Wednesday, December 10, 2014 0 comments

Enhancing Qualities

        Starting this scholarship to Paris my ultimate goal was to grow in a few qualities before going to college. The three things I wanted to grow in was socially, intellectually, and to become more passionate. One thing I can say was that I've grown socially learning to talk to people and have an actual conversation without knowing them. As it was a competition, it felt nothing like one if anything I felt comfortable with all the others that were competing. I also expanded greatly my knowledge on the culture of Parisians. I have became more into interested in the art of architecture and paintings. learning to see the artist personality through their art seeing that they all had something distinct about them all which helped me come to appreciate them more. This helped me with becoming more passionate. I learned once you learn more about something the more interesting it becomes. I even learned things about myself competing in this scholarship. I feel as if this opportunity given helped me become more street smart. learning what popos are and knowing why the buildings in San Francisco are small or tall as they are. Then, with writing these blogs was nice because it helped us find a lot of information out on our own on something that we found interesting at the Paris seminars. It has even helped me with my writing skills, before this process I would be afraid to ever try to write a paper in two days. It has become increasingly easier to writ which is one thing I am most proud of being that in college I will have many writing assignments to do. That is where I feel I have enhanced intellectually. This competition for the scholarship to go to Paris was a great learning experience for me. I am proud of myself for going all the way through with it, it feels great that I actually did this scholarship and did not let my negative thinking or anyone else talk me out of it. I'm grateful to have slightly expanded in the qualities of becoming more passionate, intellectual, and social.
                                                                                        -Dazhawna Miller
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Fin


             I am very thankful for this experience. Each seminar depend my love and curiosity for different cultures. Through every seminar and after every blog I was happy because I gained more knowledge about another world.  The French culture showed that the arts and culture can be powerful influences internationally. I am happy with the knowledge I have gained because I know there is more to France
than what I’ve seen and I am excited about that. Every culture has some extraordinary asset and I want to acknowledge their gifts. This application was totally worth it because it challenged my ambition and increased my knowledge about outside worlds.

            Since the first blog I have grown tremendously and I thank the TYTT Scholarship for the application process. Writing several blogs have increased my exposer to the type of career I’d like to pursue, which is journalism. This application process challenged me because I had to write a blog and submit it at specific time. The time deadline has hinted what a journalist would have to go through. I will
have to face more deadlines as a journalist because stories will have to be published. Therefore I am honored to have experience the TYTT Scholarship because it is preparing me for my future.

             After every seminar I grew with a deeper passion to learn about different cultures. Learning about the French history, art, langue, and architecture enlighten me by realizing there was much more to my world. From the seminars I learned the French had to experience multiple revolutions to gain true independence. In the arts Picasso and Matisse were well known and created cubism and abstract paintings.  When speaking French one has to consider the gender and status of a person when being
addressed. In addition to the langue and culture French architecture was another form of art. The gothic cathedrals and the extravagant castles showed the exaggerated the importance of the build and its purpose.  Also I became intrigued and eager to learn more about other worlds because every culture has their own beauty and I need to experience all of them. The French seminars are only a tip to the ice burg of beautiful cultures I will encounter.

            I am very thankful for this experience. My love and curiosity for different cultures has increased and I am ready to learn more about all cultures. Each seminar and blog has increased the fuel to my burning passion for learning.  From the cathedrals to jazz I grew as I increased my knowledge about the French culture. I am delighted with the knowledge I have gained because I know there is more to France and I will gain the full experience one day in life. In conclusion I am very blessed and thankful for this opportunity and I will continue to learn and experience more cultures because every world has a beauty within them. Applying was worth it  challenged and inspired me to study more about different cultures. Thank you for this opportunity.


Las
La'Shay Hankerson

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A Puzzle of a Journey




Union Square IN San Francisco, California
Wikimedia Commons: Benson Kua
Yesterday, I sat in a room with 3,000 other individuals; and while this seems like an extremely claustrophobic situation, I assure you that we were all seated quite comfortably – some in the floor seating, some in the balcony. As the various notes and tones of Yo-Yo Ma soared through the auditorium and sauntered through my ears, I began to think: how did I get here? The obvious answer is that I had been driven through downtown Sacramento, dropped off in front of the Memorial Auditorium, and given a balcony ticket; but, I am not talking about that am I? My memories brought me back to the day that had submitted my application for the Context Travel scholarship. I knew what I was looking for – an opportunity to delve into a foreign culture and increase my knowledge of the world around me – or so I thought. However, this process has taught me a subtle lesson – don’t judge a book by its cover! Paris is known as the city of lights, and to me it was the brewing grounds for the notorious French Revolution as well as a world-renown pompous cuisine. However, hours of research highlighted more subtle and back-alley events, such as the building of a mock Paris during World War I.
 

