Makes me smile.
28 April 2009
27 April 2009
Four years later...
So I was checking my STARS report this afternoon, and it startled me just how much of the page read blue. I've become accustomed to looking for incompletes and scanning the page for the bits of red that pop out of the document, but today, I only saw a sea of ultramarine blue. And it's funny, because despite all the dramatic lasts - last classes, last meeting, last issue - that have been bubbling to the surface as of late, it was seeing this oddly soothing shade of blue that really made the weight of four years sink in today.
Looking over classes that I've taken at USC really helps to solidify each semester, and instantly brings me back to all the different experiences each one had to offer.
This is what makes four year seem like such an extended period of time:
So much time, money and effort spent on these courses and what to show of it? Four years of education and experience and life, in a wide range of topics I never would have imagined possible.
Irreplaceable and worth every minute.
Looking over classes that I've taken at USC really helps to solidify each semester, and instantly brings me back to all the different experiences each one had to offer.
This is what makes four year seem like such an extended period of time:
| Course | Units Earned | Course Description |
| CLAS-280g | 4.0 | Classical Mythology |
| WRIT-140 | 4.0 | Writing and Critical Reasoning |
| PHIL-140g | 4.0 | Contemporary Moral and Social Issues |
| EALC-220 | 4.0 | Japanese III |
| JOUR-190 | 2.0 | Introduction to Journalism |
| Course | Units Earned | Course Description |
| EALC-110g | 4.0 | East Asian Humanities: The Great Tradition |
| THTR-184A | 2.0 | Jazz Dance |
| PSYC-100 | 4.0 | Introduction to Psychology |
| PHYS-100Lxg | 4.0 | The Physical World |
| JOUR-201 | 4.0 | History of News in Modern America |
| Course | Units Earned | Course Description |
| PSYC-360 | 4.0 | Abnormal Psychology |
| PSYC-305 | 4.0 | Learning and Memory |
| JOUR-203 | 3.0 | Newswriting: Broadcast |
| JOUR-202 | 3.0 | Newswriting: Print |
| EALC-222 | 4.0 | Japanese IV |
| Course | Units Earned | Course Description |
| THTR-183B | 2.0 | Ballet |
| PSYC-359 | 4.0 | Interpersonal Relations |
| JOUR-303 | 3.0 | Reporting: Broadcast |
| JOUR-302 | 3.0 | Reporting: Print |
| ARLT-100g | 4.0 | Arts and Letters |
| Course | Units Earned | Course Description |
| FA-102 | 4.0 | Design Fundamentals |
| WRIT-340 | 4.0 | Advanced Writing |
| PSYC-338 | 4.0 | Adolescent Development |
| JOUR-309 | 3.0 | Introduction to Online Media |
| JOUR-308 | 3.0 | Newspaper Editing and Design |
| Course | Units Earned | Course Description |
| JOUR-300O | 1.5 | Off-campus Studies |
| JOUR-300O | 1.5 | Off-campus Studies |
| JOUR-300O | 3.0 | Off-campus Studies |
| JOUR-300O | 2.0 | Off-campus Studies |
| SOCI-100O | 4.0 | Off-campus Studies |
| COMM-300O | 4.0 | Off-Campus Studies |
| Course | Units Earned | Course Description |
| JOUR-090x | 0.0 | Internships in the Media |
| JOUR-310 | 4.0 | Investigative Reporting |
| PSYC-462m | 0.0 | Minority Mental Health |
| PSYC-201Lg | 4.0 | The Science of Happiness |
| JOUR-431 | 4.0 | Feature Writing |
| Course | Units Earned | Course Description |
| PSYC-464 | 4.0 | Psychology of Marriage and the Family |
| AMST-449m | 4.0 | Asian American Literature |
| JOUR-470 | 2.0 | Community Journalism |
| JOUR-462 | 4.0 | Law of Mass Communication |
So much time, money and effort spent on these courses and what to show of it? Four years of education and experience and life, in a wide range of topics I never would have imagined possible.
Irreplaceable and worth every minute.
Lasts, listlessness, life.
