La mia ultima parola / My Final WORDS

All I can say is that I am so lucky to be considered for something like this! I have always dreamed of traveling and it is one thing I tell myself I must do in life. If I get a chance to see Rome I will cherish it so much and I know it will be the most memorable part of my life. I cannot wait to explore the history, feel the sun on my skin and hear "chow Bella" every time I leave.This opportunity is so great and I want to THANK the kind- hearted couple who put this awesome opportunity together and considered me for it. I hope I can spread this opportunity to others and allow youth to travel to exotic places for free. One of my goals in life is to give unto others and give back to my community and I think Context is a perfect example of that goal.

I came into this competition with complete confidence. I put a creative new twist on Roman History by creating a story out of it. I attended and completed all seminars as well as soaked up all the great information. I turned in all my blogs in on time and thought them out thoroughly. I even began speaking into existence by saying "When I go to Rome I will explore the Coliseum" instead of "If I go to Rome I will explore the Coliseum". I know that I will make it to Rome, even if I do not get the Context opportunity, because I am determined to go. I also encouraged my competitors Selena and Sharqueya when they became unsure or anxious about if they would make it. I really hope I am able to explore Rome with one of those girls.

I must thank Mr. Sullivan and Ms. Wanket for checking my timeline multiple times to make sure I was on the right track. Those two also encouraged me to keep competing and keep up with everything.Ms. Wanket taught me a very useful tool that I can use through life.I am so grateful for the people who were willing to give money to sponsor a student from St. Hope to travel and explore. I would also like to thank Mrs. Mills for helping in this process and supporting an opportunity like this. I truly believe that Paul and Lani are so smart and giving to create a program as such. I am very confident about this and I am looking forward to January when I find out if my dream will come true.

Hope you enjoyed reading,
Akeallah Blair

Last Blog, Maybe.

To cut to the chase, I have never written a blog before. Hard to believe, yes I know. I usually spend countless hours in front of the laptop but never have I really “blogged” about something. After the very first meeting to introduce us on what the context is really about, I felt it would be impossible to do this. I kind of came out of that meeting with an “in my dreams” mindset. I was talking to my mom about it and she said “If it’s in your dreams then that still means it’s possible, right? “ Then I knew that I should never give up simply because I THINK or FEEL it’s impossible. So I signed the one piece of paper that holds my chances of getting the context or not. I turned it in with confidence knowing that I might not get it, but still willing to risk it. After all the seminars my brain was literally full of so many things. To start off I now know how to blog, finally. The first seminar with Mrs. Wanket was very helpful, and guiding. I didn’t know what the heck I was going to do when the time came for the blogging, every time it would be brought up I would bite my nails in nerves! The other seminar was great; I felt it was somewhat of review for me because I already have a lot of knowledge of the art portion of Rome. But to get real the interview was the hardest part for me. I didn’t really know what to expect. The night before I stayed up all night picturing what it was going to be like. When the morning came I was nervous, as I combed my hair I kept going through the things I should know and what to say if there is a certain question. The one question I kept asking myself was “why do I want this context trip?” . As much as I thought about it I couldn’t give myself a clear answer, asking over and over I just couldn’t find one. I was afraid they would ask me that, I was thinking of answers to say just in case. Why do I want it? I can’t answer that without giving a 100 paged essay, DON’T tempt me. There are just way too many answers for that. When the time came and Mrs. Everett told me to go in for my turn, that’s when the switches turned. I walked into my school with a tummy full of butterflies of the nerves, but then I walked into Mrs. Everett’s with confidence. Not trying to make it sound like a cliché but confidence IS key. I walked in with my head high and the attitude of “if they like me good, if they don’t at least I gave it 100%” . Overall, the entire process was definitely something different; I’ve never tried out for something so important to me, so this gave me a feel on what that would be like. You just may never know when I would need these types of skills. To finish this final blog, I conclude with a genuine good luck to Akeallah and Sharqueya and a thank you to those who put up their own time for the seminars and interviews.
With love,
Selena E.

