Week 2

I spent a significant amount of time this week in Little Italy, exploring the neighborhood. One of the nights I was there, it was the first time in a while that the place looked so lively. There was live singing, families taking pictures in front of the Little Italy sign, couples sharing a cone of gelato, and children dancing to the music. Watching from across the street, part of me was nervous seeing so many people together, but the other part of me saw the masks and the smiles and realized how far NYC has come since April. The liveliness still remains within the heart of the city. 

Week 4

I spent this week working on photography and trying to vlog a little. I have always wanted to start a YouTube channel, but never got around to it. I have so many ideas in mind, but nothing that makes me excited to start a channel right away. I really wanted to start a Vlog channel just for myself to document my own life to look back on in the future. However, sometimes I think my life may be too boring for even myself to watch later. During quarantine I started doing "Quarantine Vlogs" with my sister and it was fun until I forgot about it three weeks in. Recently, I have began taking weekly videos to capture a few of the moments that highlight my week in hopes that I will continue to do this and eventually improve my video capturing abilities and maybe even edit them. Going back to me spending this week on photography skills, I want to work on out of focus pictures. I sometimes have trouble getting soft focus pictures and want to work on taking completely out of focus pictures and edit them with an in focus picture (if that makes sense). My flowers are on the verge of dying, but I tried experimenting with those since there were the only still setting which I liked in my room.

Week 6

This past week, I took some time to go out and take myself out on a date. Amidst the busy life of a college student, especially during current times, I think it is critical for everyone to take some time to treat themselves. We all deserve to treat ourselves for making it through every day and not letting the stressful times get the best of us. After completing my homework early on Monday night. I chose the next day to take myself out to brunch. I then went to go to a bookstore and found a couple of good books and head to Central Park. Sounds of birds chirping and the distant sounds of laughter from a stand up comedy being held at the park filled my ears as I sat in front of a pond reading and glancing at the turtles and fishes nearby. Ending the night with a good sandwich, I came back home all smiles, feeling relaxed and at peace amidst the chaos around.

Week 8

This week the stress of midterms has only been amplified. Along with that, the weather has been getting colder and colder. Personally, I thrive off sunlight and being outdoors and staying in too long can be dispiriting. I have tried going to a park a train ride away to get away from the crowds of Little Italy and get some work done outdoors. It has been really refreshing and allowed me to destress while also being productive. I then went to The Chai Spot, a tea shop where they have different types of chais and Indian snacks. Growing up, whenever the weather would get a bit cooler, my mom would start making chai fro us everyday so we would start the day with warmth. Having a cup of chai has always just calmed me and been a soothing, relaxing, tasty experience. I wholeheartedly believe that if an apple a day keeps the doctor away, then a cup of chai a day keeps stress away.

Week 10

This past week the weather outside was absolutely beautiful! I tried to complete my work ahead of time so I could treat myself to a day out. I have been immensely afraid of another spike in cases so I have been opting for some personal hanging out. I walked around the Lower East Side looking at murals and the marks of art people have left behind on the streets of New York. A particular mural that caught my eye was one which consisted of nuerous mosaic-like faces of celeratities and popular characters. The vibrancy of the piece along with the history that the piece told is mesmerizing. Every person on the wall left their mark and to see each one of their faces with a mask on their face showed how times have changed and how we truly do carry our past with us. It also was very expressive of how important a mask is and how we are shaping the future in present times. 

Week 12

Lately I have been really missing just going to Starbucks on windy evenings, grabbing a warm Caramel Brûlée Latte, waiting thirty minutes for a seat to work on homework and people watch until an employee would tell me the cafe was closing. It was routine for me the last few years at college and honestly it has been immensely difficult for me to get my work done as effectively and well in my room. Cafes and caffeinated are my personal secret to getting through college and life without it feels so empty sometimes. As I was looking for a place to order dinner from, I found this cafe near me which was not only selling Tiramisu lattes (the absolute BEST dessert EVER), but also had some tables to do work at. I immediately ran over and found the space to be very comfortable and seemed to be handling the pandemic well which was great! It was no Starbucks vibes with the views of Washington Square Park, but it gave me a sense of personal normalcy for a few hours, which I am so grateful to have experienced!

Week 14

This past week I have been seeking inspiration and with the holidays around the corner, there is fun spirit everywhere. I feel like I have been staying within my neighborhood and confined in the little area for a long time. Because of this I made it my goal this week to go some place I hadn't seen yet or further explore an area that I have seen. As I was walking around the Central Park area one of the evenings, I came across the mall in the Columbus Circle area. I've always walked past it, but never had I been inside. It was pretty empty inside, but the decorations were beautiful. There's one area on the second floor where it oversees the statues in Columbus Circle and the southern end of Central Park. There are taxis almost always in the view with people walking in and out and it is a very New York-esque scene. In one glimpse, one can see the rush of New York and the calmness of it with the park. I found this to be really inspiring and exciting to see the contrast that exists within the same window looking out.

