Tag: Connection

“The Glow in Your Eyes” by Yusra Farooqui

My sight lost itself inside the pool of honey brown 

Which glowed like gold in the sun

And gazed glossily across the distant world with a frown

Carrying a heavy heart that was overrun

 

I saw the nothingness, the empty daze of running thoughts  

Of a mind so busy, a heart so lost

My own soul ached to fill those barren spots

No matter what the cost

 

I reached out with a comforting hand to hold

Those dry tears that fell

Of a stubborn mind that only acted so bold

And chose to trudge through hell 

 

My sight lost itself inside a warming smile that acted

As a fleeting curtain to hide 

The broken spirit that felt painfully compacted 

And needed an embrace in which to reside

 

My eyes found themselves far within an ocean so dark;

Bronze glow clouded from murky thoughts

Oh how I hoped to bring back that igniting spark

And remove that fazed gloss

 

So they would always look like sweet cinnamon bark

 

So my sight would find itself inside a pool of honey brown 

Which would glow like gold in the sunlight

While gazing joyfully into my own without a frown

Making the eased heart a pure sight

Beaming brightly, shining as my radiating sun 

 

This is a poem composed by  Yusra Farooqui, a student in the Honors College describing the experience of “looking deeper into a human being.” In celebration of National Poetry Month, “186 South College” will be posting the work of Honors students weekly throughout the month of April as bonus content. If you or someone you know would like to share their work as a guest writer like Yusra, we are still accepting submissions at this link: https://bit.ly/186Poets22

“Aca-knowledging Little Victories” by Grace Kearns

If you found yourself on the second floor of Trabant Student Center on any Tuesday evening, you would think you had just wandered onto Barden University’s campus by mistake. In the cinematic masterpiece that is Pitch Perfect (2012), Barden University is home to four collegiate a Cappella groups. UD just so happens to one-up Barden with eight groups on our very own campus. 

As a first-year member of the MelUDees, I have yet to be in a Riff-Off or perform for the Obamas, and I (thankfully) have been spared from singing any horrendous mashups of “I Saw the Sign” and “Bulletproof.” However, to answer the question that all of my hometown friends and family first asked when I joined in September: yes, it is a lot like Pitch Perfect. I have lived some of the most iconic scenes in the movie, from the involvement fair, to performing gigs around campus, and even hanging out with the other a Cappella groups. My most movie-like moment so far, though, was competing in the International Championship for Collegiate a Cappella (ICCAs) last month.  Continue reading

“Being An Undergraduate TA” by Chris Hope

Last spring, I was approached by one of my professors who suggested that I apply to be a UTA–an undergraduate teaching assistant. It has been a wonderful opportunity, and despite any extra work that I might have to do for the position, I am happy to have this experience under my belt. But how exactly did I get the position? What work do I have to do? What are the helpful experiences that I (and you!) can get from something like this? Continue reading

“A Recipe for Success” by Jenny Gloyd

Food truly brings people together. I have fond memories of cooking with my family when I was younger. During the holidays, we would make thin sugar cookies with a single almond in the center called sand tarts. On any occasion, we would roll out some pre-made pizza dough as best we could, and load it with tons of toppings.

In continuation with family traditions, my roommates and I host dinners occasionally for our friends. A few Fridays ago, we invited them over to eat and catch up, and it gave us a chance to wind down from the week and to eat some delicious food together. The menu: meatloaf and mac n’ cheese. I realize the choice of meatloaf is somewhat controversial, but I promise it’s a good recipe (I’ll let you know how it goes over). Everyone invited contributed a side, a drink, or a dessert, and we ended up with a really amazing spread. Continue reading

“Staying Connected” by Jenny Gloyd

We are in a time which values house slippers over work boots, ceramic mugs over travel tumblers, and computer keyboards over car keys. While we are all home, there are plenty of opportunities to stay connected to our friends, family, classmates, and colleges. Platforms like Zoom and Discord have features that make connecting fun, and the community around us is already finding exciting and creative ways to stay in touch. I wanted to take this time to share with you some of my favorite apps and ideas. 

Zoom is well known on our new virtual campus, as many professors have chosen this platform to host lectures, or to hold office hours, but Zoom can also be used outside of class. With friends, you can make more use of Zoom’s green screen feature. Make it look like you are at the Morris Library, on the beach, or better yet, set the background to a silly photo of a friend. Zoom allows screen and computer audio sharing, so movies are a go on Zoom! Have one friend share the screen and you all can watch together! Virtual game nights are also in the cards. Pictionary can be played using Zoom’s whiteboard functionality, and other games such as Clue or Exploding Kittens have online versions, so it is definitely worth searching for an online version of your favorite board game. I really like Jackbox, which is downloadable to your computer, and allows you to host a variety of fun mini-games that others can participate in via their smartphones. This works the same way as the movie, a friend with Jackbox can share their screen and audio, and others can view the game on their screens as well!

Discord is traditionally used for collaborating remotely while playing video games, but it finds a second use for the day-to-day person. One of the advantages of Discord is that you can create subgroups for both written messages, and spoken conversations. For example, in my Organic Chemistry group chat, there is a specific text-channel labeled “Problem Sets,” so all information relevant to our problem sets can be in one place. There is a voice-channel labeled the same, so anyone in the class currently working on the homework set can speak on the channel to work together. Another wonderful feature is the ability to create and upload your own custom emojis. If your friend made a funny face in lecture, it can be an emoji! If you found a cute puppy photo on twitter the other day, it can be an emoji! One of the custom emojis for the Chemistry class is a small picture of the commonly used molecule, benzene. 

I’d like to end this post with some honorable mentions, activities that I have not tried myself, but seem like a good use of our quarantine time. 

“Excel Tag”

Share a Google Sheets document with a friend. You will be able to see which box you and your friend have highlighted. One person starts off as “it.” and then uses their arrow keys to select adjacent boxes and “run” away from the other person. If you select the same box, the other person is “it.”

“PowerPoint Parties”

This idea is best carried out through a platform like Zoom, so that screen sharing is a possibility. You invite friends to a Zoom call, and ask them to come prepared with a short presentation on a topic of their choice. This could be as researched as “The History of the Penny” or as passionate as “Hamburgers ARE Sandwiches.” Grab some popcorn, sit back and watch what your friends have made to present, and don’t forget to make some slides of your own.

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