College? For Certain! -- The Odyssey

College? For Certain!
University of Denver hosts its Fourth Annual Day of Action.

Check out this article I wrote about Day of Action! Thanks to all involved with the day, and special thanks to CCESL/Michael Gooch for lending me some pictures for the day.

http://theodysseyonline.com/denver/college-for-certain/452058

30 Day Challenge December 2015

For my 30 Day Challenge this month, due to the amount of free time with academics during my time left abroad and the rest of December being break for me, I plan to watch a documentary every day, as well as finish up my writing challenge, since I definitely slacked on that. This can be a short video or a long film, but I plan to educate myself about some new topics while appreciating the art that is filmmaking. I'll try and post my thoughts and recommendations, but now promises. And I'm off!

30 Day Writing Challenge: Bulleted List of My Day

Bulleted List of My Day (how boring)

Friday, September 20th

• woke up at 6am to work on my final presentation for Spanish class
• got ready in like 5 minutes to head down to breakfast
• ate eggs and toast and drank coffee and orange juice with my housemates and mama Tica
• headed to Spanish class
• listened to the other students present their presentations
• presented about allowing refugees from Syria into the US
• waited for my profe to grade my final exam after class; only two of us did not get our final exams back that we had taken yesterday
• received my grade for my final exam: 84
• briefly chatted with Danielle, a friend of mine, about our trip to Tortuguero that we were planning
• headed back to my homestay to drop off my backpack and computer
• walked to the mini supermarket to buy bread and snacks
• made myself a sandwich for lunch
• browsed my emails and Facebook for a little while
• started to edit my resume to apply for internships for the spring and summer
• updated my Grad Plan with my final grades for my two Spanish classes, 93 and 90 respectively
• updated my spreadsheet where I have my budget and spending for my time abroad
• edited my resumes a little more
• researched about education policy in the US compared to Costa Rica to write an article for DU Roosevelt
• worked on some blog entries
• made a map for the Art City Tour so I would make sure to hit all the museums and galleries -- I ended up not going because of the pouring rain, and sadly, it's the only one that happened during my time here :(
• did a 30 minute workout
• edited my resumes a little more
• put away my school stuff
• ate dinner with one of my housemates and mama Tica
• read some of my reading for my communications class
• went to the bar with my housemate and a friend
• stayed there for a bit, then went home to catch some zzz's before my trip to Tortuguero

30 Day Writing Challenge: My Life in 7 Years

My Life in 7 Years

When I started college, I thought I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I envisioned that I would graduate with a degree in Socio-legal Studies, go to law school, study public interest law, graduate, and become a public defender. I saw myself eventually becoming a judge and eventually a US Supreme Court justice, because naturally, that's how it happens. But now, three years in to college, I'm not so sure anymore. Over the years, I've considered so many different career paths that I just don't know anymore. I used to consider pediatrics, engineering, accountancy, teaching, journalism, social work, performing arts, school psychology, chemistry, math, Spanish, college counseling, nonprofit work, and various other careers and areas of study to match my odd combination of interests. Now, I don't even know in which direction I'm heading. The only thing I know for sure is that I want to help people. Giving back to the community is my calling, helping others is what I know I am meant to do, but I just don't know how I want to do that. 

In seven years, I will be 28. What are you even supposed to be doing at 28 years old? I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing as a 21 year old! If I can't decide what I'm going to eat for lunch, how am I supposed to choose a direction for my life? I can't even decide if I'm going to graduate early in the fall or somehow add another minor or something to graduate next spring. I'm definitely not ready to leave college yet. One, I don't know what's out there for me after college. Two, I love learning.

As for the rest of my life in seven years, I'm pretty sure I'll be in Colorado and own a cat or two. That's all I'm sure of at this point.

I guess it's not all that bad that I don't have a set path. I am able to alter and remake the path as I go. But at the same time, having a very detailed, analytical brain, not knowing, not having a plan, stresses me out so much. I know that eventually I will end up where I need to be; I just hope that I have at least some idea. 

30 Day Writing Challenge: A Book I Love and One I Didn't

A Book I Love and One I Didn't

I am a book lover. I could read books all day every day if I could. I read so many good books, a lot of great books, and a good group that I've fallen in love with, so it's hard to comb through the books I've read, probably hundreds by now, in order to pick one that I didn't enjoy reading. But here it goes. These are some that I remember off the top of my head; they're not completely representative of all of my reading adventures.

Book I Love: The Giving Tree

Photo credit:
books.google.com

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein, is my favorite book of all time. The book follows the relationship between a tree and a boy. As the boy ages, the boy takes and takes from the tree to the point where the tree becomes nothing more than a stump. They tree cares for and loves deeply the boy, which is why it is willing to sacrifice itself over time. In the end, the tree has nothing left to give, and the boy finally ceases to ask for anything, just to sit on it's stump. The book ends with the phrase, "And the tree was happy."

This story is a story of friendship. Though I don't think the friendship was a completely healthy one, as the boy basically uses the tree throughout the vast majority of their friendship, but it introduces children to the concept of empathy and the beauty of giving. It teaches you that money and material things can't buy you happiness, that relationships, whether it be with other people, or with oneself, are critical for happiness. We need more love, more giving in the world. I aspire to be that tree. I want to give and give until there is nothing left of me, because for me, that will make me truly happy. I don't need a lot to be happy, just to know that I am helping others. 

Other Books (and other literary works) I Really Like:

• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
• the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Anthem by Ayn Rand
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
• The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Book I Didn't Love: Heart of Darkness (sorry Seematter!)

Photo credit:
books.google.com

I read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad my senior year of high school in my AP Literature class. This book follows the journey of a man named Marlow during a trip to Africa as a member of an ivory trading firm. Along the way, he witnesses struggle and brutality between the native people and the colonizers. He meets a man named Kurtz, who is a "prisoner" and "god" of the native people and "rescues" him. Kurtz eventually dies and Marlow spends the rest of the book picking up the pieces after his death. 

It's a rough book to get through, in my opinion. The writing style, the events of the book, it just took me awhile to get through. Keep in mind though, I was also a senior in high school with little motivation to do anything. I'm not sure if I didn't love it because it was a challenge or because I didn't actually understand it completely. Literature is also not my best subject, so I missed a lot of the literary elements present in the book. I also don't think I understood the context of the book well enough. Eventually, I plan to go back and read it again and see if I come to a different conclusion, now that I'm in my third year of college. 

Other Books I Didn't Love:

• Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

30 Day Writing Challenge: Someone Who Fascinates Me and Why

Someone Who Fascinates Me and Why

Malala Yousafzai. Now she is a really fascinating individual. If you haven't heard of Malala, than you certainly wouldn't know about her incredible advocacy for women's access to education. I feel a little odd, looking up to her, considering she is three years younger than me, but nonetheless, I think she is an incredible human being and she deserved every bit of that Nobel Peace Prize. Her advocacy, courage, and strength are admirable, and when I grow up, I want to be like her.

For those of you unfamiliar with Malala, she is a Pakistani advocate for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. She is a huge advocate in the realm of human rights, especially in regards to access to female education in her hometown, where the Taliban restricted access to schooling for girls and young women. She's been doing advocacy work since she was really young. She became well-known after members of the Taliban attempted to assassinate her in 2012. She survived a gunshot to the face and has used that experience to further spread awareness and advocate for educational access for women, along with other human rights. After continued advocacy, she was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her advocacy for women's and children's rights.

Her advocacy on behalf of others is inspiring, and her dedication to education and access to education for all is admirable. It goes to show that our generation has the ability to make differences and fight against social injustice, we just need to wake up and go after it.