Last week of classes for my entire undergraduate career, and the thing is, they're the last thing on my mind.
18 April 2009
WHAT??
This is incredible. Courtesy www.gotellmama.org, as part of the "Officially Unofficial" art campaign shows in Chicago, running through the end of May.
17 April 2009
Expect the best
To a large extent, the difference between those who try for the seemingly impossible and those who stop just short of making the crossover is an ounce of common sense and a healthy dose of reality – though sometimes it’s hard to tell which category of individuals warrants the lack of one or the other.
Truth be told, an oft-overlooked element that figures into the formula of success is expectation. Not just whether or not someone takes the lot they’re given for granted, but also whether or not they expect the best or the worst out of a given situation.
Expecting the worst means worry, anxiety and selling yourself short. It means sacrificing otherwise-fantastic ambitions because they seem a bit too far-reaching or risky. It means, essentially, shifting your focus from one goal to a broader, less-desired end goal.
Expecting the best, on the other hand, means taking risks and justifying absurdity in the name of pursuing a passion and a belief. It means having a large component of foolishness in your decision-making, large enough so that you trust your heart rather than your logic.
Positive thinking really does go a long way, and taking circumstances as they come without judgment has really helped me make the most of my college career. Here’s to hoping that this translates into the real world as well.
Truth be told, an oft-overlooked element that figures into the formula of success is expectation. Not just whether or not someone takes the lot they’re given for granted, but also whether or not they expect the best or the worst out of a given situation.
Expecting the worst means worry, anxiety and selling yourself short. It means sacrificing otherwise-fantastic ambitions because they seem a bit too far-reaching or risky. It means, essentially, shifting your focus from one goal to a broader, less-desired end goal.
Expecting the best, on the other hand, means taking risks and justifying absurdity in the name of pursuing a passion and a belief. It means having a large component of foolishness in your decision-making, large enough so that you trust your heart rather than your logic.
Positive thinking really does go a long way, and taking circumstances as they come without judgment has really helped me make the most of my college career. Here’s to hoping that this translates into the real world as well.
15 April 2009
13 April 2009
09 April 2009
Two steps forward.
New editor-in-chief elected.
One-way plane tickets bought.
NYU housing secured.
...no more past tense, just looking for some future perfect tense.
Fitting, isn't it?
One-way plane tickets bought.
NYU housing secured.
...no more past tense, just looking for some future perfect tense.
Fitting, isn't it?
07 April 2009
Sifting through old writing
Found this from late 2007, and it still resonates with me:
Warmth.
The sun shines through small crevices barely formed by leaves and the thick summer air, shadows falling onto the packed dirt trail. My feet hurt from walking. My soul aches from being. Ahead, a broad river stretches across my view, left to right, north to south. It's more of a creek, really. The clear water rushes over stones and sand, pushing along debris as it surges toward its final destination, possibly a lake farther down the trail. I wait for them to catch up. I rest against the rough bark of a nearby tree, reveling in the tactile sensation of a solid something. The smell of wood and earth is overwhelming, and I melt into the safety of it all. From my place in the shade, I watch as the few people bathed in sunlight walk along the edge of the creek, looking for a way to cross it.
A man with a grey shirt stretched taut over his belly wipes the perspiration from his forehead distractedly. He bickers with his wife, a stout woman with a red visor resting atop her head. She wears hiking boots, worn from constant wear.
They gesture to a part of the creek that runs at a slower pace. A few steady rocks jut out from the glassy surface, providing a more reasonable means of getting across the body of water. It seems the logical choice. But even farther down in the distance, the creek seems to narrow to a point where it can be singlehandedly leapt over.
But it could just be an illusion.
In the heat of that August afternoon, sweat trickles down the sides of my face, heat from my forehead making its way down across my cheek and dripping along the length of my neck. I turn back to watch, expectantly, as I hear their footsteps approaching. My heart rate is slowing and I catch my breath as they join me in the shade of my tree. They look just like how I feel. Tired. I shift uncomfortably, pushing away from my tree trunk, stepping back into the intricate shadow designs that fall at the center of the trail.
