LO 3 – Planning and Initiating Activities
Yoga with MINDS (Service) Reflection
on on When Dean Young Talks About Wine – Tony Hoagland (My Thoughts)
on How does this poem correspond to your own understanding of Dean Young? What is the author’s attitude towards Dean Young?
My first reaction to this poem was confusion, which is my reaction to most Dean Young poems. When I read a Dean Young poem, I’m truly clueless as to what is going on. I get a glimpse at multiple ideas and subjects and don’t know how to connect these thoughts to get a sense of understanding for his poems, yet I enjoyed Undertow. Young’s lines are relatable separately but when put together confuse me. I particularly enjoy and resonate with this line about the ocean –
what it throws away it dashes down
then wants back, yanks back.
Similarly my first reaction of confusion to this Hoagland poem corresponds to my reactions to Dean Young. After multiple reading and understanding lines separately, I finally gather an opinion of sorts or more like my thoughts about what is going on. A couple of lines about childhood anecdotes and memories of hospital treatments, lines about change in personality to lines about drinking wine a certain way show me that Hoagland and Young had a close relationship with each other. I feel this was a tribute of sorts to a close friend about their relationship and the barriers they crossed together as comrades.
When Dean Young Talks About Wine – Tony Hoagland
The worm thrashes when it enters the tequila.
The grape cries out in the wine vat crusher.
But when Dean Young talks about wine, his voice is strangely calm.
Yet it seems that wine is rarely mentioned.
He says, Great first chapter but no plot.
He says, Long runway, short flight.
He says, This one never had a secret.
He says, You can’t wear stripes with that.
He squints as if recalling his childhood in France.
He purses his lips and shakes his head at the glass.
Eight-four was a naughty year, he says,
and for a second I worry that California has turned him
into a sushi-eater in a cravat.
Then he says,
This one makes clear the difference
between a thoughtless remark
and an unwarranted intrusion.
Then he says, In this one the pacific last light of afternoon
stains the wings of the seagull pink
at the very edge of the postcard.
But where is the Cabernet of rent checks and asthma medication?
Where is the Burgundy of orthopedic shoes?
Where is the Chablis of skinned knees and jelly sandwiches?
with the aftertaste of cruel Little League coaches?
and the undertone of rusty stationwagon?
His mouth is purple as if from his own ventricle
he had drunk.
He sways like a fishing rod.
When a beast is hurt it roars in incomprehension.
When a bird is hurt it huddles in its nest.
But when a man is hurt,
he makes himself an expert.
Then he stands there with a glass in his hand
staring into nothing
as if he were forming an opinion.
English lit
on Fun Home
What would you trust more? A biography or an autobiography?
on What would you trust more, in seeking to learn about a person: their biography or their memoir/autobiography?
I would trust an autobiography or memoir than a biography. I believe that the essence of one’s story is truly represented justly by the person who has experienced it first hand. A person’s words about another’s life are never a 100% accurate as the writer of a biography does not feel the emotions and internal conflicts of the subject. The representation is sometimes lost from the subjects point of view to the authors point of view. Sometimes authors write biographies without authorisation from the subject so their facts and accounts might me wrong or misinterpreted. Memoirs or autobiographies are more about thoughts and emotions from the first person’s POV while biographies are more about informing and the authors emotions and believes might cloud his judgement and writing.
Drama Reflection – thinking back on the year
on The Zen Zen Zo workshop was a very interesting class. It was very physical theatre making use of the whole body. We worked with synchronising with sound and time. We learned how to fluently transition from one action to the other while also slowing or speeding our movements. I loved the change of tempo and working with speed. The most fun for me was walking the space with different speeds while also coordinating my movements with the person across from me. It was a worth all the muscle pains I got the next day 🙂 The workshop made me more energetic but also felt like a kind of meditation because of the soothing Japanese music. I think I significantly improved in ensemble awareness, working with physicality and fusing mind, voice and body together in a performance.
ATL SKILLS-
Understanding repertoire
- The ability to bring a character to life based on understanding of the role and its function in the play from which it is taken.
- Understanding of the process of moving from page to stage and contribution to the working process in order to craft and shape the performance.
Devising
- The quality of the individual role that the candidate has devised within the ensemble piece, and the ideas that underpin it.
Acting skills
- The quality of the candidate’s vocal and physical technique and use of the performance space.
- The ability to pace the performance and vary levels of emotional intensity.
- The confidence and consistency of the performance.
IDENTIFY ONE STRENGTH AND ONE AREA OF IMPROVEMENT FROM THE ATLs ABOVE:
STRENGTH:
Express Ideas Verbally Collaboration
During the process of devising metamorphosis, I contributed a lot when it came to ideas and I supported and encouraged both Sayma and Stuti but the biggest role I played was when i needed to mediate between them and get them to agree on decisions we need to make like using or not using a ladder instead of blocks and the cutting of lines to shorten the performance.
IMPROVEMENT TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION NEXT YEAR’S NEEDS:
Manage time and meet deadlines I think the skill I need to improve on for next year is “set and work towards goals”. I think the area i needed to improve in this performance was learning my lines earlier on instead of the last minute. I think making small goals and working towards them would help me manage my time efficiently and not procrastinate.
My Ecological Footprint
on Sustainability is the use of global resources at a rate that allows natural regeneration and minimizes damage to the environment. Humans are biological organisms who are a part of the ecology on earth, where we depend on other organisms for resources to consume and develop more things and as the cycle goes on we humans impact the globe and that impact of humans is the ecological footprint.The consequences or impacts of human activities on the globe is an ecological footprint while sustainability is very different. Sustainability is where natural systems function with diverse organisms and keep the ecology balanced.
