Week 2: The Element

2012-01-24T17:03:00.000-08:00

Creativity comes in many different facets. Creativity can be seen clearly in painting, writing, dancing, decorating; really anything that allows people to glimpse at a person in a different light. After watching the two TED talks on Education and Creativity and reading The Element I rewound through my own childhood and found many examples that tie into the points made by both of these sources. When I was younger I did it all; dance, choir, band, art elective, theater, and if you were to open one of my notebooks from any given subject my name would be written ten times in different fonts, colors, and boasting different designs. I loved creating something from nothing. Whether that be a dance when I was six or a competition routine for cheer at sixteen. My room is color coordinated with pictures and sayings written in loopy teenage handwriting. I love creating my environment. I cannot imagine being told to stop by my parents, who instead of denying creative energy, fostered it.

It scares me to think that as a whole our society is teaching students to only value the skills such as math and sciences. The TED talk made me extremely proud to go to a school like Gonzaga because even though I really hated Music 171, I took it and to my dismay I learned from it. When I was a junior in high school I opted to take a zero hour religion course so I could still include choir in my day. I knew I could not go through a whole day without some way to express what I was feeling though creative means.

One of the points made in the talk was that creativity helps learning. In my Anatomy & Physiology course senior year I used to rewrite songs with the names of the skeletal system in place of Lady Gagas lyrics. I would trade A Fine Frenzys words in for the different parts of the human heart. These little ways to learn were creative, they helped the information stick. When are people going to realize that creativity can lead to greater things, in some instances, than math?

In this video that I am using as my image for this week there are a couple numbers I want to highlight. Number 14 says never give up. People are not supposed to tell you that you should quit and I am lucky enough to have people in my life who would never dream of asking me to do that. So do not give in. Number 16 says make mistakes. Go ahead, you will learn from mistakes. Mistakes are a part of life and creativity. I try and do at least three of these things per day. I never want to lose my creative ability because then I would not be Caitlyn Rosellini.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1E4aeCTg7s

Week One: Who is Jesus, Who am I?

2012-01-18T17:18:00.000-08:00

Who is Jesus? I am truly torn while thinking about this question. Sometimes I wish that there was one answer that everyone was in agreement with. But other times I recognize the importance in having differing perspectives on this question; we all need to feel like we know for ourselves. Jesus, for awhile, was the spiritual comfort I turned to automatically. Although I do not know if I attribute that to my own comforts or those taught to me in Catholic school k-12. Jesus quickly became the scapegoat after one of the most defining moments of my life and since then I have worked to try and view it in a different way. Jesus, to me, has been many different things and I think that is nothing other than being human. Jesus is sort of like a best friend in some facets. He knows whats going on before I have to tell him, he is easy to talk to, he does not talk back in a sassy tone.... But he is also the one who can call you on the things you do not want to recognize about yourself which, in turn, allows for much disconnect. Jesus is the one who is watching over my friend Gloria who, no doubt, is sitting right beside him with her little brother tugging on her angel wings. Jesus is the one who never leaves, even when you push him away with everything you possibly have.

Jesus is consistent whether I want to admit it or not.

Stable.

The next question makes me nervous just looking at it. Who am I? Well, if I do not know do I still have to answer? I cannot be convinced that I know just who I am right now, what if I change? I know a lot about myself, however, I do not know if there is just one way to define myself. I am Caitlyn, the oldest of four kids, eighteen grandchildren, and twelve grandchildren. I love kids and work to spend time with each of my cousins who are all under the age of 6. I am the person who believes there is nothing better than holding a baby. I am a person who still goes on the swings in her backyard. I am thoughtful and many people mistake my reserved manner for self-importance. I care a great deal for people even if I just met them and I know everyone has a story that I honestly cannot wait to get to the root of. I am a planner; my life consists of dates and blocks of time reserved for certain things and I do not know how to live another way. I am every ones big sister and as much as I love to listen I want to talk but sometimes it does not come as easily.

I am present.

Introspective.