Suddenly, I wish I hadn't waited.
"So?" I say, just for the sake of polite conversation as I wait for them to catch their breath.
"It's gorgeous," he finally says between a deep inhale and a wholehearted exhale. "Let's do it."
She seems less certain. She utters a wordless plea with her eyes. Exhausted. I know the feeling.
"It'll be good," I say, forcing a smile, knowing even as I say this that I don't know that it'll be okay. All I know is that at this moment, I need to start walking. And the good will catch up, or it won't.
He follows. She lingers by the shade.
I step into the blinding sunlight and reach the edge of the creek. I can feel the crunch of the pebbles and sand beneath my shoes, but I can't experience their smooth edges and grainy texture. So I sit down at the edge of the water and remove first my shoes and then my socks.
The water looks deeper close up.
I dip my toe into the creek. Icy cold, a stinging contrast to the suffocating heat of the afternoon. A welcome contrast. I feel their presence behind me, but I don't look back. I wade into the water, the sensation of cold prickling at my ankles, my calves, my knees. And then I glance over my shoulder. They're just testing the water. I'm somewhere halfway between the shores, and if I wanted to, I could crumple from the cold. Be carried downstream.
But I now long for that heat. So I plunge on, thrashing through the knee-deep water, making a scene and not caring.
And suddenly, the cold falls away from my body as I step onto the firm ground of the opposite shore.
I regain feeling in my feet.
And the sun warms me.
06 April 2009
Against the (main)stream
Circumstances are for the weak. With the current state of the economy - five million jobs lost and counting, according to the New York Times - it's easy for Americans to get caught in the undercurrent of the tidal wave of apathy washing over its once-glimmering shores. Gone are the days of job security and anxiety over potential promotions. In their place are countdowns to last days and the underlying fear of the dreaded "downsizing" company speech.
The reality is that, given these circumstances, most graduating college seniors will find themselves in an upstream struggle against a barrage of student loans, apartment hunting woes and most importantly, a crumbling job market. Four years of college have come and gone, and what's left in the wake of this whirlwind are the lackluster remnants of a viable economy.
It's not, in other words, a very rosy picture.
Still, the difference between those who manage to fight their way to the top of the stream and those who flounder in the flow of negativity is a matter of attitude, not circumstances. Jumping headfirst into the uncertainty of the job market is no easy task, but without that first initial dive, there is no chance of catching that rare drift of happenstance. There can be no opportunities gained or lessons learned while living in quiet fear on the edge of the water.
As such, many college seniors can no longer rest on their laurels if they hope to someday reach their dream jobs. Careers, these days, aren't earned. They are, in fact, made. Entrepreneurship classes have increased their enrollment numbers throughout the country, and leading universities such as the University of Southern California (the so-called "University of the 21st Century") have even begun to create courses to promote "entrepreneurial journalism" - teaching students to create blogs and use their journalistic writing skills in new, unmapped ways.
Because the economy is at the lowest point it has ever been in American history (here, the Great Depression humbly tips its fedora to this generation's financial crisis), it can be surmised that, on the bright side, there is nothing left to lose. Almost literally.
And because so much of the social situation is unprecedented, it is up to this imminent generation entering the workforce to redefine what it means to live for the moment and act without a safety net. It is up to them to become the next breed of up-and-coming tastemakers, creative thinkers and overall movers and shakers.
It's living in the now, living for that moment of weightlessness and uncertainty. It's the drive to succeed because there's no looking back (or down, in this safety net analogy).
There are too many reasons not to do something, but the one reason anyone should ever really take a risk and do it anyway trumps all those other reasons: Passionate people pursue their interests because they wholeheartedly want to, not because said passions will bring with them a certain level of status, fame, or riches.
They make career moves and gravitate toward their true passions because this is what it means to live free and feel the exhilaration of free falling into the unknown. This is the true taste of success.
If Hollywood and the media have taught society anything, it's that breaking free from a stilted norm or set of circumstances is how people find true happiness - Zach Braff did it in "Garden State." Will Smith did it in "The Pursuit of Happyness." Heck, even James McAvoy did it in the horrendous Matrix-meets-300-meets-Fight Club mash-up "Wanted."