Chinatown
Wikimedia Commons: Toffel (own work)
Slowly, I began to learn that there were more jewels, such as art and opera, hidden under the rugged surface of Parisian history. In addition, traveling to San Francisco allowed me to experience the city at a more personal level. Sure, I was traveling with a group; but at the same time I found myself alone and entranced, as each sight presented its garments of brick, wood, marble, and Shanghai collectables. Strolling through San Francisco’s Little Italy, Chinatown, and Vietnamese corridors and standing in the city’s Catholic cathedral and Union square showed me that I had only viewed San Francisco as an everyday city, something it was not. This reality check has helped me to assess my actions in my personal life. I quickly found that I had been criticizing my circumstances based on a general stereotype rather than looking for the positive aspects. Wow! Now, I found myself under the voice of the great Yo-Yo Ma, the last piece to this puzzle-of-a-journey. He believes that the secret to all of his musical fame and acclamation is the fact that he “found the code” within his music. In other words, Ma went directly past the technicality of the musical piece to access the emotion and the “words” behind it. In my everyday life, that means purposely looking for the positive in my circumstances; for only then, as Yo-Yo puts it, will “I find meaning.”


Panorama of San Francisco
Wikimedia Commons: JohanSonn (own work)
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Unforgettable Experience

This experience has allowed me to grow personally throughout the process. I have become a little more adventurous with the little things in life that describes me. I now try foods that I have never eaten, hoping that I will enjoy the taste. What made me do this now was because of the French grilled cheese I ate at La Boulance, which had peasant bread, cheddar, and provolone. I enjoyed the sandwich, even though I have never had provolone or peasant bread, but I surprisingly enjoyed it regardless.
Now whenever I hear about the different types of French artists, such as Monet, Manet, Picasso, Gertrude, and so on; I suddenly remember the seminars and tell the people around me or the person who mentioned the artist about the seminars I went to. One time, this substitute for my advanced engineering class talked about how the flying buttresses of the Notre Dame Cathedral and asked if any of the students knew about it. I immediately remembered about what I learned from the history seminar and mentioned that I knew about the buttresses and where I learned them from, I was glad at the fact that I remembered the parts of the cathedral from the seminar.
The French language seminar also helped me grow personally, while I was taking the SAT last Saturday and McClatchy, my testing room was in a French class. It was such ironic because of the familiar French words I saw around the room that I learned in the seminar. This made me remember of all of the words and sentences I learned with Ms. Bowie. Every time I had a mini-break from my test, I would continuously look around the room and see all of the French words, and I’ve asked myself, “Maybe I should look into learning French, since it’s similar to Spanish in a way.”

The competition for the wonderful trip to Paris has molded my mind with all of the things I learned in the seminars and the San Francisco trip. I have grown in my own ways personally and hope to use this knowledge in the future to help me in college. I enjoyed participating in this competition and learning about French culture and wish good luck to everyone. J
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The Eiffle tower got me here.


"Eiffel Tower Paris 01" by Waithamai - Own work.Wikimedia Commons 

 

For many years I have developed an obsession towards the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. However, I came into TYTT with no actual knowledge about the french culture or lifestyle. Throughout the past few months I have been exposed to amazing things that have taught me not only about france but also have shaped my aspirations of going to college, specifically to a college that will challenge me to get out my comfort zone. I came in with confidence at the beginning because I felt like I was prepared. However, I was not. Some of the seminars, like language were challenging because I felt like I was exaggerating on my pronunciations or not good enough to get it right. I realized that I needed to explore this world before going in. So I dedicated myself to learning as much as I could. Its amazing that in a few months I have gain so much from TYTT. Besides the struggles I learned to stand up for myself against my cultural norms. My parents have taught me to work hard to get what I desire in life, however ironically they complain that I do too many things at school like clubs. I understand that they want the best for me and they advise me to focus completely on my grades but, the extracurricular activities that I do keep me going and helps me expand my knowledge and skills. I love to learn and TYTT has given me more to put on my plate but I enjoy it and that is what keeps me motivated towards success.  
The trip to San Francisco with TYTT applicants and Rick Evans inspired me to expand and travel beyond my initial aspirations. San Francisco was a great experience that challenged me to think outside the box, outside my community and to move away from my expectations. I gained so much from this trip about the architecture of San Francisco that I want to take my family and show they everything I learned. It was a true honor to be part of the walk in San Francisco with amazing people. Just like San Francisco I want to leave my heart not only in Pairs, France but all around the world.
  
