LC 22

What matters most to me? I would definitely have to say my family. I live with my mother and older brother. I have an older sister who’s married and expecting her first baby. I’m super excited to be an aunt to my nephew Brayden, I know I’m going to spoil him tons. I also have a six-year old sister who teaches me something new every time we happen to be together. Another important part of my family is my poodle, Isis. She is currently a year and nine months old. That being said I am a dog lover. I once heard a quote saying,

Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.

I couldn’t agree more. My dog makes any bad day turn around just by wagging her tail. I currently work at Pathmark right by my house and that takes up a lot of my free time, but I do enjoy working with a lot of amazing people. One of the things I have learned from working there is how to have patience. Customers can either make your entire day or ruin it completely.

I am Ecuadorian. I tend to visit Ecuador every Summer and can honestly say it teaches me how to appreciate the opportunities I have living in NYC. I love to listen to music, especially old school hip hop as well as current rap. Oddly enough one of my favorite songs is a remix of Frank Sinatra’s “New York” and Biggie Smalls “Juicy.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TaxqzGm89I I personally think it takes the best of both worlds. The little free time I do have, I usually spend with my closest friends. We watch a lot of movies together, my all-time favorite being “Goodfellas.”

You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you said to, uh, somebody, “You’re gonna like this guy. He’s all right. He’s a good fella. He’s one of us.” You understand? We were goodfellas. Wiseguys.

I lost count on how many times I’ve watched that movie. At this point I could recite my favorite lines. I love to watch basketball and my favorite player is Lebron James. Here I am patiently waiting for basketball season to officially start. That’s pretty much all that comes to mind..The slideshow link reflects a bit of what I consider important about myself: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjJP2aiw

When I was younger, my brothers would constantly ask for the new Game boy or gaming console; I, on the other hand, was content with just running around outside for hours. As I’ve grown, so has my desire to explore. I love the outdoors and I travel whenever given the chance. These past summers, I was given the opportunity to go to “adventure camp”. When choosing where to go, I sorted through all my options and picked a trip to Colorado, and then one to Alaska. In both Colorado in Alaska, I went on backpacking trips, which lasted for multiple days. I also slept in a tent for 21 days in Colorado, and 23 days in Alaska. Nothing makes me happier than waking up to mountains and being consumed by nature.

When I’m home over the summer kayaking and hiking are my main hobbies, but during the school year it’s a different story; my free time is consumed by dance. Beginning with jazz when I was a kindergartener, my mom placed me in the class with hopes of tiring me out; I was a very hyper child. I gradually added on classes and by the third grade I was taking tap, jazz, and ballet. By the eighth grade I was also taking pointe and acrobatics classes. The picture I included was actually taken during the rehearsal of an acro routine. I taught dance for two years within my studio as well as outside the studio at an after school program.

Contrary to popular belief, not all dancers are graceful. I am living proof. As you can see from one of my pictures, even ballerinas find it hard to balance sometimes. My klutzy tendencies never seem to interfere with my dancing, yet as soon as I exit the stage my clumsiness is overwhelming. I have fallen over furniture, my own feet, and nothing at all. Considering how often it happens, I might as well consider tripping another hobby of mine.

When I’m not able to be outside, I spend time in my bedroom, surrounded by pictures and posters. My record player is constantly playing. I swear, all I need in life is music and the outdoors.

Radioactive – Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix (Imagine Dragons Cover)

“I’m waking up, I feel it in my bones
Enough to make my systems blow
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age”

Oh hey. College.

Apocalyptica – Rage of Poseidon

Atmospheric metal music in strings. Music to do homework to;  or perhaps, homework to do music to.

Tomb Raider – A Survivor is Born

The entire track is excellent, but the game’s haunting piano solo leitmotif is just the highest concentration of feeling to notes ever.

