Cultural Diet (blog post #1)

My name is Sierra Hite, and I am 20 years old. I'm going to picture my cultural diet as a food pyramid, you know, something they teach you about in elementary school that shows all of the important things you need to consume to maintain a healthy diet. There are 5 things that I feel like I "consume" to maintain a healthy cultural diet are music, art, the use of the internet, literature, and individual originality.
My whole life has revolved around creativity. When I was a child, my parents always let me be myself, and figure out what made me feel unique. I enjoy painting, mostly with water colors, and I have recently gotten into practicing calligraphy. It is actually very peaceful and relaxing.
I started playing the trumpet in 5th grade, and my parents supported me the whole way, all the way through high school and my first year of college. I don't get to play as often as I used to, but I enjoy the time I get to play. I absolutely love listening to music, it feels like I am never not listening to something. I love going to concerts and seeing music performed live.
As painful as it is to admit, I feel like I have become dependent on the internet. Whether it's for homework or for leisure I find that I spend most of my free time surfing the web. I have a few social media accounts that I frequent throughout the day, and I want to be better about over sharing this year, and not share so much mindless information.
Last year my new years resolution was to read more books, and thankfully I feel like I accomplished that resolution. I read a lot of fiction, and science fiction novels that I really enjoyed.
Throughout my life I have enjoyed seeing how other people express themselves through style, fashion and other means, and I have also enjoyed expressing myself through those means as well. My mom always told me that my fashion sense when I was in middle school was "just a phase", and I chose to not believe her because I was full of teenage angst. I started getting ear piercings when I was around 8 years old, and by the time I was 13 my mom took me to get my nose pierced as a surprise birthday present. When I turned 18 I got my first tattoo and it was a little one, but I love being able to express myself through art that will be on my body forever.

Comments

"Changes" (blog post #6)

Even though I was born in the late 90's (1997) I grew up listening to music from the 80's, hip hop, and rap music. I can't say that I remember the first time my mom played her Bruce Hornsby and the Range CD, but I remember 'The Way It Is' vividly. This song, which is perfect for the purpose of this blog post since it tells a story of social ills, and injustices, specifically regarding the Civil Rights Movement in 1964. However, I will actually be discussing a "remade" version of the song; 'Changes' by Tupac. As I mentioned before, I was raised on a lot of rap music, my mom would either put in the 80's greatest hits album or put on Tupac, or The Notorious B.I.G. There was really no in-between. Being a white female I can't say that I relate to what is rapped in this version of the song, but it definitely resonates with me. The song tells a story of how many struggles african american people have to go through just to make ends meet, and how...

"Aspirations" By Aaron Douglas (blog post #8)

Aaron Douglas was a prideful and creative man, who believed in his heritage and was motivated by it to create art. Douglas was easily the most celebrated artist of the Harlem Renaissance, and was sometimes referred to as "the Father of Black American Art." His piece "Aspirations" is a telling portrayal of the struggles that African American people faced. The piece has 3 figures, all holding some type of object, that all represent education in some way. One is holding a globe, another a math tool of some kind, and lastly a woman holding a book. Each one signifies how important it is to be educated and know how to read and write, because at this time education equaled success. Underneath the figures is dark, with hands held high with chains around their wrists, to represent the past of many African Americans in slavery. The highest and brightest point of the painting is the city on top of the hill. It represents what they are aspiring for, the "American Dream...

"Earthrise" (blog post #9)

One of TIME Magazine's most influential images of all time, Earthrise , evokes many feelings within me. As a long time space enthusiast, I can attest to this image being extremely impactful. It was Christmas Eve 1968 when Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William (Bill) Anders entered lunar orbit in the Apollo 8 spacecraft. Anders was the one who took the photo, as he rushed to get a color canister for the camera. I personally think that this photo is beautiful, and it really sheds light on how small we are in the universe. The past year had been brutal and war torn in America, so a sight like this one made people feel a little bit more peace. I think that since Bill was not a photographer, that he wasn't necessarily trying to evoke any feelings specifically by taking this photo. I do think that he wanted people on Earth to have the opportunity to see what our home looks like from space. I also think that it is important for humanity to know that we are not as much as we think we ...

What Does It Mean To Be Human?

Search This Blog