The two things that contribute most to my ecological footprint are travelling via airplanes and food waste. I travel very regularly from boarding school in Singapore to India and back while also having many vacations to far off countries throughout the year. The travel sector accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions and this is expected to grow at the rate of 4% per year. Airplanes use a lot of fossil fuels and release a lot of greenhouse gases that damages the atmosphere. Traveling leads to pollution, depletion of resources, damages the ecosystem and destroys habitats. Travel add’s 73% to my carbon footprint.
Another of my bad habits is food waste. I live in a boarding house and the storage is shared and it’s not very easy to keep food fresh so I waste a lot of food. Food waste contributes to pollution. The energy need to grow food like fuels for tractors and other machines and also the greenhouse gases released from these machines into the atmosphere, fertilizers and water are all getting wasted and damaging the earth.
Some approaches that I have researched into to help me travel more sustainably are conserving the natural environment of the destination, supporting local businesses by staying in eco-hostels and eating locally, taking direct flights, supporting cultural projects or taking part in carbon offset programmes. A few other ways are choosing sustainable airlines, taking economy class and smaller flights. Staying longer in the destinations, doing more local things, eating less meat, disposing waste properly and carrying a water bottle instead of buying disposable bottles would make a trip more sustainable. A few sustainable airlines that I can use are Delta airlines, Alaska airlines and Cathay Pacific.
I learnt that my food goes bad easily because there’s enzymes and hormones in them like ethylene. Ethylene is a natural plant hormone released in the form of gas. It triggers cells to degrade, change taste, droop or sproute. While some fruits and vegetables are high ethylene producers others are more sensitive to it. The easy way to avoid this is by separating foods which are ethylene producers from the sensitive ones. Ethylene promotes ripening in foods and leads to spoilage. Some foods that produce ethylene while ripening are bananas, avocados, tomatoes, peaches, pears and green onions. Ethylene sensitive foods are potatoes, apples, leafy greens, berries and peppers. Some other things that lead to spoilage are microorganisms, moisture, air and oxygen which can be prevented by using sealed boxes and proper storage. Only 12.7% of food waste output is recycled. Other ways to recycle food are by using it as fertilizers and compost or using it as a skin product like using apples, coffee or potatoes as face packs.
If I have to make one permanent change to my lifestyle it would be to recycle my food waste and store it properly according to ethylene consistencies. It is an easier change and I can use food for various of my other needs like night creams and plant composts. I will also book more sustainable flights and plan my vacations more locally with less distance sto travel or longer stays.
FIB Science Project Reflection 2
on During this project, I have learned a lot about sustainable changes, the existence of programs and initiatives people take to make this world a better place. A couple examples are the carbon offset programmes, the recycling program offered by the singapore government, donations of any kind and home gardening. The best part of the project for me was the development of recipes to recycle food waste instead of discarding the extra materials. I really enjoyed experimenting with different foods and also applied it to my own diet this week. The most challenging thing for me was the tech side of the project as I’m not very involved in technology and don’t have much knowledge about it. In my team I was the most helpful as i tried to help others when they needed it while finishing my own workload like when I helped Doris with the infographic.I went along with a plan from the beginning.
Reflection 1 sustainability project
on When we first started this project on a more sustainable lifestyle for our client, we decided to look at what an ecological footprint consists of. After reading our client’s profile, we knew that our client was already super sustainable and it was going to be a challenge for us to find more ways for her. We were told she was interested in more sustainable travel methods as she flies a lot as a hobby which contributes to the ecological footprint.
We did a lot of research into the carbon offset programmes for sustainable flying as well as more eco-friendly airlines. I also focused on more ways to reduce my client’s food wastage and the recycling programmes credibility in Singapore. I found more sustainable recipes for home-cooking and how to handle and fertilize food remains. The research about the recycling programmes also contributed to more credible recycling locations. We also suggested using LED lights instead of regular lightbulbs. For the next part were focusing on energy ratings for appliances and more airline outlets.
World of Learning Reflection
on As I was starting out and researching different jobs and career paths, I didn’t really have any particular passion or hobby. I was quite interested in psychology and law but I also wanted a wholesome week of experience in the workplace. A few of my goals were to apply and bag an internship on my own but I also set a bar of expectations for myself. I wanted to get an internship where I could assist and help other people out while learning more about the human body. As I am a biology student next year, I felt truly lucky to get an internship in the medical field. Thought this experience, I want to master patience and learn more about workplace interactions and learning how to treat a patient. A successful experience for me would be to assist and get offered a summer internship.
HAS MY SERVICE CHANGED MY PERCEPTION OF EMPATHY?
on I take part in a service that helps out in a cerebral palsy centre. I think my feeling toward this service have evolved throughout the duration of my participation. Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. I feel when I started this service, I didn’t come to terms with the limitations in a cerebral palsy child’s life. I truly didn’t see them for who they were and just thought they were unlucky, but as I spend more time with these children, I truly care and I prioritise making them feeling equal to myself and any other human. My perception of feeling for another person and putting myself in another’s shoes has completely taken a 180 degrees change. I went from feeling sorry to coming to terms that I can never completely know what the child is going through but I can always treat them as I would treat myself and help however I can. The main reason why I feel this service is important is that I feel a child with cerebral palsy is helpless and that is what I truly believe is a disadvantage in this world, and I choose to do anything I can to make them feel atleast slightly helpless while I’m there.