The moral of the story being that, in all three instances, if you don't like your circumstances, then change them. Destiny will only wait around on the steps of the Royal Ball for so long before you have to run up and meet her.
For graduating college seniors, this means accepting that the economy is at a low point, and that any job openings probably won't be particularly lucrative for the time being. But this also means that there will be a distinct separation between those who surge forward and those who opt to ride out the economic wave, sitting docilely while they wait for good ideas to float by.
Because with the very potent combination of patience and purpose, circumstances can easily be vanquished, discarded and recycled into a new, more streamlined set of attitudes and sense of self.
At the end of the day, there's nothing more satisfying than standing on the strength of our own convictions, facing the waters boldly and awaiting the next big wave.
The reality is that, given these circumstances, most graduating college seniors will find themselves in an upstream struggle against a barrage of student loans, apartment hunting woes and most importantly, a crumbling job market. Four years of college have come and gone, and what's left in the wake of this whirlwind are the lackluster remnants of a viable economy.
It's not, in other words, a very rosy picture.
Still, the difference between those who manage to fight their way to the top of the stream and those who flounder in the flow of negativity is a matter of attitude, not circumstances. Jumping headfirst into the uncertainty of the job market is no easy task, but without that first initial dive, there is no chance of catching that rare drift of happenstance. There can be no opportunities gained or lessons learned while living in quiet fear on the edge of the water.
As such, many college seniors can no longer rest on their laurels if they hope to someday reach their dream jobs. Careers, these days, aren't earned. They are, in fact, made. Entrepreneurship classes have increased their enrollment numbers throughout the country, and leading universities such as the University of Southern California (the so-called "University of the 21st Century") have even begun to create courses to promote "entrepreneurial journalism" - teaching students to create blogs and use their journalistic writing skills in new, unmapped ways.
Because the economy is at the lowest point it has ever been in American history (here, the Great Depression humbly tips its fedora to this generation's financial crisis), it can be surmised that, on the bright side, there is nothing left to lose. Almost literally.
And because so much of the social situation is unprecedented, it is up to this imminent generation entering the workforce to redefine what it means to live for the moment and act without a safety net. It is up to them to become the next breed of up-and-coming tastemakers, creative thinkers and overall movers and shakers.
It's living in the now, living for that moment of weightlessness and uncertainty. It's the drive to succeed because there's no looking back (or down, in this safety net analogy).
There are too many reasons not to do something, but the one reason anyone should ever really take a risk and do it anyway trumps all those other reasons: Passionate people pursue their interests because they wholeheartedly want to, not because said passions will bring with them a certain level of status, fame, or riches.
They make career moves and gravitate toward their true passions because this is what it means to live free and feel the exhilaration of free falling into the unknown. This is the true taste of success.
If Hollywood and the media have taught society anything, it's that breaking free from a stilted norm or set of circumstances is how people find true happiness - Zach Braff did it in "Garden State." Will Smith did it in "The Pursuit of Happyness." Heck, even James McAvoy did it in the horrendous Matrix-meets-300-meets-Fight Club mash-up "Wanted."
The moral of the story being that, in all three instances, if you don't like your circumstances, then change them. Destiny will only wait around on the steps of the Royal Ball for so long before you have to run up and meet her.
For graduating college seniors, this means accepting that the economy is at a low point, and that any job openings probably won't be particularly lucrative for the time being. But this also means that there will be a distinct separation between those who surge forward and those who opt to ride out the economic wave, sitting docilely while they wait for good ideas to float by.
Because with the very potent combination of patience and purpose, circumstances can easily be vanquished, discarded and recycled into a new, more streamlined set of attitudes and sense of self.
At the end of the day, there's nothing more satisfying than standing on the strength of our own convictions, facing the waters boldly and awaiting the next big wave.
03 April 2009
Midterm project of lurve
Blood, sweat and tears. I'd forgotten how fun it was to edit film projects.
...and how time consuming, har har.
...and how time consuming, har har.
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