FRO Spring 2013: DTB

http://grooveshark.com/#!/playlist/Musical+Playlist/86196909

I’ve decided to make a collection of a few songs that I feel define my taste in music as well as me in a person in some sense. I listen to a lot of music so to narrow it down to 10 was actually really hard. But these couple of songs do a good job of showing what I’d usually listen to on a daily basis.

1. Change Clothes – Jay-Z. I chose this song more so for the music video rather than the actual song. One of my favorite artists, Pharrell, made a cameo in the video as well as a bunch of runway models. The video was done tastefully and I’ll remember it as a classic because I saw it when I was probably around 9,10 – when I first started to branch out and gained a personal taste for music and not what my parents or brothers listened to – and even now, every time I see it, it’s refreshing to watch and bob my head along to.

2. Breakout – N.E.R.D. Again, another song that I heard when I was around 9,10 that’s stuck with me over the years. N.E.R.D. was one of the first bands I listened to on my own and their music stood out as different from everything that I was listening to previously before. I remember receiving the album, Fly Or Die, for Christmas and playing the CD on the computer through my headphones and blown away by this new sound. Breakout is a defiant song on the album  that talks about running away from home when things got hectic and being on your own at a young age. And I feel it’s a feeling everyone has had at one point or another growing up and wanting do things their own way.

3. Andre 3000 (Outkast) – My Favorite Things. Another album I received on Christmas of either ’03 or ’04, The Love Below. Outkast has always stood out as a group known for making music that incorporated aspects of where they grew up, southern, country rap, along with futuristic, abstract concepts for songs that made you question how the hell the did they manage to do it and make it sound good. “My Favorite Things” was Andre 3000’s redemption on the classic song with a bunch of crazy, up beat sounds that makes you want to just get up and move around.

4. Songs For Women – Frank Ocean. This song reminds me of high school and falling in love and the blissful moments shared getting into a relationship. The song is sick. I never get tired of it and even find myself singing off key whenever it comes on.

5. Next Girl – Black Keys. I’m not too sure how I stumbled upon this album but it was my senior year of high school and I listened to it almost everyday during art. I’d kind of just zoned out and listened to music all day my senior year for the most part. I can’t remember much of what went on because it started to suck after the first couple months of school. I don’t know if this is the best song off that album but it’s the one that came to mind first because I remember the lyrics. Great group.

6. Everything in it’s Right Place – Radiohead. Radiohead was a group I’d heard for years and but never looked into more until this year. Their music takes you to another place sometimes. I’d listen to Kid A, OK Computer, and The King of Limbs as I took the train down in the morning to school. It helped pass the time and made it easier to get through the rough days I had adjusting in the winter.

7. Sleeping Ute – Grizzly Bear. This is the first song off Grizzly Bear’s latest album, Sheilds. I just really like how the song sounds and the use of different instruments. I still can’t make out all the lyrics and I used to listen to the song everyday as I was on my way to work. The Bridges and breakdowns in the song are beautiful.

8. Gold Watch – Lupe Fiasco. I was really into Lupe during middle school when I used to skate and started to notice more things about life. Lupe’s captivating style used metaphors and word play like I heard no other artist do it before. Gold Watch was a song I never fully understood but never all the words to and thought sounded crazy at 13. Now having a better sense of the message he was saying I enjoy the song even more.

9. Flashing Lights – Kanye West. Kanye was seen as an idol in my eyes transitioning from middle school to high school. I thought everything he did, from the way he dressed, to the music he made, to the blog he used to have, was just the coolest things ever. I wanted to be able to do things he was doing and it was seen to have most of an affect on my fashion sense at the time. Flashing Lights is a classic song by ‘Ye. Beat, lyrics, flow, it’s all there.

10. Ya Dig – Stack Bundles. My favorite rapper. He mixed gutter street rap with high class elegance like no other. This a classic verse by him that he straight killed.

After the workshop which called “health & wellness”, I think it’s really useful, at least for me.

When I feel tired or anxious before a test, I always try to meditation to relax. As a result, I feel much better, and have more energy.

On the other hand, I do have some suggestions for this workshop.

Firstly, I think this workshop should have more interaction with students.