The Ego Battle of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian

One of the most fascinating things about Rome to me is the architecture. I cannot wait to see the great buildings all around me. I enjoy sight seeing especially when the sight is old buildings that have survived many wars and years of life. I was even more intrigued when I discovered the history of these fascinating buildings was over an ego battle. There were 3 emperors involved in the major construction of Rome: Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. There goals as emperors were to out do each other and be bigger and badder than whoever previous.

Being in an ego battle is so much more interesting to me and it explains why all the architecture is so drawn out and over the top. It all started with the Roman Coliseum that took from 72 AD to o80 AD to build. This creation was so big that it held up to 500, 000 Romans. This place was where many gladiators fought and events were held to entertain the people. This was really built to make the people of Rome become happy because everyone was so poor at the time. The people gathered in the Coliseum to engage with each other and celebrate.

The Pantheon was another huge creation that was built in 118-126 AD. This piece was built to honor the gods. This building shows what religious status the majority of Rome as under. Being as though this was built to honor gods it lets us know that it was built b polytheistic believers. This dome was very important because it was the first successful dome built. Many domes were attempted but later fell apart and killed a lot of people. The Pantheon was the first successful dome built, standing very tall and 20feet thick.

Lastly was the Arch of Constantine, built in 315 AD and it took countless numbers of years to create. This building is directly next to the Coliseum. I can picture myself viewing both of them now. This was built to celebrate Constantine's power and to show out Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. There are three main arches built in it and are duplicated all over. The arches from it have been seen in other great buildings. This was one of the first successfully built arches as well.

Learning the history of how all these important monuments were built really inspired me to see them someday soon. I really enjoyed this seminar and it has gotten me more juiced to learn more about the history of Rome.

Thank you for reading,

Akeallah Blair

It's so hard to say goodbye!

As I reflect on the process of the Context competition I just get blown away. It’s amazing how people are willing to sponsor a high school student to have an opportunity to visit Rome for FREE. When I first heard of this opportunity from Kathleen I thought that she was kidding me. I asked her what was the catch and she told me nothing, so like the smart cookie I am, I applied to the fellowship fast.

The first time that I applied for the fellowship I thought we were going to be doing over the top, hard, and long work, but I was wrong. The fellowship didn’t require a lot. We had FIVE major things that we had to do: an interview, attend three seminars, blog about the seminars, complete a Rome timeline, and a mini project. It may sound like a lot, but trust me it’s worth it and the time really flies.

However, when I went through the Context process again, the requirements CHANGED a bit. We still had to attend all three seminars and blog on the things that we learned. We also still had to complete the timeline project. The only thing that really changed was that we weren’t engaged with each other as much. The only time we came together was during the seminars. Now I’m not complaining about that because I can get my homework done with no problem.
This year it seems as if the time just flew by and the process was really short. Either way it goes I’m still happy that I got an OPPORTUNITY to apply to the fellowship.

Now that as I reflect on the process I noticed that it built my MORALS. I constantly told my little brothers and nephew never to give up in life because it will not get you anywhere. I also told them that if they really want something in life go for it, no matter how many times you get denied. Then I realized there’s no way I can tell them those things if I never traveled down a path in which I failed. Then it occurred the first time I applied for the fellowship and lost it hurt, but I still stayed true to myself and to the words that I tell them. I realized that I wasn’t as strong as I needed to be the get the fellowship, so this year I strengthened all of my weaknesses and worked even harder to win. Now as the process comes to an end, I just have to sit and wait for the final decision.

There is no way that I can go without THANKING the people who’s helped me through the process of being considered to attend Rome. I would like to thank all the people who were willing to DONATE money to sponsor a student from St. Hope to travel to Italy. I would also like to thank Mrs. Everett, Mrs. Wanket and Mr. Sullivan who TAUGHT us about Art, History and Greek Mythology. I would also like to thank Mrs. Mills for being really KIND to me. I would like to thank the DOCENTS who love what they do and are willing to give the winner a detailed lesson on different types of subjects. I would like to thank PAUL and LANI for creating such a wonderful organization. Last, but not least, I would like to thank GOD for making all things possible. What all of you guys have done means a lot to me and I’m grateful that I was allowed this opportunity twice.

Love always, Sharqueya Drake

Michael'Angelo, Raphael, but who the hell is Gentileschi?

