Getting caught up

Hi Everyone,

This past week has been INSANE!  There was so much going on right after break, but I had a lot of fun and was glad to be back in Philadelphia.  Break was very relaxing and quiet, but I was ready to get back to school and all of the stuff going on. 

On Monday, I visited a senior center with my classmate Phil and led a book discussion on the novel The Soloist.  This was part of the One Book One Philadelphia project I wrote about before and I was really glad to have the chance to discuss the novel with another generation of readers and see their interpretation of the novel.  The book club we discussed the novel with had a lot of insight into the novel and brought up some really good points that I had never considered before.  In the novel, the author discusses how racism effected Nathanial, the main character who is dealing with homelessness and schizophrenia.  The racism that Nathanial faced when he performed at Julliard in the 1970’s wasn’t highly emphasized and I didn’t really think much of this detail, but some of the members of the book club emphasized it and related it to personal experiences they had faced in the 1970’s.  It was an eye opening experience. 

I would highly recommend this novel.

 Wednesday proved to be a little hectic as well.  I am the co-treasurer for a new club on campus called the Temple Film Collective.  The club works to make short films, generally 10 to 15 minutes and we are currently working on our projects and are trying to get some type of film festival together by the end of the year.  A few weeks ago the club decided to have a bake sale to raise money for our projects, which proved to be a little more difficult than expected.  We were finally able to get everything together and Wednesday night a couple club members and some of my friends in my residence hall got together and started baking like crazy.  We ended up getting more than 70 packages together and sold them all the next day on Liacorous.  I’m really proud of the club and all that we were able to achieve during our first fundraiser. 

Thursday nights are generally when my friends and I go to the Reel on campus and this week was no exception.  This week’s film was MILK and I was particularly excited to see it because I missed it in theatre’s and Sean Penn recently won an Oscar for his portrayal of Harvey Milk in the film.  The movie was provocative and moving, and leaves its audience with a lot to think about and consider. 

An amazing film

 I had been looking forward to Friday all week because my friends and I had been planning on going to the Pennsylvania Ballet Company’s performance of Cinderella.  Now, I know that the ballet’s not exactly the coolest thing around, but before you write it off, consider giving it a try.  The show was amazing and the cast was insanely talented.    It was my first professional ballet and I know that I’ll be going again soon!  Well, that was it for my week, a little crazy at times, but definitely a lot of fun.  Till next time,

-Taylor

My friends Geoff, Thu, Ryan and I at the Academy of Music before the ballet!