"Love locks (12621739954)" by Miguel Mendez from Malahide, Ireland
 
Looking back today, to before I applied for this TYTT scholarship I became a fan of Paris just by seeing it through photographs and descriptions, it is hard to believe that that idea of visiting Paris and seeing the Eiffel tower for the first time has grown from a desire to a reality where I am working towards to. Regardless whether I am chosen or not for this scholarship its is something that I am looking forward to and TYTT has build that dream inside me, telling me that anything is possible. I have grown out of my shy shell throughout my high school years but context travel has motivated me to become an intellectual person like Rick Evans. Coming from a Hispanic Background in a household that is close knitted, it is sometimes hard to explore the world. At least for me, as the only and oldest girl, its been difficult to venture out into the world. I want to exceed the expectation that society has set for me: to finish high school and build a family at a young age. Its hard to oppose these pressures but I want to grow and not be another number, another statistic. I want to be successful and do what I like to do and that means continuing to learn and explore the world so that one day someone can admire me as I admire the people I’ve met through context travel.  


-Rebeca Vargas



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Personal Grown : optimism


My last post… I have personally grown during this process by pushing myself out of my comfort zone and going after what I want, and learning how to be optimistic in the situations that I encounter.

Now pushing myself out of my comfort zone was like leading a horse to water, you lead them to it, however, you can not make the horse drink the water. By that I mean having the mental courage to push myself out my comfort zone to do something Bold, at the time it  was an abstract idea. See Shannon L. Alder once said, “Fear is the glue that keeps you stuck. Faith is the solvent that sets you free.” So once I realized that the opportunity of going to Paris might slip through my grasps, I had a short flashback to the bullied days of my life and I had a split second to decide the course of my life… A heartbeat later I chased down that opportunity and I have been devoted ever since. Before every blog post I brainstorm and I stay up all night to rewrite and double check my work.

Optimistic(ism) is when a person disposed to take a favorable view of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome. In my own words this means to always see the bright side in every sticky situation. Winston L. Churchill greatly said, “ A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” I looked this quote up a few months back and now it applies to me, through this process I had to learn how to see the opportunity in every obstacles that I face. Instead of running  or standing there stuck I had to take a few steps back and look at the situation and turn them into opportunities.

In conclusion I really enjoyed the trips and classes we took and yes I have personally grown with maturity and so much more during this process. Having the courage to push myself to do something bold and learning how to be optimistic about the situations I will encounter, will not only better myself as a person but better myself in and for my future.

--- Seta Ates
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Interview with myself, HOW DOES IT FEEL?

Wikimedia Commons: Kate Gibson
Writing blogs over the past three months and sharing my experiences with you gave me a chance to express myself.  I loved the experience, as when I wrote, it felt as though I was a new born baby being born into a new world. I've reflected about each seminar over the past few months. Every seminar was an exciting and informational seminar that taught me to look at the world differently. During the seminars I felt like I was in Paris learning from a docent. My second year applying for Context Travel was stressful and tiring, but I would not trade it for anything in the world. Context Travel and the teachers did a good job on getting us ready for Paris and really living up to their mission: transforming youth through travel. 
Wikimedia Commons: Bill Fogarty:

What did I like most about the application process? Everything. Going through the experiences, I am forever thankful to Context Travel for my new memories. If I had to pick one topic that was my favorite topic, I would pick the trip to San Francisco. I loved that trip most because I got a chance to learn about San Francisco, the other applicants, and eat French dessert. That experience changed my life dramatically by opening my eyes to the City’s history, showing me that I am not alone in my political views, and my taste buds to napoleons.

Picture of Yo-Yo Ma
Wikimedia Commons: Jessie Peter
While not part of the application process, I would have never attended the Yo-Yo Ma lecture without this application experience. Ma explained that music is just your imagination and you are the author of your own imagination. For example, Mr. Ma played a famous classical song for us. When he got done, he asked the audience what they thought about the piece and what emotions we had.  I had different emotions than the other audience members, but he told us that there was no right answer.  He said that it’s just you and your imagination working together to analyze a song, beat by beat. I really enjoyed this because it opened me to classical music and connected it to my love of analyzing items and creating meaning.   

