Social Mania

Ten. That’s the total number of times I’ve checked Facebook and Instagram within the past hour alone. Ashamedly, it’s become a sort of compulsive habit. No matter what I’m doing, turning on my phone or laptop wouldn’t be complete without checking Tumblr, Facebook or Instagram. Within the past year or so, social media has become a big part of my life. It’s become part of my daily morning routine. Before the thought of getting out of bed to face the day even crosses my mind, I have to check social media and see what’s been going on in the world while I’ve been sleeping. Whether I’m waiting in a line or taking a quick study break, my first impulse is always to check my phone. And I’m not the only one. According to a recent study done by Pew Research Center, “Multi-platform use is on the rise: 52% of online adults now use two or more social media sites, a significant increase from 2013, when it stood at 42% of internet users.” [excerpt

Here\u27s Psychology For Temperamental Sinks

A haughty and pale creature is my kitchen sink. She is temperamental and stubborn at times. When she is happy, she gurgles and bubbles gaily like a baby while I go about the kitchen duties in my daily routine

Effects of Exercise on an American Sign Language Interpreter: Work Production, Mental Health and Physical Health

Mental burnout and physical fatigue are common in American Sign Language interpreters. In this action research project, I studied the relationship between exercise and one interpreter’s mental and physical strain and job performance. Exercise has always been my main source of self-care. I wanted to take a deeper look at the scientific reasoning behind why a regular exercise routine can lead to a clearer working mind. I conducted research on myself over 20 weeks using a log of my daily workouts, weekly work samples, and weekly journal entries, focusing on how I was feeling mentally and physically. This study allowed me to see how my weekly exercise routine has had a direct positive impact on my work and my mental and physical health

Temporary Lack of Amenities Taught Me to Appreciate What I Have

In my daily routine I often forget about how fortunate I am to have certain luxuries such as running water, electricity and a fast Internet connection. To us, these amenities may seem expected because we live in a developed country. However, during my recent 45-day adventure to Peru, I had an enlightening experience

What Am I Doing Again?

My work explores notions of habits, chaos and distractions; present within my painting practice. Each painting I make begins with a routine that symbolizes the daily experiences of my life. My paintings reflect the constant thought stream of my mind. They reveal the constant of societal and cultural past and present; buried as deep in our minds as a prayer or hymn ready to burst out at any moment. By referencing and exploring pop culture and pop art, I engage in a critique of commodity and commercialism. My paintings respond to cultural conditions of the digital age

Still spring was spring

The works came out of an exploration of looking, time and place. A strange tension always occurred to me every time I returned home. For a month, I resumed my early morning schedule in high school on a daily basis. The route between school and home constructs most of my memories in the city. The practice of repeating the old routine is my way of trying to understand my relationship with this place, to probe into the separation and intimacy that constantly contradict within me. What has kept you away and brought you back, why, I ask myself. Relying on returning to the past, I recollect my attachment and connections to what seemingly was forgotten to me

Exercise facilitates memory: Implications for helping youngsters learn in school

Up to this day I still can vividly remember a routine in my elementary school: the daily school-wide morning calisthenics. It started at about 7:45 am in the school courtyard. Our physical education teacher stood on the concrete stage where our principal would give her talk at school assemblies. All children and teachers would follow the teacher's lead to do the eight-segment national calisthenics in unison with loud music from loudspeakers affixed on trees around the courtyard. When I visited the school last May, I saw that students still performed the routine faithfully but with a different set of calisthenics program. The principal said, exactly like what my principal would, that the morning exercise could help students learn in classroom by following the “Three-Excellence” doctrine: excellent health, excellent learner, and excellent citizen

Skipping the Second Step

When I was in second grade I remember my friend Ben informing myself and our other good friend Shane that the second and second to last step of every stairway was extremely bad luck and that horrible things would happen if we knowingly step on them. The three of us embraced this new knowledge with utmost severity and habitually jumped over the second and second to last step of every staircase. This habit became so strong in my daily routine that I would skip those evil steps everywhere for years to come. Even now, when the memory of this legend comes to my mind, I skip the necessary steps to avoid misfortune

Launching a Music Career by Hand

This culminating experience focuses on developing my artistic identity through the process of generating original material. The final project consists of five recorded songs, two music videos and a professional website. I supported the creation of this content with a series of interviews with Folk Singer- Songwriters and one producer, as well as by establishing a daily routine of free writing and practicing guitar and voice. Throughout the process, I solidified my artistic identity, which consists of four main components: I am a Folk and Americana songwriter, an instrumentalist, a producer and have an authentic and organic approach to my artistry. A challenge for me was leaving enough time for rehearsals and pre- production before going into the studio. Ultimately, I learned a great deal about the recording process, my songwriting techniques and habits, the significance of practicing and writing daily, and how crucial it is to communicate and collaborate with other artists in a respectful manner. The material from this culminating experience will be used to promote myself online and to share my artistry with other musicians and audiences.https://remix.berklee.edu/graduate-studies-contemporary-performance/1124/thumbnail.jp

Reliquary

I am interested in ritual – the rituals we inherit, and those we choose for ourselves. By situating the everyday mugs, cups, plates, and bowls next to objects more closely associated with ritual and ceremony, I am suggesting that all of these are significant objects. On one hand, the tableware essential to the rituals of daily living we share at home, on the other, communion vessels and reliquaries are used to deepen a spiritual ritual shared by a community. Both rituals are important experiences worthy of introspection, and consideration. This is why I make pottery. I believe that handmade objects have the ability to slow us down, and compel us to notice the kind of objects we’ve become oblivious to. The pots in this show were made during the Covid-19 pandemic. I found the upheaval of daily life held together by my studio practice. I looked towards mindfulness, meditation, and flow in that practice, making discoveries as I made incremental steps. My pots are strongest when I am making them as part of a routine, not by rote, but rather through the daily ritual of my studio practice. I believe these rituals exist for all of us in some fashion, choosing to acknowledge and examine them will add significance and meaning to daily life