Month: March 2020

Two hours and an unfortunate amount of blog ideas later, here we are. With all that’s been going on in the world and in my brain, writing a cohesive blog is just not going to happen this week. But instead of publishing my random thoughts (you’re welcome), I’ve decided to post some of my favorite pictures that I took in Colombia when I went over winter break. I’m sorry if this blog triggers anyone about their canceled spring break plans, but living vicariously through other people’s travels might make you feel better?

These pictures aren’t necessarily the best photos that I took, but I find them interesting/cool/culturally significant. If you want high-quality pictures, I put a bunch of them on VSCO (a great app that’s been ruined by the VSCO girl jokes :() so you can find them there.

1. One of my favorite parts of the entire trip was all the public art I got to see. Besides the art from museums (which you’ll also see later), I was the most intrigued by the messages plastered on random walls throughout the cities.

These pictures are from Bogotá, and there are two main parts to this mural. The first picture shows a man being trapped and silenced, and he’s joining hands with the second part of the mural, which shows the woman and the other people, and they seem to represent the common people. The words around her face say “Alcemos la vos, Cuidemos la vida,” which means that we will raise our voices, and care for our lives. To me, the mural seemed to send a message of unity, and it highlighted the discrimination or repression that many citizens may be feeling, but ultimately sends a message of hope and power. Along with being beautifully made, the mural sends a strong message to the community.

2. These pictures are also from Bogotá, from Bolívar Square. There isn’t really much to explain about these other than the fact that these people are insanely talented.

3. Peacocks! There were a lot of peacocks around our hotel, and I spent way too much time following them around, waiting for them to open their feathers. By the end of the trip, I felt personally connected to the group, even though I never got a proper picture with them :(.

4. We went to Mount Monserrate, and while the views themselves were mindblowing, I also noticed some interesting use of water bottles throughout the spot (sorry for the aggressive zoom).

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5. Cool things being sold in Bolívar Square, the bags made of Venezuelan notes were my personal favorite.

6. From Antioquia Museum and Botero Plaza; I didn’t understand why all of the figures were “proportionally exaggerated”, but apparently all Botero had to say about it was that “An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why.” So I guess we’ll never really know why.

I have many, many more pictures to share, but I think that’s enough for one blog. I hope you found these pictures as interesting as I found them, but even if you didn’t, at least you could get your mind off of the current pandemic for 5 minutes.

Even though life may seem unpredictable and even unfair at times, it’s important to take a step back and appreciate what we have already experienced and the fact that our current situation could be much worse. So in between binging Netflix and aimlessly scrolling TikTok (and doing your elearning assignments of course!), take a moment to appreciate the current moment and all that you have to be grateful for.

On Saturday night, while an alarming amount of work awaited me and while normal people were out being social beings, I decided to watch “All The Bright Places.” It’s not uncommon for me to sit down to watch a new Netflix original if it seems interesting, but recently I’ve been more interested in light-hearted productions; I’d rather re-watch the Cheetah Girls movies than a horror movie. So when I sat down to watch “All the Bright Places,” I had no idea what I was getting myself into. 

I’ve decided to not spoil the ending of the movie in this blog because most of you probably haven’t seen it, so I’ll let you experience it on your own. But to give a brief summary, the plot surrounds Violet Markey and Theodore Finch. Violet is a high-schooler who was once a social butterfly but after losing her sister/best friend in a car accident, she spends most of her time alone. Theodore is seen as “The Freak” in school, but mainly keeps to himself, and controls his emotions by expressing them on Post-Its around his room, or by running. The movie is based on a book by Jennifer Niven. 

Both of the characters are described with some fascination with death; Markey mourns for her sister while almost considering taking her own life, while Finch obsessively researches suicide and does things like seeing how long he can stay underwater. The movie begins when Finch finds Violet standing on a ledge, seeming like she is about to jump. He helps bring her down, and we see an initial connection between the two.  

The movie continues to show their growing friendship and later romantic relationship, but both Violet and Finch continue to struggle with their mental health. I went into the movie thinking it would be a simple love story, but have not stopped thinking about it since I watched it. The way the movie was made along with the plotline made for a rollercoaster of emotions. 

“All The Bright Places” was created to send a strong message about mental health, and to emphasize the idea that you never truly know what someone else is going through, and that people who seem to have it all together may be broken inside. After watching this movie, my perceptions of my surroundings completely changed. It really made me think about my actions; every opportunity I had to be kind to someone meant so much more, and in general, I gained sympathy for my peers. We all have our own baggage to carry, and the best thing that we can do for each other is to make each other’s journeys as smooth as possible. 

So if this blog convinced you to watch “All The Bright Places,” I hope you take as powerful a message from it as I did. But even if you decide to stick to rewatching “The Office” or binging “Love is Blind,” remember to be conscious of the way you treat others, and like Jennifer Niven wrote in the book, “It’s not what you take, it’s what you leave.”