Epitaph of Seikilos

An arrangement from TBS game Civilization V of the Seikilos epitaph, the oldest complete musical piece in the world, dating from around AD 100. The song arrangements for this game are amazing as a group, but I have a special fondness with the historical significance of this one piece in particular.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Navy Seals Team

I spent an inordinate amount of time perfecting my twitch capability my freshman year of high school playing this game, ignoring my classes (which, freshman year, by and large, I hated) and opportunities (so many clubs I could joined…people I could have met…connections I could have made…) in the process. Horrible mistake. Anything touched by Hans Zimmer is glorious, and the music is incredible.

Deus Ex: Icarus (Main Theme)

This is it people, this is how you do futuristic dystopian music. It doesn’t get much better than this. I’m pretty much listing my favorite OSTs at this point, huh?

Discombobulate – Sherlock Holmes

Hans Zimmer, people. A wonderfully disparate and complex song that I will never stop enjoying.

Why So Serious? – The Dark Knight

I can’t believe it’s been four years already. When The Dark Knight came out and I watched it, the movie just blew my mind. This exciting and driving song doesn’t ever reach a true crescendo, and is (once again) an amazing example of Hans Zimmer’s excellent at unconventionality and world-sculpting in his music. Goodness, by now you guys must think I’m a bit quackish, which I won’t argue with.

I’m at a Payphone – Maroon 5

I generally have a hard time connecting with most pop songs. They’re good noise when you want Peace and Quiet while studying or doing homework, but I have this weird thing where I like songs most when they resonate with me on some level, and that is something pop songs by and large fail to do. That’s why this list consists less cultural iconography than it does fantasy, world-building, unconventional form – and Hans Zimmer.

“Gee Aleksey, I think you just admitted to being a hopeless nerd.”

“Well, you’ve hit the nail on the head.”

Skyrim – Dragonborn

Speaking of world-building…after this particular bout of it I spent the better part of the day reading every bit of lore associated with the game I could get my hands on.

Blog post done; back to my book. Chiao!

http://grooveshark.com/playlist/Fro+Playlist/90613394🙂

I Love Life:

“Joy pops like a bubble, but I love life.” Life is awesome, even if the moments of joy are often brief.

Elle Me Dit:

This song appeals to me because of its upbeat tone, which is slightly at odds with the lyrics. It’s easy to get caught up in the stresses and problems of life, and forget to enjoy it and take the time to let loose; that, to me, is what the lyrics mean by “to dance” being the most important thing the protagonist was told. Life is so precious, yet so short; it shouldn’t be wasted on things thats are only momentarily important.

Elements:

The thing about instrumental music is that I love how I can just get lost in the sound, without the distraction of lyrics which are open to interpretation and moods. The dips and lifts are rather soothing, and I think its amazing that Stirling manages to convey such a broad range of sounds and music genres through string music, which is generally thought of as a more limited genre.

You Are A Tourist:

“When you feel just like a tourist in the city you are born in, it’s time to go.” I was born in NYC, and I love the city. However, I feel that I’m still struggling to really find my place in the world, and that’s what this song is about to me; finding your place, learning to trust yourself, allow yourself to “define your [own] destination,” go out of your comfort zone to reach your full potential.

Sing:

This song just lifts my mood everytime I hear it, it makes me want to go out and change the world and accomplish everything I’ve planned to do. It’s about making your voice heard, speaking out for what’s right, against society, even when the things you have to say aren’t what’s “safe.”

Jump:

This is another song that instantly lifts my mood. It has gotten me through a lot of bad days; it’s about leaving behind the things that drag you down, and jumping into life.

Mad As Rabbits:

P!atD has always been one of my favorite bands, due to their weird lyrics and uplifting tunes. This song is about eccentricity and how putting too much ceremony into your days, and trying too hard for unworthy causes can leave you “as mad as rabbits.”

I’m Never Gonna Leave This Bed:

I tend to get certain lines from songs stuck in my head on an endless loop; “I’m never gonna leave this bed” is a line I think of every morning when my alarm goes off and I prepare for the immense challenge that is dragging myself out of bed.

I Love Rock’n’Roll:

I do love rock and roll, so the chorus of this song definitely applies to me. I specifically like Joan Jett’s cover of this song, for no reason in particular, except maybe that she sings it through a female perspective, thereby making it more relatable to me. This song just makes me feel so energetic and ready to tackle the day’s challenges.

