Reflections and Images

Before the summer, I was not a fan of going to art museums because I didn't find them to be engaging. The idea of looking at obscure modern art paintings did not sound interesting. I have fuzzy memories of going to a local art museum when I was a kid and had no idea what these paintings were trying to tell me. Although I appreciate some types of art, I never considered spending the time to stroll around the exhibits and carefully look at the artwork. During the summer, I noticed that I was bored of staying at home. Despite living in the San Francisco Bay Area for 3 years, I barely explored my surroundings. The last thing I wanted to complain about on the first day of school was that my summer break in California was very ordinary. Because of this, one of my summer goals was to spend more time going to the local museums, in particular art museums. The reason I chose art museums as my main objective is that I had a passion in classical music and piano, which is a performing art. I ...

When I first stepped on the Davenport College courtyard, I was impressed by my surroundings. I couldn’t believe that I was in a program in which 91 nationalities (in my block) were represented. My initial assumptions of the experience at YYGS understated the actual impact the program had on me. I find it quite incredible that my attitude towards the world and science has significantly changed within a short period of time.             Before, I had this preconception that I would not be to relate to others who had significantly different life experiences. This assumption was shattered after having conversations with many types of people. Instead of seeing the differences among my peers, I decided to find the similarities within one another. Instead of being the shy person I used to be, I decided to become more outgoing. Starting each conversation with a seemingly simple question of “Where are you from?” ended up becoming a complex discus...