driver. Roads will not be closed and no trucks will be allowed on the streets on Philadelphia! Our ride will include sitting on the top level next to each other scheduling our bus home for two ocklock on sunday. We arrive near the tunnel in New York city and to our surprise; there is no traffic! We get off our bus and are able to walk to our hotel which is 8 blocks away close to time square. This time we will not stay in what looks like a brothel, there will be bath soap and working outlets.
When we arrive and check in at the hotel they will give us plenty of room keys and tell us that the pool is open until 4 ocklock in the morning. Once we arrive to our room we will see a complementary chilled champagne bottle. We will have a pull out bed unless we have a suit in that case we all have our own beds. We will have an hour to get ready before we must leave for our reservations that is scheduled at a place that actually serves meat and cooked foods. We will get to our reservations 5 minutes early because I will tell all my friends it really starts earlier than it does! We will have a delicious meal and have great conversation until the check comes and we forgot to ask for separate checks. This is when thing will start to become stressful. I will leave my money at the table because I refuse to let stress claim my 21st birthday and tell them I will meet them back at the hotel. My friends will end up at the hotel 2 hours later because that just how life works when you separate from people. In the mean time a couple friends have arrived at the hotel so we start getting ready together and pre-gaming for the night
It is approximately 10:30 and we want to be out of the hotel no later than 11:15. I am making the first calls that these girls have 30 minutes to get their lives together before we hit the town. Hip hop and oldies will be blasting from emmis speaker. shots on shots are being poured down throats and coming down the sides of my friends lips. My good friend Zelina will be running around asking who wants to make bets on who will do certain things first and I will be telling my friends that they don't look fat and that everything looks good on them. We will end up leaving at like 11:45 and get to the first club around 12:30. The bouncers will let everyone in except for layla even though she is actually 25 and just looks short and has a baby face. Layla will be infuriated but wouldn't ruin our night. On the other hand Zelina gets us all kicked out within 30 minutes of being there for being too drunk so well have to uber her to her sisters. People will be inconsiderate and not wonder what I want to do even though it my birthday too so Ill end up meeting with one of my friends who goes to pace and attend some drag shows in gay bars. Well all end up at the hotel at different hours but wake up early and in one piece.
On the eve of my 21st birthday I will be in New York city with my five of my closest best friends. It will also be my friend emmi and isabellas birthday but they will be turning 23. This time it will be all about me because 23 is less significant than 21. Being with them on their 21st was agony. We will take a noon megabits ride and arrive there at eleven so we have plenty of enough time and won't be screaming at each other or the uber driver. Roads will not be closed and no trucks will be allowed on the streets on Philadelphia! Our ride will include sitting on the top level next to each other scheduling our bus home for two ocklock on sunday. We arrive near the tunnel in New York city and to our surprise; there is no traffic! We get off our bus and are able to walk to our hotel which is 8 blocks away close to time square. This time we will not stay in what looks like a brothel, there will be bath soap and working outlets.
When we arrive and check in at the hotel they will give us plenty of room keys and tell us that the pool is open until 4 ocklock in the morning. Once we arrive to our room we will see a complementary chilled champagne bottle. We will have a pull out bed unless we have a suit in that case we all have our own beds. We will have an hour to get ready before we must leave for our reservations that is scheduled at a place that actually serves meat and cooked foods. We will get to our reservations 5 minutes early because I will tell all my friends it really starts earlier than it does! We will have a delicious meal and have great conversation until the check comes and we forgot to ask for separate checks. This is when thing will start to become stressful. I will leave my money at the table because I refuse to let stress claim my 21st birthday and tell them I will meet them back at the hotel. My friends will end up at the hotel 2 hours later because that just how life works when you separate from people. In the mean time a couple friends have arrived at the hotel so we start getting ready together and pre-gaming for the night
It is approximately 10:30 and we want to be out of the hotel no later than 11:15. I am making the first calls that these girls have 30 minutes to get their lives together before we hit the town. Hip hop and oldies will be blasting from emmis speaker. shots on shots are being poured down throats and coming down the sides of my friends lips. My good friend Zelina will be running around asking who wants to make bets on who will do certain things first and I will be telling my friends that they don't look fat and that everything looks good on them. We will end up leaving at like 11:45 and get to the first club around 12:30. The bouncers will let everyone in except for layla even though she is actually 25 and just looks short and has a baby face. Layla will be infuriated but wouldn't ruin our night. On the other hand Zelina gets us all kicked out within 30 minutes of being there for being too drunk so well have to uber her to her sisters. People will be inconsiderate and not wonder what I want to do even though it my birthday too so Ill end up meeting with one of my friends who goes to pace and attend some drag shows in gay bars. Well all end up at the hotel at different hours but wake up early and in one piece.
in 5 years..
