Arbitrary Happiness at the Arboretum

Miserable and half-asleep, I traveled down Bigler making my way to the H.O. Botanical Gardens at the Penn State Arboretum. I shivered with each step as harsh fall winds tackled me. It is really unnatural for college kids to wake up so early on a Monday morning (or any morning for that matter).

            It’s safe to say I don’t normally wake up on the wrong side of the bed. For those who know me personally, I am never the one to bring a situation down with pessimism. So I decided I must have been coming down with something and would self medicate myself with doses of Keorig hazelnut coffee when I got backed to the dorm.

            Even when I’m sick and tired I try to be positive no matter what the activity. Although I am not an outdoorsy girl, I do enjoy the scenic views and feel when I am outside. I mostly enjoy outdoor activities rather than viewing nature such as waterskiing, hiking, and bike riding. I love the beauty of flowers blooming in the spring and adorable, small animals. Yet when it comes to pollen allergies, I tend to be a nature hater. All in all, I wouldn’t consider myself a nature lover, but very appreciative to what it has to offer.

This was my first trip to the Arboretum. I had never been to a garden to view it or roam around it as a choice. Of course I have been to places with gardens inside of it, but the greenery weren’t the main focus.

I was surprised when I walked over to only see a huge field. Once I walked inside, to my disbelief was gorgeous scenery. Not only from the many types of flowers, trees, vegetables, and grass, but from the architecture such as the main building, fountains and abstract art and carvings. My favorite thing about the gardens was the breath taking view of the mountains surrounding University Park. Looking from a distance felt so overjoyed to be in the Happy Valley.

Even the smallest details in the Botanical Gardens expressed so much beauty. As I journeyed through the winding turns of the cement paths bordered by fully blossomed flowers, I stopped and noticed a dead patch of land. Perhaps the land was going to be redone or the flowers had withered in that area. An ordinary bench was placed between. On a small plaque stated “A Gift From A Grateful Son”. Something like this is so touching to me. Throughout the Arboretum there is a lot of hidden meaning and a lot of work and dedication put into it as well.

State College is an energy filled town. No matter if it’s a Sunday football game or a rainy Tuesday afternoon, the campus is always swarmed with thousands of people and hundreds of things to do. I think I would like to come to the Botanical Gardens again to walk around, relax, clear my head, or even study for an exam. It is calming to find a place like this in such a busy place like State College. I will definitely be back soon, but next time with a book in hand and freed mind.

Roaring Arguments at the Palmer

As I roamed around the Palmer Museum of Art on September 7^th, my attention span was on a rampage. A day clear from classes, my mind was in dire need of absorbing information. Do I observe early religious paintings from Italian painter Ferretti first or digital art by Muniz? Or should I gaze at the beautifully blown glass of Dale Chihuly on the first floor near the stairwell? After a short 45 minutes of wondering and soaking up as much art as I could, I left with my thoughts still wondering yet this time about one specific piece of art I didn’t see inside the Palmer, but better yet directly outside of it.

Outside of the main entrance of the Palmer Museum lie two large bronze lion paws. As for the rhetorical situation, they were created between 1992-1993 by Paul Bowden. The Paws at the Palmer was dedicated as a gift for the Lion’s Paw Alumni Association and Senior Society. This fact alone shows how much alumni still connect with the school still and the pride those students and current students feel today.

The paws directly connected with me the moment I saw them. They struck my pathos as a Penn State student. The paws represent much as the Nittany Lion Shrine does: pride, strength, power, unity, spirit, and respect. The claim that these paws display is just that. These paws are like a hidden gem of Penn State for they show the pride this community has.

Overall experience: My overall experience at the Palmer was delightful. It is relaxing to visit a place on campus that isn’t as rushed at the HUB during lunch hours or as a packed as Beaver Stadium on game days. With such a large school, I think the Palmer is the perfect place for a student, teacher, or even local to empty his or her mind. Most importantly is located extremely close to the creamery.

Talking about Blogs

Template: While brainstorming about my blog, I imagined a place where readers felt invited. I wanted to draw the readers in not only with my words, but with the design as well. The template is warm, appealing, and pleasurable.

The feeling I want my audience to have while reading my blog is kicking their shoes off and relaxing. This is evident in the powerful sunset background to the cozy, peach font color choice.

 I think my choices say a lot about myself and even so the readers. The visual argument of the sunset appeals to Pathos of the reader. Everyone has seen a sunset that has given him or her a warm, fuzzy feeling. This says something about me as a person. I truly enjoying making others feel good about them. Although I want my blog to do just that, I also intend it to challenge my audience in ways to think critically about different situations.

Title: Even though I may only have this blog for one college semester, I want my readers to understand how I see the world through my eyes. Everyone has different perspectives and it is my job as a blogger to challenge them.

Other components: One component that I decided to display was the fish tank. Not only do the colors match the template, but also they convey the idea of a relaxed and friendly environment. I want my readers to be comfortable while viewing my blog, not thinking they are reading a 15-page term paper.

About me: In my about me section I wrote some facts about myself that I think are important to my character such as my hobbies and favorite foods. There is a hint of humor in giving the audience another glimpse of my personality.

All in all, I think my blog portrays me as well as cyberspace web log can represent. The experience of making the blog wasn’t too difficult for a tech-savvy teenager like myself especially having experiences similar with Tumblr and Twitter. I hope to use this blogging experience to understand other students like me (and different from me) at Penn State. Through this blog I hope to become a better writer. Sometimes, blogs are lost in the vast World Wide Web. Most importantly, I aim to use this blog to find better ways to accumulate information from the Internet such as Blogger.