I just had an epiphany!
hi mommy, hi daddy,
i just wanted to send you this link to a page that gives the bio of the woman who has had such an amazing impact on my life this semester. Her name is Kathy Engel and she is my Imagination and Social Change professor. I came across her bio online and thought you'd like to see a little bit of the person who has had such an influence on me this year.
http://www.essence.com/essence/summit/bio_k_engel.html
Last night I attended an off broadway performance with Kathy and a couple of the kids in the class. The show is called "My Name is Rachel Corrie" and its a one woman show about Rachel Corrie. I don't know if you remember her, but she was the American girl who was in Gaza with an international organization protesting the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and was bulldozed by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to prevent the destruction of a palestinian home. It was an amazing piece of art and an even greater device of spreading knowledge and understanding of the issues facing the civilians of the region. This was not by any means a pro-Palestin, anti-Israel piece but rather "pro-people" --to use the term coined last night. We were lucky enough to have attended a performance with a talk back scheduled! After the show--which was moving enough as it was--there was a talk back with Rachel Corrie's parents, an Israeli Airforce Captain, and a Palestinian official of the Fata Party. For the next hour or so, the audience was able to ask questions and get answers from every side. It was amazing. The whole time I was thinking about how, all my life, Palestians have been almost invisible to me. I know about the conflict, but having grown up on american media and american text books all I have ever learned is the biased perspective of the Israeli-backing american government. Don't be alarmed! They haven't turned me into to some crazy radical pro Palestine activist or anything! haha Rather, I was just proufoundly impacted by the realization that this piece of art, this play, was the medium through which I was able to gain a clearer understanding of the conflict and of the lives of the civillians living that nightmare --Palestinian and Israeli alike--as well as insprired an ever growing desire to learn more and make some sort of change. Now I know this could just be me, and that not all people would react this way, but Im not that special. There are millions that would be affected just like me if they had the opportunity to learn. Just like "An Inconvenient Truth." I had to forcibly drag 5 of my friends to see that film this summer and now Kimmy is the founder of a new community organization to prevent and spread awareness of global warming. Kimmy!! Change is possible with education, and education is possible (even disguised!) through a medium traditionally used for entertainment.
"Give them their bread and circus...they will be fat and happy" (or something to that effect! haha)
Ever since I first heard this quote I have been troubled by the idea of becoming a part of this perpetuating...thing. The entertainment industry has become a device of distraction and I so so so do not want to be responsible for the encouragement of ignorance (if that makes sense.) This idea of successfully doing what i love (the arts) versus doing something that will help others and possibly even give my life some meaning has haunted me for the last 6 months or so, but it seems I've had some sort of epiphany. I love the arts (theater, flim, dance, art/photo exhibits, etc.) and (though I am fully aware that I don't know very much) I know enough about the world and the very important issues facing humanity that I can not live my life as though they do not exist. Therefore, if I'm going to be a part of the circus I'm going to be the ringleader, and there is a new show coming to town! haha (ok im getting a little excited...you know what I mean). So, I've decided that my concentration in Gallatin will be Theater and Arts Policy. I have been so profoundly impacted by this introduction to social work through an arts medium that I can not imagine doing anything else with my life. I've changed around my curriculum for Italy and in addition to my required italian, and florentine culture classes, I plan to enroll in a course called Media and Society: TV & Italian Democracy as well as a Community Service course. I am so excited! and I just wanted to share this with you, and hopefully you might have a little better understanding of what the heck I'm doing over here for 50,000 a year! Speaking of which, i have even better news! I am applying for the NYU Reynolds Scholarship for Social Entrepreneurship which, if i get it, will give me $20,000 per year plus amazing internship and networking opportunities. So wish me luck! Ah! ok I'm all pumped up now so I need to write my cover letter for the proposal for the Domestic Violence PSA! haha
i love you both so much!
Sarah Rose
i just wanted to send you this link to a page that gives the bio of the woman who has had such an amazing impact on my life this semester. Her name is Kathy Engel and she is my Imagination and Social Change professor. I came across her bio online and thought you'd like to see a little bit of the person who has had such an influence on me this year.
http://www.essence.com/essence/summit/bio_k_engel.html
Last night I attended an off broadway performance with Kathy and a couple of the kids in the class. The show is called "My Name is Rachel Corrie" and its a one woman show about Rachel Corrie. I don't know if you remember her, but she was the American girl who was in Gaza with an international organization protesting the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and was bulldozed by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to prevent the destruction of a palestinian home. It was an amazing piece of art and an even greater device of spreading knowledge and understanding of the issues facing the civilians of the region. This was not by any means a pro-Palestin, anti-Israel piece but rather "pro-people" --to use the term coined last night. We were lucky enough to have attended a performance with a talk back scheduled! After the show--which was moving enough as it was--there was a talk back with Rachel Corrie's parents, an Israeli Airforce Captain, and a Palestinian official of the Fata Party. For the next hour or so, the audience was able to ask questions and get answers from every side. It was amazing. The whole time I was thinking about how, all my life, Palestians have been almost invisible to me. I know about the conflict, but having grown up on american media and american text books all I have ever learned is the biased perspective of the Israeli-backing american government. Don't be alarmed! They haven't turned me into to some crazy radical pro Palestine activist or anything! haha Rather, I was just proufoundly impacted by the realization that this piece of art, this play, was the medium through which I was able to gain a clearer understanding of the conflict and of the lives of the civillians living that nightmare --Palestinian and Israeli alike--as well as insprired an ever growing desire to learn more and make some sort of change. Now I know this could just be me, and that not all people would react this way, but Im not that special. There are millions that would be affected just like me if they had the opportunity to learn. Just like "An Inconvenient Truth." I had to forcibly drag 5 of my friends to see that film this summer and now Kimmy is the founder of a new community organization to prevent and spread awareness of global warming. Kimmy!! Change is possible with education, and education is possible (even disguised!) through a medium traditionally used for entertainment.
"Give them their bread and circus...they will be fat and happy" (or something to that effect! haha)
Ever since I first heard this quote I have been troubled by the idea of becoming a part of this perpetuating...thing. The entertainment industry has become a device of distraction and I so so so do not want to be responsible for the encouragement of ignorance (if that makes sense.) This idea of successfully doing what i love (the arts) versus doing something that will help others and possibly even give my life some meaning has haunted me for the last 6 months or so, but it seems I've had some sort of epiphany. I love the arts (theater, flim, dance, art/photo exhibits, etc.) and (though I am fully aware that I don't know very much) I know enough about the world and the very important issues facing humanity that I can not live my life as though they do not exist. Therefore, if I'm going to be a part of the circus I'm going to be the ringleader, and there is a new show coming to town! haha (ok im getting a little excited...you know what I mean). So, I've decided that my concentration in Gallatin will be Theater and Arts Policy. I have been so profoundly impacted by this introduction to social work through an arts medium that I can not imagine doing anything else with my life. I've changed around my curriculum for Italy and in addition to my required italian, and florentine culture classes, I plan to enroll in a course called Media and Society: TV & Italian Democracy as well as a Community Service course. I am so excited! and I just wanted to share this with you, and hopefully you might have a little better understanding of what the heck I'm doing over here for 50,000 a year! Speaking of which, i have even better news! I am applying for the NYU Reynolds Scholarship for Social Entrepreneurship which, if i get it, will give me $20,000 per year plus amazing internship and networking opportunities. So wish me luck! Ah! ok I'm all pumped up now so I need to write my cover letter for the proposal for the Domestic Violence PSA! haha
i love you both so much!
Sarah Rose