Author Archives: m.nunez5

As a child I always found museums boring and not interesting. However, when I visited the Museum of Modern Art, my experience was different. I found that I actually became very interested in the environment and in the paintings there, and I am glad I took the experience. I went to the exhibition on the 5th floor, and I was fascinated. I’ve taken a couple of art classes throughout my years in school, and it was surreal seeing famous paintings by artists like Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock. I have studied many of their famous paintings in the past, and it is certainly one thing to learn about them… but to see them in person is a completely different experience.

One artist who I’ve always had an interest in is Salvador Dali. Salvador Dali was a spanish artist whose presence lived in the 20th century. Perhaps the most famous and recognized piece he has is his painting “The Persistence of Memory.” I’ve always recognized this painting as the one with the melting clocks, but analyzing this painting deeper, there are definitely meanings behind it.

An aspect of modernism is to critique existing ideas and Salvador Dali did this with the concept of time. By the bent/melting clocks, he ridicules the concept of time. I believe the purpose of this is to convey that time does not really exist structurally and it is whatever you want it to be or make of it. He emphasizes this by painting not just one, but three melting clocks.

For the Art-A-Thon, I decided to attend an event in music. When I saw there was an event to teach blues on the piano, I got really excited. I’ve always been into music, and I taught myself how to play guitar. I have always wanted to learn to play piano, but It’s harder to self teach it and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity… especially because I’ve been wanting to learn blues and jazz on guitar.

When I arrived at 9am to the piano rooms, I was very nervous. Professor Anne Swartz was teaching students one on one how to play a basic melody. The melody wasn’t the hard part for me, but it was the fact that she was teaching sheet music and I’ve never learned to read sheet music. However, when it became my turn she made it simple for me. She actually simplified the sheet so that it looked like tabs, and I got excited because I learned to read tabs from playing guitar.

After she taught me, she sent me to one of the piano rooms to practice the melody so that I could return and play along with her. Practicing in the room was very nice for me, because music was a large part of my life up until college. Ever since I started college, I just feel completely detached and I feel like I don’t have the time or talent for it. I felt reconnected for the first time in a while, and before I knew it the event was almost over.

When I returned to the grand piano room, I was able to actually play a trio with Professor Swartz and another student. It was so nice to just let go, play, and just feel the music from the strings of the piano. Professor Swartz was also the most kindhearted person ever, I was able to tell she was extremely passionate about music and bringing it to others lives. I was lucky enough to even hear her play a more advanced blues song, and I was awestruck. Hearing her play gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. I am very grateful for the experience, and she encouraged me to take a few music classes too. She reminded me of the love I have for music.

Reflecting upon Hedda Gabler, I was able to connect the character of Hedda to a theme I’ve encountered countlessly throughout life. It’s no secret that we as humans always yearn for more, but at what point do we stop? Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist, taught me that happiness does not lie when we achieve goals, but it’s the thought of it that does… If we had nothing to look forward to, then our purpose on Earth would merely be useless. I connected this to Hedda, because she finds happiness in deceiving people, but when her actions are done, she is still kept looking for more. She got married, and she got tired. She went on her honeymoon, and she was miserable. She got pregnant, and she doesn’t feel joy. She loved her husband, but she does not anymore. For Hedda it’s extremely hard to be happy, however, I think that her unhappiness gives her some type of satisfaction, because the thought of wanting to leave her husband is what keeps her there. She is very difficult to understand, and in the end, she gives up the battle to try and give her life meaning.

Hi everyone, my name is Mildred Nunez. I was born in the Dominican Republic, but I’ve been raised in Brooklyn for most of my life. I just graduated high school this past June with an advanced regents diploma, and I started attending Baruch 2 weeks after my last day, as a SEEK student. I was kind of bummed out about giving up my summer, but I was able to make friends and meet a lot of people on campus so it wasn’t so bad after all. Last semester was a bit challenging, but I liked it. I was able to get out of my comfort zone in many areas, but the one I’m most proud of is getting in front of an audience. I didn’t do it just in my public speaking class, but I also pushed myself to sing at an open mic on the last day of the semester. It wasn’t the first time that I performed in front of a crowd, but for some reason, I just never manage to get over the fear. I’ve always loved music, and I especially pushed myself to sing and play guitar in front of people during many high school events. I was always known as the girl who always had a guitar in her hand. Ever since I started college, I never really have the time to play anymore… but when I do, it makes me enjoy it more. The joy I get from music is the reason I thought I could do Marketing as my major, but so far, I’m not sure if that’s the plan I’ll stick to. Fortunate and unfortunate enough I do like other areas of education. I’m apart of the 1% who likes math problems, while also being someone who likes to write. I think it’s beautiful what someone can do with words. However, I’m quite paradoxical because i’ve always said I love to write but hate to read. Anyways, I’m working on it. I’m actually looking really forward to the pieces of literature we’ll be going over this semester. I need inspiration to be able to write again.