Why did you sign up for Context Travel? I love to travel and am always willing to try new things. When heard about the opportunity to go Rome last year, I took the offer and ran with it. When I wasn't selected, I knew I would apply again this year.  Also Context Travel combines my love of travel with new experiences as I have never been to Paris or Rome or anywhere further than Reno, Nevada. It was fun to learn about the Paris and the changes that they have made from 300 BCE.  It would be amazing to see the changes with my own eyes.

What have you learned from Context Travel? Context Travel and this application process have made me into a different person. Before I started Context Travel, I didn't know how to manage my schedule. With the deadlines to the blogs, I now create and use a daily agenda where I write my assignments and estimate the time each assignment will take. Context Travel has also helped me to just let go, and not worry about what people will say.

Context Travel and the teachers transformed me into a better student and critical thinker. While gaining more information about Paris than others, I was able to work through hard, stressful times where I completed all blogs and assignments required. Never will I trade these experiences for anything. Yes, it was stressful at times, but I have learned so much from Context Travel that I would have never learned from anybody else. For future students that are confused on if they should do Context Travel, I would say yes, do it. What do you have to lose? You’re only going to get stronger.    
Wikimedia Commons:Kate Gibson 
-Roynell Anderson


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My reflection


Unknown, Aviation Photographer: Balint

My experience with the TYTT scholarship has been absolutely amazing; it completely lifted me up, up and away since I had the opportunity to meet new people, explore different interest, try new foods and learn a complete culture in a number of hours. And I also can't forget about the San Francisco trip where I have gotten the opportunity to learn more about the city. Overall this experience was incredible; all that hard work was definitely worth it!


Unknown, David
While participating in this scholarship, I've gotten a wonderful opportunity to meet not only students but staff as well. I feel that in the future it is important to communicate well with others, make dead lines and be social with others. The TYTT scholarship gave me that opportunity to explore those necessities that I will continue to use in life. 
unknown artist
Doing this whole experience, I also explored many interest like art history and architectures. Everette showed me a whole different way of observing art in a way that I'll never forget. Thanks to her, I will pay even more attention to paintings carefully. I also enjoyed learning about architecture of buildings that were in San Francisco; absolutely amazing.

unknown artist
I also can't forget about the many foods I got to try. Although this experience was challenging, I appreciate it a lot because life is full of challenges. This scholarship prepared more than anyone would of thought. Thanks a lot again.

Alaze


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Smile, We Made It...

My final blog post... I can’t help but feel a little sad as I sit here, typing away at my computer. Even though I took a shot at achieving this fellowship last year, this year was an entirely new experience for me. I know for a fact that the memories and friendships I have forged with Context over the years will last me a lifetime.
This whole process has given me numerous opportunities for personal growth. I can say with confidence that last year, I was very serious and passionate about making sure everything was perfect. I wasn’t being myself because in the back of my mind I thought, “Is that really what they want to see?” I realized this to be a major flaw in my thinking which allowed me to shift my mindset and take a stronger approach this year. I know perfection isn’t realistic and I didn’t want to make myself seem perfect. I wanted to make sure the panel knew my face and truly got the sense of who I am as a person.
Secondly, I wanted to just have fun! Last year, due to my serious manner, I didn’t really allow myself to enjoy it. I treated it as a competition in which I was dead-set on winning. This year, I allowed myself to open up and enjoy the application process. What I took away from this whole experience was to always be myself and show people the true me and what I have to bring to the table. I also admire the growth I’ve seen within my fellow applicants. I feel that everyone showed great determination and passion for this fellowship. I could feel their ambition for wanting to win this competition. It was refreshing to be surrounded by such determined and focused individuals. I can tell the panel is going to have a tough decision to make.
Because this is the end, I want to end on a positive note. Win or lose, I want congratulate everyone. Congratulations on making it all the way to the end, pushing through, and never giving up. We can all proudly say we made it to the end and gave it our all. We completed the entire process which is definitely something to be proud of. We are no longer a group of applicants; we are a part of the Context family. Nine of us remain… and only two will be selected. Let the anxiety begin. I wanted to thank Context as a whole and more specifically Ms. Mills, Ms. Everret, and Mr. Marks for making this another fantastic year. Good luck to my fellow applicants. In just a few more days, the winners will finally be revealed.
~DeRael          
 
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