Blog Comments

1. http://knaviello.blogspot.com/2012/09/working-horse-hauling.html?showComment=1347817233627#c9159025401923527824

2. http://contemplationsoacck.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-digital-me-ac-bp-1.html?showComment=1348423849452#c3991992501675468872

3. http://colorfulspots.blogspot.com/p/the-arboretum.html?showComment=1349361535275 

4. http://aglydesweetconcoctions.blogspot.com/2012/10/mona-lisa-smile.html

5. http://jenniferlongdancingart.blogspot.com/2012/10/higher-learning-movie-review.html?showComment=1351175121360#c4533414968218748321 

6. http://haileyhere.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-red-and-brown-water.html?showComment=1353945321976#c6654796301614171713 

7. http://colorfulspots.blogspot.com/p/in-the.html?showComment=1353946093781

8. http://imporvedartsmarts.blogspot.com/2012/10/social-network.html?showComment=1354808643718#c1583310786206253004

9. http://jenniferlongdancingart.blogspot.com/2012/11/catch-22-marathon-reading.html?showComment=1354808875924#c3675950614502430561 

10. http://dcbornandraised.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-red-and-brown-water.html?showComment=1354809071868#c2203309575414754589

Blog Post #8: Self Evaluation

Being in English 15S has taught me a ton of new writing experiences that have definitely strengthened my writing ability. I think what I have gained the most, is understanding that giving examples and visualization after a claim, makes a paper much more effective. For example, when writing my memoir there were many times in my draft that I would just make a statement, but it wasn’t until I told some sort of story to support that claim, that my paper became much stronger. For a reader to be truly engaged in a paper, they must be given sensory detail so they can make an image in their head of what is being said.

Being that English 15S was centered around the arts, I also got a lot of experience writing able art pieces, and how to express the idea's of the artist's work through writing. I loved being able to meet artists one on one to talk about their work, because you get a good insight of how much meaning and thought is behind the pieces they create. These students are so incredibly talented because not only is their work beautiful and meticulous, their art always symbolizes something of a bigger culture.

Besides the artists that make artwork, I was thoroughly impressed with the performers in Penn State theater. I grew up seeing a lot of musicals and shows, and these students possessed the same professional talent and specialness as those famous performers. When I see that, it makes me proud to be able to go to this school.  

Looking back at the semester, I remember the podcast we listened to about Penn State and the partying that takes place here. This was probably one of my favorite activities of the class. I’ve learned that I really enjoy art that is exemplified through media, such as a podcast. I found it very interesting what they had to say, and as bad as this may be, a lot of the things the students were saying are definitely relatable to how nightlife is here now. It would be interesting to see if they did that same podcast at another university, how similar it would be.

I am so happy I was able to take this course so early on in my college experience, because I have learned that you don’t have to look too far to find art. The endless amounts of free and paid concerts, the beautiful Arboretum, the various sculptures around campus… you are being enriched in art all day everyday. I feel privileged to go to a school that is so well rounded in art, sports, academics and more.

Blog Post #7: Greek Sing

This past weekend, I performed in Greek Sing; which is when each sorority is paired up with two fraternities, and they put of a 5-10 minute play of a Broadway show that they were assigned to. The importance of Greek Sing is simply bringing the arts and theater to Greek Life. Greek Sing was an on-going process for about 2 months, with daily practices, various fundraisers, and long rehearsals in order to put forward our best performance. Once all the shows have performed, winners are announced and are honored for many different awards, such as best-overall short, best-overall long, costumes, set, etc.

My sorority was chosen to perform the Wedding Singer. Since many of us are not musically inclined when it comes to singing, we were assigned to dancing. For months, we were with a partner, mastering various lifts and stunts that would be appealing for the audience. But that wasn’t all we did. Under our Greek Sing chairs, we were in charge of making the set, creating costumes, as well as bringing in musicians to play the music for the show. It was a great way to really unite the sorority with the fraternities, because everyone had a vital part into putting this show together.

The actually show, was back to back performances of different plays, ranging from Rent, to the Lion King, to the Newsies. Watching all of the performances was truly impressive. It was great to see how much talent exists in the Greek Life community, and it was a great time seeing how everyone’s hard work paid off. I think that Greek Sing is a great way to enrich more of the student body in art, because in requires us to participate, but in the end everyone has a great time. Even the boys, who would never admit prior to the experience, enjoyed Greek Sing, and I can say that I met some life-long friends from this. 

Blog Post #6: Jack Johnson Concert

Back in September, I saw Jack Johnson in concert at the Eisenhower Auditorium for free benefitting the "Rock the Vote" concert tour. Jack Johnson is one of my favorite performers, so I was extremely grateful for Penn State to have him come for us to see for free. Rock the Vote is a concert tour whose mission is to engage and build political power for young people in our country. They intersect pop culture with politics but getting popular performers to play, as well as encouraging the younger generations to vote in the up coming election.

           

I was also very eager to go to this concert, because I have attended two other Rock the Vote concerts. Every four years, my high school’s Student Government Association campaigns to bring musicians to our school. Back in 2008, Gym Class Heroes and Tyga came, and this past May, Timeflies and Third Eyed Blind came to perform. Although I was not able to vote in the 2008 election, these concerts really give a good incentive to vote, and definitely encouraged my decision to register for the 2012 election.

The actual performance was very lively. Before Jack Johnson came on, G-Love opened up for him and he really engaged the audience. What makes these concerts so worthwhile is that the performers actually take the time to talk to the audience about the importance of politics and voting. For many people, these performers are their idols, so they are very easily influenced to say the least. G-Love performed many songs, both covers and some of his own, and his talent of using his vocals, paired with his guitar and harmonica player, really makes him a talented performer. Jack Johnson also had an incredible performance. He performed a lot of music from his new album, “To the Sea,” that is simply feel-good music. The acoustic guitar paired with his soothing voice seems to win over anyone who listens to him.

The concert was one of the best nights I’ve spent at Penn State. This type of concert is extremely valuable to people my age, because they are getting the benefits of hosting great talent at our university, but we are also being persuaded to make a difference in our society.