Semester in Review :)

Looking back on this semester as it comes to a close, I cannot believe that I traipsed around the crowded streets of New York City with my First Year Seminar class FIVE TIMES. Although it was definitely difficult to balance with the marching band’s football schedule, in hindsight I am definitely glad that I made the decision to join this class—the main reason for this being that I got the opportunity to see and do so many things that I would not otherwise have gotten to see or do.

For example, prior to this class, I had only seen one Broadway show. And since it had been a while since I had seen the show, I had somewhat forgotten what the experience of viewing a Broadway show was like. There is nothing quite like live theater, I was once again reminded. Indeed, regardless of people’s opinions regarding the more critical aspects of the show, there is just something special about the “live” aspect of it that no technological advancements can adequately replace, really. (Note, too, that these positive words are coming from one who would have much preferred to see Mary Poppins and The Lion King over Hair and Spiderman. On the other hand, though, Warhorse is a play that I probably would never have made time to see outside of this class, but I am so thoroughly glad that I went, as that production was completely phenomenal.

It is a similar situation with the museums that we got to visit. For instance, I had heard of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum prior to this class, and I had heard about Frank Lloyd Wright and his geometric architecture (particularly focusing on curves). However, I had never actually seen the museum, just as I had never actually seen in person a building whose architecture was a “product” of Frank Lloyd Wright’s. In our visit to the Guggenheim, I beheld both an incredibly designed museum and an incredible example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s telling style of architectural design.

Of all of our museum visits, I think my biggest shock in general came from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Again, of course I had heard of the Met. But for all of its fame, I myself had never seen it, for one reason or another. Before I even entered it, I was amazed at the sheer size of it, and its impressive architecture. This amazement only continued to increase as we meandered through a mere few of the many, many sections of the museum. Not only was the place large in size, but it had a seemingly endless supply of art on display. We would go from room to room and I could not stop being stunned by the immense quantity of art. The Met seems like one of those places that you could go to practically every day without it ever getting old.

In addition, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and the Museum of the American Indian were very interesting. I also enjoyed attending the MAAFA Suite performance, and visiting the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of the City of New York. The variation among our trip itineraries was what made the trips as a whole worthwhile.