My New Blog

On March 13 I left my apartment in Austin, Texas and headed home to see my family for spring break in Houston. Little did I know that I would be spending the rest of the semester here.

COVID-19, or Coronavirus, came to our attention as a pandemic in March even though the virus had already been traveling around the world before then. Due to COVID-19 St. Edward’s University, along with many other schools and universities, made the decision to continue the remainder of our spring 2020 semester via online classes.

St. Edward’s made the decision on March 18 to move to online classes post spring break and life for students has changed ever since.

I have to admit, it was quite difficult to get into a routine in the beginning of quarantine. However, as more time has gone by I have figured out how to pass the time in a way that is beneficial to me.

Every day I wake up early and set apart some time to have coffee and read or get work done before my classes. The morning is my favorite time of day and I have found that I am more productive during the early hours rather than in the afternoon or at night. Since this discovery, I have been making it a point to try and finish most, if not all, of my work when I wake up.

I am quarantined at home with my younger brothers who are in high school, so it can be difficult to concentrate later in the day when they are awake. I have also found that working and doing classes from home takes up a lot of space in our house. Therefore, every table is scattered with textbooks and papers. Sometimes it feels like a race to claim the best spots to work from.

 

Although this quarantine hasn’t been fun by any means, I have actually been able to rediscover my love for things like bike riding, walking my dog, doing puzzles and reading. In order to get my mind off of things and to relieve stress I try to do at least one of these things every day. I have found it soothes my mind and calms my anxiety.

I also make it a priority to spend time downstairs with my parents rather than staying cooped up in my room on my phone. I try my best to put my phone away for most of the day because once I start looking through my social media it feels like the day flies by without me getting anything done.

I have had plenty of lazy days though. Days where I don’t want to go on a walk or get out of bed early. I tell myself it’s okay to have these days every once in a while, because I deserve some rest. However, most days I try to at least get dressed into normal everyday clothes even though I have nowhere to go.

Being stuck at home in a situation like this reminds me of how much I appreciate being able to be outside. Although the empty streets of Houston are haunting, I am constantly reminding myself that things will get better and we will get through this together.

This map shows the percentage of children ages 5-17 living in poverty in 2016 by school district in Travis County. The data used in this map is from TEA and The U.S. Census Bureau.

 

1. I learned from the video game Professor that all of his experiences in the past with video games since he was younger effect his outlook on games right now.
2. I learned from Alex that even though having children caused her to have to sell her studio and move to working in a smaller area in her dining room, she learns from her children and they create art with her.
3. Joe gave me inspiration to start a photo project now and continue it on until I am older so that I can see how things have changed, or stayed the same. I want to do something like he did with taking photos of his family members that way when someone passes away I will always have documentation of them.
4. I really enjoyed all of the guest speakers we had this semester even if they didn’t relate to my interests or major. It was nice to hear and learn about other majors that aren’t photo. Overall this was a very engaging and interesting seminar.

1. The visiting speakers from the gaming industry were a married couple who created an independent game together. They designed and made a whole entire video game with each other and with he help of a few more people. The game has not been released yet, but it should be pretty soon. I learned through their speech about how much work goes into creating a video game. They have been working on this game fro a pretty long time, and it still is not completely done.
2. As a photographer how does one get their name out in the industry for people to hire and is it better to have one type of photographic style or is it better to be an all around photographer who can do anything?

I chose to write about Alex Grey. Alex Grey is a contemporary artist who creates art through many different processes including sculptures, paintings, films, and performances. My favorite of his works are his paintings. I love the vibrant colors he uses in all of them. The way he paints is very psychedelic and mesmerizing. I love the fact that he does not just do one type of medium, he has the skill and talent to create so many different kind of art. A lot of his art is really spiritual which I really enjoy. “Kiss of The Muse” Acrylic on Linen
“Bond” Acrylic on Linen

These are two of his paintings that I love. Through these two you can get the gist of what his paintings are like. They all contain lots of colors and abstract shapes. Many of the people that are in his paintings look like they don’t have skin, so you can just see the insides of them. They all have a very spiritual feeling to them.

1. Professor Luu’s presentation was really fascinating because I didn’t know much about the lithograph machine, but have always been interested in graphic design so it was nice to learn more about it. A lot of his work was so good, especially his graphic self portrait he started the presentation with. Professor Kennedy’s silent presentation was really awesome. His photographs didn’t even look like photographs. The fact that he can take a picture of an everyday object and turn it into an unrecognizable piece of art is amazing. Hearing about the work that Professor Garza did with her husband was cool, however it scared me when she talked about how many years it took her to complete because she didn’t have time. Professor Phan’s presentation was also fascinating, like Professor Luu’s, because I love all of the elements of graphic design but I don’t know much about it.
2. I want to complete college in 4 years. After college I’m not sure what kind of job I want to get. Im planning on doing some internships during the course of my college career so that I can get a better idea of what I want to do with my photocommunications major.

1. I love the arts, especially photography, which is why I decided on this major: Photocommunications. I believe this major will help me prepare for a career in the future because I want to become a professional photographer. I’m not sure what I want to do exactly with my photo skills yet, but that is why I think this major is awesome. There are so many different types of photo classes available for me to take. I am able to experience different types of photography through this major and because of this I will hopefully be able to figure out what I want to do when I graduate. I don’t really have a backup plan if this major doesn’t work out, because I’m hoping that it does work out.. This is all I want to do at the moment and I don’t know if thats going to change anytime soon.
2. I don’t have a minor or a second major, however I used to want to be a teacher so majoring in education could be a possible option. I think majoring in education would be good for me because it would be easier to find a job. Also, if I got a job at a school I could be an art or photography teacher which would be like a combo of the two things I would like to do once I graduate.

1. My greatest strengths in Rhetoric and Composition include actively reading well and completing assignments on time. For greater success in this course, I need to be more vocal in class. My greatest strengths in Art and Activism include being able to critique art. For greater success in this course, I need to take more detailed notes on the things we speak about in class. My greatest strengths in Visual Studies include being able to complete the projects on time. For greater success in this course, I need to go out and shoot more photographs. My greatest strengths in my Social Justice LLC Seminar include going to class and paying attention to the speakers. For greater success in this course, I need to participate more often. My greatest strengths in Photo 1 include being able to shoot and develop film. For greater success in this course, I need to be more organized and manage my time wiser.
2. My computer skills include knowing how to work technology pretty well, being able to teach others how to do things on computers, and being able to work applications like Lightroom indesign and photoshop. I still need to learn more shortcuts on the keyboard.
3. My greatest strengths as a researcher/writer include being able to explain things really well and do thorough research. I need to work on these aspects of research and writing: expanding my vocabulary and not procrastinating finishing my papers. I learn best and accomplish most when I’m alone in quiet; not distracted by my phone or my friends.
4. 10 ways I could improve my performance in Rhetoric and Composition:
   1. Participate more often
   2. Read more thoroughly
   3. Not procrastinate when writing
   4. Ask more questions
   5. Go to office hours if I need more help
   6. Pay more attention in class even though its early
   7. Get another classmates number so I can contact them if needed
   8. Print out the readings so I can have them in front of me when talking about them in class
   9. Write down deadlines in a calendar
   10. Do revisions on my short writing assignments for extra points