A Fleeting Thought: First Impressions

Hello,


My name is Andy, and here on Ariel's View, I will be posting what the title basically is stating. I think a lot, maybe too much if that's possible, I feel that my body is simply a vehicle for my brain. I kind of life up there, like some sort of mental bachelor pad. Well, that's enough about what I think my head is.





I suppose that I'll be posting things I find interesting, so I guess for that matter you should probably know I am interested in, here are a few subjects I think you'll probably find me talking about the most:

1. Philosophy (Love it everything about it, I am almost physically attracted to cool new views on things)
2. Social Constructs/Human Interaction (Basically sociology, I want to major in it in college so i may even post a few cool studies that I read or essays that I write)
3. International relations (I would like to work for the U.N. someday or at least travel abroad. I love learning about cultures and such)
4. Art & Poetry (I write a bit of poetry and I just love art so....yea I'll be posting that too)
5. Music (There was this one time where I listened to a Wu-Tang Clan CD for 4 months straight. I tend to obsess over one artist or band for months at a time so be borderline "stalker-ish" information may be posted about them. For the record...I am not a stalker)
6. General B.S (If I think something is funny or just plain sad or something in between I'll post it, sometimes comedians and rappers make the best philosophers)

Don't worry, I'll try to label every post with a topic like "A Fleeting Thought: Ever Body Poops" so that way you can skip what you don't want to read.

Well, that's enough with the lists I guess, I hope you enjoy my posts and laugh once or twice or maybe even think about something you didn't before. I honestly have no idea what this foray will turn out to be maybe it will be my MAGNUM OPUS.


P.S


Oh, yes of course I forgot, I am a HUGE NERD so be prepared for things you may find just ridiculous or crazy or pathetically uninteresting.


Sincerely your future best friend in the whole wide world,


Andy.

Senioritis: An Introduction

Hey! I'm Amanda, an author on this blog. I was only given two rules: no nudity and no cursing. The nudity is no problem, but I'll have to work to rein my sailor's mouth in. I'd like to give you all (and Ariel) a little introduction to me and what you should expect from me on this blog.

I've chosen to title all of my entries on this blog Senioritis (at least until June). I'm a high school senior and I'm almost in my second semester, which will bring sublime senioritis, briefly interrupted in the spring by Senior Project and APs. Instead of focusing on any one thing specifically, I'm going to focus on anything interesting that's keeping me from schoolwork, thus enabling my senioritis! I'm already suffering from it a bit, as I've been accepted to the University of South Carolina.

I'll be brief for now. My biggest interests are reading (almost everything, but especially Chuck Palahniuk and Kurt Vonnegut), indie and alternative music of all sorts (right now, Florence + the Machine, Rilo Kiley/Jenny Lewis, Marina & the Diamonds, anything on Blalock's Indie Rock Playlist), feminism, body modification, politics, classical music, film, fashion, environmental science and technology, grammar, NPR, and history. But I ramble about a lot more than that.

I look forward to working on Ariel View!

178 days until graduation!

Fines are not fine

I understand that an establishment must maintain order. I fully comprehend that one must have some structure in their life in order to be successful. However, fining a student for every minor rule break is utterly ridiculous. $50 here, $100 there, just for missing a floor meeting or not signing out of the dorms properly. I missed one floor meeting because I was stuck on the subway & I was fined $100 (granted it hasn't shown up as a fine yet on my Pace Portal. I'm still waiting for that.) A college student is supposed to be free of the confines of an institution that controls your every move. But at Pace, this is certainly not the case.

I was shocked to find out how many fines that Pace has slammed on people for missing meetings, etc. Isn't Pace getting enough money from us? As a result of rudeness from my RA & all of the fines, I no longer attend the trips. Now I just have to figure out what to do once these fines show up on my portal, AH!

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Pace's so-called "Student Union"

The definition of a student union is a building or designated space on a college campus dedicated to social & organizational activities of the student body. It is meant to be a place where students can go to rid of their stress & socialize with their friends. However, at Pace University on the NYC campus, the student union is rarely used for fun. Many people consider it a joke & a waste of space. Events that involve college studies, orientation, & fundraising events occur in the student union. But no one would consider it a place to go to hang out. So what can we do to change this? How can we make Pace a place that is more fun rather than just a bore?

Don't get me wrong, I love Pace. The classes are great & I enjoy the people that attend. But we need more to do on campus. Free activities are what college students need but cannot seem to get at Pace. If music were playing through surround sound speakers & the lights weren't as bright as a classroom, people may slowly start to wander in. The student union shouldn't be a place to study. That's what the library is for. However, as of now, our cafeteria seems to be our mock student union & I think we need to change this. Students need to get more involved in improving their college, including me, & that is why I am trying to do something about it. So let's try to figure something out & work towards improving our student union.

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Sunsara Taylor- A New Beginning

Sunsara Taylor, a writer for the Revolution newspaper is truly trying to make a difference in this world. My dad & I were passing by Union Square today & we stumbled upon 2 women & 1 man spreading the word to attend Sunsara Taylor's lecture tomorrow at New York University. The lecture is going to be about the demeaning of women & how we as women can change this. Here is what she has to say:

"IF YOU ARE A WOMAN, YOUR BODY IS A BATTLEGROUND."

Anywhere you look, women are being slammed backward. In Bangkok & Bangalore & Moldova young women are stripped naked & sold across borders as sex slaves. In Indonesia & Afghanistan & Saudi Arabia women are shrouded in veils, kept as the property, & even killed if they somehow “dishonor” their family.

Meanwhile, in the U.S. we are told women are no longer oppressed. Yet, how many will learn to starve themselves, cut themselves, hate themselves --- internalizing the images that saturate society of women as objects of sexual conquest, the butt of a joke, or baby-making machines? How many will be taught that their value is reducible to being sexually desired by men, but called “sluts” if they actually have sex? How many will be beaten, raped, or told that nothing they accomplish is more important than motherhood? & all women still have to look over their shoulders walking home at night.

To be born female on any part of this planet is to be born into a lifetime of danger, disrespect, discrimination, & denigration. What happens to a woman --- whether toiling her life away in sweatshops from China to Haiti, being raped by soldiers in the Congo or being denied an abortion in the U.S. --- is NOT her individual problem. What happens to 3½ billion human beings is not individual, it is systemic & global. It happens to all of us.

It doesn't have to be this way! There is no longer the need for women's role in society to be dictated by their biological role in childbearing. There is no longer the need for humanity to be hemmed in by patriarchal traditions & oppressive religious morality. Today, this is as insane, as it is cruel, as it is utterly unnecessary,

But, the oppression of women is woven so deeply into the fabric of society here & all over the world, that it will take total revolution – communist revolution – to liberate women."

I do not understand how women are so mistreated physically & mentally but they make up 49.7% of the world's population according to www.INED.fr. Are women okay with this abuse? Why are women so against sisterhood & sticking up for one another? It is always a battlefield between women but we should stay united & change the way we all think of women. It is time for the put-downs & violent behavior caused by men to stop.

Please visit Sunsara Taylor's blog. The blog has Ms. Taylor's YouTube videos so check it out. It was definitely worth my while. Additionally, add Ms. Taylor on Facebook to be up to date with upcoming events.

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13