Student Posts

Walking in Nature’s Canvas by jeffsmallwood CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Ambience : Beach – 1 by SamuelGremaud CC0 1.0 DEED

Growing up 45 minutes from the beach was filled with numerous beach trips to see the sunrise/sunset or spending the whole day there. Watching another day begin or that day end has always brought me peace and pleasure. The beach at sunset is a mesmerizing spectacle, as the sun dips below the horizon, casting hues of orange, pink, and purple across the sky.It was a place I could sit with my thoughts and enjoy the nature all around me. After living in Tallahassee for almost three years with no beach nearby, I think I took these experiences for granted. This picture reminds me of my year round childhood beach trips with my siblings.

The audio is what most people would expect to hear when they are at the beach; laughter rippling through the air, blending seamlessly with the joyous calls of seabirds and the soothing rhythm of waves. All these sounds can be a little overwhelming for some, but when I find myself at the beach I find these ordinary nature sounds perfect.

Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 by NIAD CreativeCommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

StoltingMediaGroup.com http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

When I saw this picture, it actually reminded me of various infected cells. It is actually a picture of the disease defined as the causal agent of Coronavirus Disease. It is a strain of the severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-related coronavirus. This changed the world and created a new work place as we now know as “work from home” as the new normal. We were forced to take serious precautions that still rendered hundreds of thousands of deaths.

I chose the futuristic creepy sounds because it complements the visual presence of the SARS in this picture. The sounds denote unknown and confused depictions of the cells and how they appear to be attached and dislocated.

For this assignment, I wanted to do something a little humorous. I have always loved memes, and usually respond in my group chats with reaction gifs. When I saw this frog, I instantly knew he would be perfect. Even though I am terrified of frogs in real life (like I definitely do not want one to jump on me), I still find them somewhat adorable? I mean, look at this little guy. He’s absolutely “ribbeting”…

I almost went in a completely different direction with the sound. You know how when someone is talking to you, but all you are doing is screaming on the inside? Or, think of Leo DiCaprio not winning an Oscar (again) back in 2013. If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, you should definitely google it, it’s a treat [screams internally]. One of the main reasons why I didn’t use a screaming sound was because I didn’t want to scare anyone and thought it would be better to go a more positive direction. I found this little 8bit song that I feel captures the “No thoughts. Head empty” vibe. The song also sounds like loading screen music, in which our frog friend’s brain is seemingly trying to load.

When choosing the image I wanted to use for this assignment, I wanted something that gave off a “cozy vibe.” I’m also a huge fan of the color green, so choosing this image was a no-brainer. When I look at this image, it looks inviting and feels like the living space that I’d like to come home to after a long day. It looks like the closest representation to what my “mind palace” would look like if it existed, well, outside of the confines of my mind.

A living space where I could throw my bag in a corner, slip into my cow slippers, and just… exist. One where I wouldn’t have to be productive or exert any extra energy, I would simply be allowed to exist. Too often, productivity is used as a way to assign worth to an individual, to the point where that productivity becomes toxic. We measure our worth and overall value based on what we can pump out and give to the world, choosing to serve everyone and anyone before we focus on ourselves.

When I think of cozy or just existing, I like listening to city pop. It’s a genre that’s not too busy and just serves as a backdrop for me to enjoy while I continue to romanticize my life and simply exist. Where I can retreat away when life becomes difficult and overwhelming, when I simply just need to be Jo. Not Jo is defined by what I offer to others and pump out, but just Jo.

CC BY 4.0 DEED

Did Robert Browning murder his beloved wife Elizabeth? Some few English scholars believe this to be the case. They argue that, over time, he increased her dosage of laudanum, and, eventually, this overpowered her already-compromised body. If true, as Carmen’s ironic aria Habanera proved her undoing, so too, did Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s great love.

“Love is a gypsy’s child,
it has never, ever, known a law;”

So sings Carmen, the eponymous and infamous femme fatale of George Bizet’s opera, about the uncontrollable quality of love. Bizet had his character sing this song with dramatic irony, as this action sets in motion the events of love, jealousy, and passion that will result in Carmen’s demise. If the above claim about Robert Browning is true, then the photographed painting of the idealized relationship of Barrett and Browning presented with Carmen’s aria may be interpreted as challenging the public’s unrelenting insistence that the Browning-Barrett relationship was ideal, even epic. Instead of the stereotyped femme fatale bringing about the death of her lover, casting herself in the role of the beloved, she brings about the death of herself, the femme.

“Iceland Landscape” by Lenny K Photography is licensed under CC by 2.0

“Garbage Truck [distant perspective] 1m40s” by rimidaL is licensed under CC0 1.0 Deed

I did a little bit of traveling a few years back and one of the places I visited was Iceland. One of the things that was so incredible to see aside from the many spectacular views was how clean everything was kept. Not one piece of trash could be found anywhere! I don’t even remember there being any litter in the cities.

I present a site at a waterfall that I got to see and contradict its beauty with the representation of what you wouldn’t expect to experience at such a place. For me, this both enhances and changes its meaning when combined together, by pointing out how the landscaped has managed to be untouched, and pulling me away from the actual expected experience.

It was a normal October day. I looked out the window of a 2nd grade classroom in Spokane, Washington, watching the kids out a recess. It was like a blizzard came out of nowhere. I was a student teacher and driving in the snow still made me nervous, even though I had gotten used to it in Iowa where I went to college. I asked my cooperating teacher if school was going to be let off early because of the snow. She said no, the snow probably won’t stick. But it did.

By the end of the school day, the parking lot was covered with inches of snow. I had a 30-minute drive back to my apartment, that include a long highway, rural roads, and the real possibility of deer running into the road. Somehow, I made it to my apartment safely.

By the time I got to my apartment, I was cold, tired, stressed and very hungry. As the blizzard continued outside, I preheated my oven to prepare to cook a homemade pizza. As the pizza was cooking, I put on my PJs and selected a cozy movie to watch. By the time the pizza was done the blizzard was still going outside.

This picture by Christine Wisnieski shows the comfort of being safe at home with good food, while the sound from daveincamas represents the chaos of nature outside. When driving back home from student teaching in the increasing snow, the thought of being safe in my apartment was my goal. Pizza and movie were the much-deserved reward.