Secondly, I suggest this workshop should have once a week rather than once a year. Because most students just forget to how relax themselves after the workshop if there is no one remind them.

These are my advises of “health & wellness” workshop.

Health and Wellness workshop was better because it helped me to focus on my stress and problems. It was fun because they gave us some sheets to find out our stress level.  The mentors were enthusiastic and prepared and they very well used the presentation to provide knowledge about various symptoms and solutions to stress.

I didn’t really like the Sydney Mishkin gallery workshop because it was not really informative and interesting. The paintings were good but it was boring, not really suitable for college students.

I like the health and wellness program because it teaches us how to tackle our stress issues since i have some family members that always deals with stress. So i went home and taught them how to relax themselves. it was really great.

i don’t really like the Sidney museum because it only talks about Chinese history. i was really looking forward to seeing some American history. well it was still okay.

           I like the Sidney Mishkin Gallery workshop better. The chinese painting attracted me the most, then a painting of modern lady is also one of my favorite. I’m so glad to see the they imitate the gallary so good.

           I had good time for visiting the workshop, however, I think the workshop should have a small video screen next to the painting. That would make us more clearly to know about the history and author of the pianting.

I liked very much the workshop about stress because I am a stressful person especially during school. It made me more aware of my situation (stressful life) and it gave me new skills that I did not know before. Also I learned that there are different programs to release stress at school.  However, I did not like the gallery workshop because I am not an artistic person and I am not a big fan of art galleries.  Maybe instead of an art gallery we could have gone to a workshop of making art stuff for school.

I enjoyed the Sidney Mishkin Gallery workshop better. I think it was very interesting to see the collection of painting that they have. I have never seen paintings from Chinese painters before, and I think that there were interesting paintings in the Gallery.

The visit to the gallery was enjoyable and the paintings were good. But I think that if the staff of the gallery were better prepared and informed about the paintings, it would have been much better. If they could have better introduced the paintings with a knowledgeable information background or explain the painting, it would have been more interesting. But overall it was a good experience.

I would say my biggest challenge with school right now is time management. I’m finding it hard to juggle between life here at school, home, and work.

Freshman year hasn’t been too hard as far as the work load goes but it’s hard to find a consistency with completing assignments. Currently, I’m taking five classes this semester, Music 1003, Math 2207, English 2100, Anthropology 1001, and History 1003. None of the classes have work that is too overwhelming. And for the most part all of the professors are pretty decent. Once they issue an assignment I’ll write down its due date and tell myself that it needs to get done.  Usually putting it off until the weekend to start working on it because I feel I work better at home. But it’s failed to be proven true. Once I get home, I’m instantly being hit with favors from my parents or brothers and sister. Whether it is tasks around the house or driving to pick someone up from work, there’s always something that needs to be done that needs my assistance. If it’s not helping someone out then it’s working as a cashier at a supermarket for eight hours out of the day. Within the span of three days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I work an average of twenty four hours. It’s come to be a lot to handle. But I can’t cut back from one to focus on the other. If I stopped working as much then I won’t be able to have the money needed to transport back and forth to school. And if I decide to work more and put school on hold then I’ll be messing myself up in the long run.

Spring break coming up might just be exactly what I need. This half way mark is pivotal in being the make or break point for the rest of the semester. I’ll have to time away from both school and work to just relax and reorganize everything. Hopefully I can pan things out to work for me successfully in the future. We’ll see.

Lies. Everyone has told lies. There are many ways to lie: either for yourself or for others. Many different cultures feel that telling fids is a moral destruction. But I feel that there are times that you should be allowed to lie. For example, when you know someone who’s a little overweight and he/she asks you to honestly tell her if “she’s fat,” I wouldn’y have the valor to be honest. And seriously, if you know your truth might make someone feel uncomfortable, it’s best to keep it to oneself. However, it is always safe to keep track on your lies. If you consistently tell fids, you might loose sense on what’s right and wrong.

It is OK to lie if you want to prevent hardships or pain. But if you start lying for your self-benefit that might change things a little. Things might not start working out alright for you anymore because of the many times you lied. Be careful and what you keep and secret and what you don’t. Lies might start turning into excuses and excuses doesn’t lead to succesfulness. Although it’s always to be honest with others, it is always important to be honest with yourself first.