Finding My Inspiration

So today after class, I decided to go for a walk around campus. I started walking and before I knew it I could see the Washington Monument from a distance. I didn’t know it was so close to GW. I pulled out my camera and began taking pictures of things that looked interesting to me..iron benches, columns, t-shirts, etc. While taking these pictures I started to feel inspired again. I started to feel that passion again for photography that made me like it in the first place.

While I was roaming around, I got thirsty so I stopped at one of those hot dog stands to buy some water. I payed $2.25 for a bottle of water! Crazy! And oh while I was at the stand, I saw an Asian man taking so many pictures of the hot dog stand. I was really tempted to ask him what he found so fascinating about it, but then again I always take pictures of the most randomest things and i’m sure people think i’m crazy too.

I thought I would post a few of my pictures. I guess they’re not your average D.C. tourist photos.

Abstract

“Nation Building and Body Building”

Margaret Farrar analyzes the layout for the National Mall while comparing it to the alley reform which occurred around the same time. She mentions that the whole purpose behind the reconstruction of the National Mall was to create a sense of national identity and unity within the city of Washington. However, at the same time, the residents of the alleys were excluded from society. Farrar depicts the environment of the alleys and the people that lived within it. She mentions the many diseases they had, the filth they lived in, and how nothing was done to help the situation of these alley dwellers. Farrar concludes that the ugliness of these alleys was hidden from society.

Talk To Me

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

-MLK

In the movie Talk To Me, Petey Green says this quote by Dr. Martin Luther King and it really got me thinking. When times are easy, everyone is jolly and happy-go-lucky, but when the going gets tough it’s only then that you see a person’s true personality and who they really are.

Brainstorming…

So I was thinking about writing my paper on the power of the press. Maybe talk about the importance of the press back then and now.

Some points that I’m considering…

-Readership today

-”Yellow journalism”

-Hearst and Pulitzer

-Broadcast journalism vs. written journalism

-Radio bringing the family together

Films to consider:

-Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

-All the President’s Men

-Citizen Kane

-Talk to Me

Exploring the City

It’s already been a week since I left Houston and I’ve been meaning to explore D.C. Today, I had a chance to look around and walk for a while, but instead I decided to go to Pentagon City Mall and shop.

I’m really into photography and taking photographs. But these days, I don’t know what is up with me I’ve kind of lost my inspiration. And it sounds crazy, I’m in D.C., a tourist hotspot, but I hate taking those same old cliche and boring photos. I’ve been meaning to take a cool panning shot of the metro. Where you know, the metro is going at full speed and it has that cool motion blur and then the people waiting for it are in focus and everything else is out of focus. But I haven’t come around to taking it yet.

I’m excited to go to school in D.C. in the fall. I can’t wait to see the leaves change different colors in the fall, snow in the wintertime, and cherry blossoms in the spring. In Houston, we don’t really get to experience all four seasons. It’s only summer and fall. Our winter is like Virginia’s fall. Pretty pathetic I know.

Some things I want to see in D.C. are…

-Lincoln Memorial at sunset

-Dupont Circle

-Georgetown

“Come Undone”

This morning I got to the metro station at 10:45 a.m. which is early cause I usually get there at 11 a.m. So while waiting for the metro to arrive, I turned on my iPod and opened up my “Metro Mix” playlist which I was excited about since I had spent some time creating it last night. The first song on the list was “Come Undone” by Duran Duran. Instead of the song starting to play my iPod just froze. The screen was lit but nothing was playing. I felt my heart begin to melt as I quickly pushed down the menu and select button and then the apple symbol appeared. After a couple of seconds, the battery symbol showed up and then my iPod was dead. I literally felt like screaming out loud! AHHHHHHHH! The metro then arrived and I walked in upset thinking what I would do on my 30 minute commute. To make my morning worse, the clasp on the front pocket of my bag broke as I was putting my ipod inside. Great, what else could go wrong today?

The last week or so I had been listening to my ipod nonstop on the metro, and today was the first day that it did not work. I felt tortured. While sitting and staring blankly at strangers, I began to think that it was ironic that the song that my ipod froze on was “Come Undone” and that’s exactly how I was feeling right now. As the metro ride continued, I realized that it wasn’t all that bad to be without my ipod. I could live without it for a day. And while I was busy thinking, suddenly I heard, “next stop Foggy Bottom” and I already started to feel better.

Metro Ride For the Very First Time

My first time taking the metro was last Tuesday. I imagined it to be something like the New York City subway, but I was wrong. It was great! It felt as if I were taking a train in Switzerland. My head was pressed against the window as I stared at all the greenery on the way to Foggy Bottom. We passed through many stops on the way: Van Dorn Street, King Street, Braddock Road, The Pentagon, Pentagon City, Crystal City…While I was aimlessly looking out the window and daydreaming, a young boy behind me tapped me on the shoulder and asked me what brand my sunglasses were. I asked him why he wanted to know and he told me that he liked them and wanted to get some for his mom. I thought about taking them off and giving them to him, but the devil inside of me talked me out of it. Besides they were my favorite pair of sunglasses!

So after about sitting in the metro for 30 minutes I finally reached Foggy Bottom. And now the hard part was looking for the Government Hall building where my class would be. I wasn’t familiar with any of the streets or how to get to the building so I asked about five different people where to go. Three of them pointed me in the same direction but two of them showed me totally bizarre routes. As I crossed unknown streets and saw unfamiliar faces, I felt like I was in New York. I loved the feeling of being in the city and seeing all the hustle and bustle. I walked quickly from I street to H street to G street. While walking I saw those little hot dog stands with their yellow billboards and UTZ chips pinned up to the stand.

So after walking endlessly and my feet aching with blisters from my brand new Cole Haan flats I found the Government Hall. I looked at my watch as I got into the elevator and it was 12:05 p.m. Man, I was five minutes late but hey, that wasn’t bad for the very first day.

Childhood Memories

As a young girl, I remember our many family trips to Washington D.C. to visit family whether it be during Thanksgiving break or Christmas break. I remember I would eagerly look out the airplane window waiting for the moment that I would see the Washington monument. And when I would see it, I would call out to my mom saying “Look Mommy! There’s the pencil!” She would gracefully smile at me and softly tell me to lower my voice.

On my flight to D.C. on Monday, when we were about to land I heard several kids getting excited. In particular, there was this one girl who was sitting in the row across from me she looked about four years old. She had chocolate brown hair, big brown eyes, and olive colored skin. All of a sudden I heard her shout, “Daddy, Daddy! I see the monument and the white house!” Suddenly, I was taken aback and reminded of myself when I was that age. Gosh, I missed those days when life was so simple.