One of the places that we had to go to was Academic and to fulfill this requirement a group of us went to The American Museum of Natural History on Columbus Day. Despite the amount of children there, I say we had a good time. I learned about real history things such as what early Camels look like (which are weird), and the history of New York itself. My favorite part though like Alex’s was the biodiversity exhibit where I learned and saw hundreds of different animals, insects, and environments. It was so cool to see the different types of marine animals, which is fascinating because the Earth is composed of 71% water, namely 95% ocean, and we’ve only explored 5% of that. Which is very insane to think about. I also learned about how ridiculous the museum is. The line to get in wasn’t bad but the line inside to get a ticket was an hour wait, but Racquel and I did it. The food is ridiculously overpriced, ($7.35 for dino nuggets and $4 for a bottle of soda) which is where they make their money I guess. If you’re in the museum the whole day be prepared to starve or sneak food in, because it’s not worth the amount of money. Overall though, I had an amazing time learning about so many animals and fossils, and I was able to share it with amazing friends.
Today I visited the Whitney Museum of American Art in the West Village. There I observed many pieces that are primarily modern American art; ranging from sculptures to painting to interactive artworks. One that primarily caught my eye was an oil painting on a canvas by Elsie Driggs, who painted “Pittsburgh, 1927”. It is said that Driggs was inspired to make this painting by a childhood memory of Pittsburgh’s steel mills. When she returned twenty years later to capture the scene, she initially tried to paint the steel mills from the inside. Today the painting may seem to warn of the dangers of industrial pollution, yet Driggs did not have an oppositional agenda. She ended up basing the work on drawings she made from hillsides; later writing that she stared at the mills and told herself, “This shouldn’t be beautiful. But it is.” The way that this piece assisted me during my first semester at Baruch was it not only helped me do my Freshmen Seminar Blog, but also taught me a valuable lesson on learning to branch out into the city of New York. I have been a resident for so long and its been years since I’ve stepped foot into a Museum or festival. It also taught me to be more open to things at Baruch because the school has a lot to offer and could assist me if I just let myself become more aware of things by exploring from the inside, rather than looking from the outside, similarly to Driggs. Maybe I will find something beautiful too.
. While visiting the ARC I knew this was going to be a place that I will frequent a lot as an athlete and as a student. 