Marchin On:

This song signifies the importance of perseverance.

Hi, I’m Polina, I’m from Brooklyn and here is a playlist

my playlist /(✿◕‿◕)/ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

I Am the Doctor- Murray Gold

This song is pretty much the epitome of my dorkiness. It’s from the soundtrack of my absolute favourite show, Doctor Who. It’s so upbeat and enthusiastic, it makes me feel like I can do anything, and just reminds me to be the best that I can be.

Arabesque- Claude DeBussy

I really love classical music, and this song (composition?) especially. It’s soothing, helps me study, and just helps me think about how beautiful life can be when you let it.

When the Levee Breaks- Led Zeppelin

Classic rock speaks volumes to me. There’s just something so essentially raw about this song that lets me just let go for a few minutes and listen to riffs of genius.

Dust Bowl Dance- Mumford and Sons & Numb- Marina and the Diamonds

For a long time, I kind of didn’t listen to any music that had words, with the exception of the classics. After listening to these two songs, I kind of let myself back into the musical world, where I could actually listen to music objectively and just enjoy myself. I quite literally thought that Numb was one of the most beautiful songs I’d ever heard, and Dust Bowl Dance grew on me and helped me open up to other music.

Earth- Jesper Kyd

I like video games, especially the one where this song comes from. It’s a pretty song that makes me feel all philosophical and contemplative so I give it a listen once in a while, just so it doesn’t remind me too much of my Xbox, and I get distracted and play my life away.

Soldat- 5nizza

This song is sung in Russian, which is my background. Oddly, it reminds me of my dad, since the song is about war and soldiers, and my dad served in the Russian army. I guess it’s a tribute. Either way it’s a good song that reminds me of my culture.

The Wine Song- Cat Empire

This is kind of the theme song for my school trip to Europe. Europe was an absolutely life-changing experience for me. I love to travel, so anything that reminds me of this amazing trip is worth remembering. Or putting on a play list of personality defining songs.

Get Lucky-Daft Punk

This was just the song that my friends and I played all summer: in Montreal, at the beach, at Fire Island, basically everywhere we went. Yet another theme song to another part of my life.

I made this two minute montage of photos and video clips to show who I am and where I’m from. My name’s Angelica Caluori, except on social networks, than it’s Angelica Renee. I live in Franklin Square, a small Long Island town. I’m Italian, and therefore of course love Italian food and the language. I’m very close with my family, especially my mom who I consider my best friend, and my psychotic puppy, Roxy, who likes to drag me around by my hair. The next few pictures are of my boyfriend Jack and I, we’ve been together for six  months, and usually get along. I went to Valley Stream North High School, a relatively small school, where everyone knew everybody else. I had an amazing grade with a really close group of people, especially my best friends Nick and Aliea. I work at Camp ANCHOR, a camp for children and adults with special needs, and at Pink by Victoria’a Secret a super fun job with awesome discounts. Outside of school and work, I love to dance, and have been competitive for years, I love art, and anything fashion related.

FRO Project

Also I am computer illiterate…basically why there’s not music or sound in the background, I tried!

“You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.” –Looking for Alaska, John Green

Hi everyone! My name is Brittney Ariana Rodriguez. I am eighteen years old and obviously am a Baruch College student. If I wasn’t, I would not have access to this blog. Or sit next to you in class. I guess I’ll tell you guys and gals a couple of basic facts about myself before letting you all watch the very lovely video I filmed, produced, edited, and directed for your viewing pleasure.  Before becoming a Baruch Dean’s Scholar, I was a student at the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics. Ironically, my best subjects in high school were neither math or science, but history and english. Go figure right? I have a six year old sister named Sophia who I miss very dearly (no matter how much I deny it) since I chose to live in the dorms instead of staying at home. What else can I tell you all? I guess I’ll leave that job to my video self, and get back to everyone once you finish watching the video.

*Sorry for the link guys, however the video is too big to upload directly to the blog site.*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyzxYE1HqME

I hope everyone enjoyed the video! Thank you for listening!