While I was sitting in the Art Seminar, I thought most of it was going to be review. In my mind we were going to talk about the same artist as usual; Michael ‘Angelo, Raphael, Leonardo and Bernini. Then Mrs. Everett said something about Gentileschi, in my head I’m thinking who the hell is he?

In reality though it wasn’t who he was it was who she was?

As Mrs. Everett continues talking about her I’m just in awe. I never knew that women were allowed to paint in those time periods. In history class we learn that women were unappreciated, their duties were to: take care of the children, clean and cater to their husband’s needs.

However, Gentileschi had other things on her agenda. Since her father Orazio was a painter she followed in his footsteps, she was even better than her brothers. Just like her father she was inspired by Caravaggio and painted during the Baroque period. At the age of SEVENTEEN she painted a famous picture called Susanna e I Vecchioni (Susanna and The Elders). She was even the first female painter to become a member of Accademia di Arte Del Disegno.

Ok so enough about her amazing accomplishments. The part of her story that really interested me was the things she painted about and the message that she got across. Of course like other painters she painted Bible stories, but her stories were all about women and how they’ve been oppressed my men.

I was thinking where did that motivation come from? Wasn’t she scared to get murdered for not doing what other women were doing? Then Mrs. Everett answered all my curiosities, she said that her father hired a tutor to teach her more about painting, but instead of being interested in that art he wanted to do another art that involved at least two people. While no one was around he constantly RAPED her. He even tried to steal paintings from her father. Eventually Orazio pressed charges against the tutor and during trial Gentileschi was TORTURED, so she would drop the charges. The tutor was convicted of one year in prison, but he never spent a day.

That situation inspired Gentileschi to paint about WOMEN who were strong or suffering VICTIMS of rape and torture. Some of her stories came from myths and the Bible. Her most famous painting is JUDITH beheading Holofernes. The painting really shows how Judith and her maidservant murdered the Captain of the army to ensure their safety. Just like the Sirens in Greek Mythology, Judith lured the captain in with her beauty. He never thought that something so beautiful would decided his fate.

Genileschi is such an inspiring role model. Just by her painting inspired me always to use my voice and to never give up. She's taught me that no matter what society believes I can still have my own opinion. Finally, she taught me how to be a leader and do what I please.

I guess James Brown was wrong because it isn’t a men’s world. Thanks to Gentileschi women now have a voice of their own; whether it’s in paintings, movies or songs, we still hear them.

Love always, Sharqueya Drake

Copyrighted

Are we really original with our ideas? I find it amazing how
people now a days are making millions of dollars off of ideas that are
centuries old. I knew that the Romans were the ones who had developed so many ideas
but never did I think that they developed ideas like the plumbing system,
offices or apartments, even recycling. I was amazed to find out that they had a
plumbing like system at this time. They had water fountains and all, pumping
hundreds of gallons of water. Really? Seriously? I find that hard to believe,
but if it’s in the textbook then it must be so. Today at school I walked by the
water fountain and laughed inside. To think that here we are convinced that
water fountains weren’t brought up till a lot later, when no, the truth is they
have been around for so long. I’m sipping out of a water fountain, and for all I
know Emperor Claudius probably did the exact same thing. (Don’t mind me just following
the footsteps of an emperor). As Mrs. Everett went on about more and more, I then
realized that it just wasn’t the fountains, it was a lot more. I see Rome every
day in my life. It’s incredible. Same thing goes for recycling. The Romans
basically took a piece from something and made it into something completely
different and useful. That has “recycling” written all over it. We have bins to
just put recycled type of materials in it. That bright blue can sits at the
edge of my house, and when I saw it today it made me think of these wise people
in this time that did what we thought we had thought of first. All these “ecofriendly”
people making millions off of ideas that helps recycle and “GO GREEN!” but come
on, really? You did NOT come up with this, sit down, and give the Romans the
credit. As I walked home today from school I was listening to music and just
looking around at my surroundings, I stop next to apartments. First thing that
popped into my head was the Market of Trajan. I learned that they were
basically rooms for offices or even apartments. That’s when I knew I would blog
about that. We are so unoriginal. The Romans should have put COPYRIGHT all over
everything!
Selena E ©