We Party Hard but Study Harder

As a living, breathing, and thriving Penn State student I believe that the podcast was an accurate depiction of the party life at Penn State. Every weekend there are girls in little dresses, and random signing on the buses. All of this is apart of Penn State's tradition but partying is not the only aspect of this tradition. I don't take it as an insult that Penn State was once the #1 party school because I know that Penn State students are ranked as some of the best  prepared students by job recruiters. I know that Smeal College of Business is ranked nationwide as one of the best Business Institutions in the country. I also know that 70% of our premed major get into medical school. All these facts show that Penn State students are rounded individuals that party hard but hit the books harder. When I decided to attend University Park everyone was impressed and held Penn State to a high caliber. 

The podcast showed two sides of pathos. One side was the point of view of the residents who have to deal with the loud noise of from parties, the trash on their lawns, and the drunk students walking into their homes. It made me feel a little bad about how loud I can get on the weekends and how I would feel if it were my home town. On the other hand it spoke on the pathos of the students and how they understand that this is the only time period in our lives where we can live life before having to deal with the hardships of the real world. 

The most shocking part of this report is that students actually walk into random homes and fall asleep. I have never heard of anything like that before and for that to be a common incident in very surprising to me. 

Overall I thought the report was fair depiction of a weekend at Penn State. I hope when the general public listens to this podcast before they start judging they consider what weekdays at Penn State are like. Personally during the week the only place I party is the library 

I Don't Know What You Cal It But I Call It Art

In my opinion art is any form of creative expression.  I consider anything creatively done that evokes a message to be art. Art can be something as simple as a drawing done by a 3 year old to as extensive as the Sistine Chapel. Although the Sistine Chapel is elaborately done, the 3 year old's picture is also expressing a message that it wants to share.Art is such a broad topic that it can include paintings, photography, music, sculptures, fashion, poetry, hair, etc. Almost anything can be transformed into art. The only things I wouldn't consider art is anything that is very mathematical. Art in my opinion needs to be free and debatable and in math their is little room for debate.

An interesting piece of art I discovered was a picture from the Natural Hair Show http://www.natreview.com/2010/10/28/review-transcendence-natural-hair-show/

I chose this piece of art because I find it amazing that someone could take something as simple as hair and turn it into a masterpiece. The time, and effort it took to put this together is unimaginable to me. This piece demonstrates strength and individuality. Strength because even though this a complex style it does not appear to be easily destroyed or damaged. Each lock of hair is intertwined in a way that removing or altering one piece would ruin the whole thing. Each piece of hair must come together for the greater beauty of the hairstyle. I also see individuality in this piece because of the different types of feathers that are involved. They make the piece stand out. I really like this piece because of the deeper meaning I take from it. From this piece I take that I should not be afraid to be strong or standout but their is also strength in numbers.  

Another piece I found interesting was a poem by Maya Angelou called "Still I Rise" http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15623
This poem is about female empowerment and taking an optimistic outlook on the future. I chose this poem because I truly connect with this piece. As a young woman I find this piece both comforting and encouraging because Maya Angelou is telling us to leave all the hurt and pain of the past behind you so that you can rise in the future. As humans it is hard for us to look past the pain but their are brighter days to come. We decide our destiny, and we have to recognize our self worth.