In five years I see myself graduated from college with a degree in visual studies. By then I will have a solid response for what my major means and what exactly I am going to do with it. I will be one year into my Peace Choir experience, somewhere in South America. During my time here I will be single worrying less about my first world issues and really placing myself in a completely different environment than I can really say I’ve lived in. I will become enriched with latin american culture in hopes to improve the art and language arts within the peace choir. I will also be building an abroad portfolio to show to a pristine magazine like national geographic. While I am away I will be working towards a federal degree that you attain within the two years abroad. I also would not mind meeting some or the soul mate while on this trip. I hope by then to have filled the identity void in my life. I kind of have this set as the solution to all my problems.It could provide the experience and determination that a company will find astonishing and compelling that could lead to financial stability while helping me figure out my place in socially engaged art while opening my eyes to the harsh conditions a photojournalist must weave itself into to get stories. What is achievable … I absolutely see myself going to the peace choir and attaining my federal degree. Whether or not I get a job at national geographic is really if I get the right connections. In regards to my love life I'll most likely be single because I will be traveling so often. Which is sad but I have accepted.
Monday, February 20, 2017
Article on font and design
On fonts: After reading this article and watching Helvetica in class I have become more aware of the fonts in society and how they add or take away from the meaning of the words, and how they make you feel. Simple things like font size, style, curve all make a huge difference when you see it so frequently. I have started to notice good and bad layouts of programs or websites. These things are woven into our society and are meant to just blend in with our surrounding but just stand out enough that we don't get overly consumed or distracted. If something is a boring heavy font no one will want to read it but if it is an important text that is important to take into consideration.
Design : This article talks about specifically London and how they ruined street sign designs. Bad design comes in many forms. Things that are unsafe. Things that don’t work properly, or are unnecessarily complicated. Things that are ethically or environmentally unsound. Crimes against design are different. They deprive us of the joy of great design, by wrecking or replacing it. The road signage system designed by Jock Kinkier and Margaret Calvert between 1957 and 1967 included nothing showy about it. Those signs were models of logic and legibility in a pleasing, but unobtrusive style. They were everything that intelligently designed road signs should be. Somehow someone messed up the signs but making the D the first letter in diverge cyclist much much bigger than the rest making it look clumsy and distracting.
Design : This article talks about specifically London and how they ruined street sign designs. Bad design comes in many forms. Things that are unsafe. Things that don’t work properly, or are unnecessarily complicated. Things that are ethically or environmentally unsound. Crimes against design are different. They deprive us of the joy of great design, by wrecking or replacing it. The road signage system designed by Jock Kinkier and Margaret Calvert between 1957 and 1967 included nothing showy about it. Those signs were models of logic and legibility in a pleasing, but unobtrusive style. They were everything that intelligently designed road signs should be. Somehow someone messed up the signs but making the D the first letter in diverge cyclist much much bigger than the rest making it look clumsy and distracting.
Monday, February 13, 2017
Monday, February 6, 2017
Everyone is Altered
Special effects aren't just used to create huge explosions or herds of dinosaurs that trample everything in their path. They also can and do take pimples off of teen stars, erase years off actors' faces, and elongate bodies to create slimmer physiques. Nobody looks like what you see on TV and in the movies; everybody is altered. It creates real identity problems for girls when growing up. We see these nice bubbly women on tv and in magazines and think that everyone does or should look like that, and that anyone who doesn't inst "normal". Girls think they have to be that skinny, tall. They have to buy certain clothes. It also introduces the concept of the surveyed and the surveyor early on. In media women play the passive role only looking good for the men that are constantly surveying them. Young girls get used to being an object to be looked at. There are not many realistic or unpolished celebrities for women to look up to. Now more than ever there are make up tutorials, water proof makeup, make up you can sleep in. Only promoting this facade young women can not live up to. Why don't we embrace fresh clean skin? When did the obsession for perfection trump reality?
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
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