Week 3

This past week has definitely been one of the most stressful weeks as I came to realization as to how many classes I will be taking this semester. On Thursday, I decided to go on a spontaneous picnic and give myself a well needed break. As I sat there painting, for the first time in two weeks, my mind was at ease as I just painted whatever came to my mind. I haven’t ever been a painter or anything, but I do enjoy just letting my paint brush decide the painting rather than stressing myself out about creating what I have in my mind. I really like sketching with a pencil and paper and I have realized recently that it is because of how temporary the strokes can be. I can erase it when I mess up. With painting, it’s entirely different, the permanence doesn’t give yo much freedom to mess up. Thus, for some reason I seem to enjoy just painting anything that comes to mind in the moment and going with it. While I was painting, I saw some children enter the park and run around and play games with others while socially distancing. It was a bittersweet feeling to see that our way of interacting with one another has changed and there are some things we as humans just can’t do anymore, but it was also nice to see that we are managing to find out ways to still keep moving forward and coping with the current situation in the world. The entire day brought a smile to my face. The moment which completed the day was receiving flowers from a good friend of mine (the one in the photo). I think I will also be focusing on photography weekly for my posts because I have been having fun with that recently and would like to improve my skills in that! 

Week 5

I spent this week reminiscing about my old apartment. The view from my window was simple, but gave off a very warm feeling. I used to live by the subway tracks and could see the train and some trees from my window. Even though my family and I moved almost two years ago, our lease for the apartment finally ceased this week. It was a hard pill to swallow because I spent the first nineteen years of my life growing up in that building, sharing cupcakes with my neighbors, taking pictures in front of the building's Christmas tree, and waving at strangers on the train through my window. As I was strolling through my old neighborhood with my camera, I took a few shots of the trees before Autumn really hits and the trees are left bare. 

Week 7

This week has been stressful with the weight of midterms upon me. In search for an outlet to relieve my stress and relax, I decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Growing up, my school would take us on a trip to the MET annually as it was both a learning experience and fun for children to see and interact with so much art. Going back to the museum after years was a great experience! As I explored the various exhibits, the Arabic one caught my attention the most. There were so many items such as the detailed design of gold jewelry, the decorative carpet layouts, the pages of the Quran, which all resonated immensely with me because of my religion and culture. I felt like my culture was being represented and shown well and it was a new feeling seeing my ancestry within the art being on display which I had never experienced. I took numerous pictures, trying to capture every moment which resonated with me. The carpets, pictured below, brought me the biggest smile because I didn't realize the significance of simply the resemblance of my carpet in my living room at home to this one being on display for thousands to see daily. 

Week 9

This past week I finally reunited with my best friend after a couple of months apart. She truly is my rock and it has been a rough time without seeing her, more importantly not having yam cake with her. She came to visit me and I brought my camera with me and filmed the entire day. We have an inside joke with me always being her photographer and taking all of her Instagram pictures, thus it was the perfect occasion to have a photoshoot. We went around the city and took pictures of her everywhere we went as I vlogged the entire day. It was one of those moments where I felt immensely grateful to have someone to experience the chaos of life. Documenting the day and being able to capture some of the funny and memorable moments of the day were the highlight of the day. I may not be a professional with photography, but I truly enjoyed taking the 987 pictures we took! 

Week 11

This past week I went museum exploring, seeking 3D design inspiration. I found this East Asian exhibit in which there was a room that was constructed to display Chinese architecture and its culture. It was incredibly beautiful and the doors caught my attention. The craftsmanship and detail of the doors is not only creative but very telling of the Chinese culture and the use of simple designs to make something more appealing. I definitely spent over the average time spent in this exhibit as I sat admiring the architecture of the entire room and how every piece looked so simple at first, but there were small intricate designs. This was very inspirational and has me thinking a lot about the idea of minimalism. 

Week 13

This past week I have been searching high and low for a hobby. Realizing winter break is right around the corner and I can no longer go to concerts or be outdoors for a long while has been tough. The first few years of college I went to a concert nearly every week. Concerts have provided me a place to completely immerse myself with music and celebrate life. Music has definitely been my number one hobby ever since I can remember. For now that will have to wait unfortunately. Reminsicing on the middle school days and my love for reading, I decided it was a good time to get back into the reading grind. I went to Barnes and Noble and found this amazing book about a boy who falls for this random girl he bumps into, but then she dies. He then tries to time travel and some how bring her back. This book's entire premise is that life is short and what you have in the current moment can be taken away in the very next one. I think this is an important thought to keep with ourselves right now as we are all going through rough times.