Macbeth

          Naked Shakes presented us with their own unique interpretation of the Shakespearean play, Macbeth. I attended the Saturday showing of the play. The play itself was OK during certain scenes. For example; I really liked the way they actors used their bodies to create the set itself, like when they created the throne for the king, or like in the last act of the play, when Macbeth has been decapitated, and it looks like only his head is being held up. The dialogue was very hard to follow, since I’m not too fond of the Shakespearean language. Reading the plot summary that was handed to us before-hand helped me understand the story as it progressed; had I not read it, I don’t think I would have followed the plot of the play at all. Overall, I didn’t like the play all that much, mostly because I am not a fan of Shakespeare; however I would be interested in watching a different play from the Naked Shakes, and seeing how they perform in a non-Shakespearean play.

Apple Lecture

          Professor Erwin Apple’s lecture was pretty interesting. I really enjoyed listening to his life story, and I was pretty surprised at times. He attended Princeton University, and as if that wasn’t enough to impress me, he later told us how he attended Juilliard, which is a very competitive school to get into (it currently has about a 7% acceptance rate). This is where he began his acting career. After he graduated, he began to travel across the United States, performing in different cities along the way. I understand why he felt like settling down after some time; would get tired of being on the road, too. Overall I enjoyed the lecture, and I might consider taking one of the theater classes; either playwriting or set design. Sounds like it would be a cool, new way to explore my artistic abilities.

Dr. Lubach/Library Visit

          What I liked most about the presentation by Dr. Lubach was the way he connected with the audience. It didn’t seem at all like he was talking at us, but rather, with us. Though we weren’t so responsive when he cracked his jokes, I feel we got more comfortable with him as the presentation progressed. My favorite teachers/professors are those that are able to relate to us; who we can talk to openly in a laid back manner.

          Anyway, most of the lecture was spent talking about critical thinking, and how its important for us as college students to master this skill. He compared the methods of critical thinking, to the scientific method, and how there are steps you take. He derived this idea from the concepts of Bloom's Taxonomy: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. Getting familiar with this process will allow you to become a better critical thinker, and you will be more successful in college if you do so.

          I honestly don’t think the library visit was all that useful. Much of what she covered was simply how to navigate the school’s library website, and that's something I could have figured out on my own; which made the presentation rather dull. No offense to the librarian; she seems like a nice lady... 

          One last thing I wanted to mention. Two weeks ago I attended the “Native Plant Restoration” wellness field trip, which was essentially a walk around the lagoon. I enjoyed this much more than the Beach Hike I attended the previous week, mostly because I learned more on this trip. The ecologist that led the trip—Darwin Richardson—was a really cool guy, and he taught us about the different types of trees and wildlife found around the lagoon, as well as restoration projects that are currently underway. 

Plagiarism Articles

          I was amazed by what I learned through the two plagiarism articles. I thought I pretty much knew what plagiarism was. I thought plagiarism was not giving credit to someone when you used their words. Early on in the reading, I found out that using just a few words from someone else’s work without proper citation, can be considered plagiarism. Paraphrasing, which I always thought was somewhat safe to do, is also considered plagiarism. You can re-word, re-phrase, and re-assemble your own version of a read passage, but it is still plagiarism, even though you think you “wrote it in your own words.”

          The best way to avoid getting into trouble is by citing everything you used to create the paper you are working on. Whether it be a concept, idea, or simply a few specific words that the author used, you absolutely have to cite the sources. Citing is not all that difficult. All you have to do is directly cite the source in the text, or you can create some footnotes. It’s OK to use other people’s idea/concepts to help form your own argument/opinion; however, you must give credit to any and everything you used to support/form your argument/opinion. These articles taught me quite a bit. Plagiarism is taken very seriously in college, and academic dishonesty goes on your permanent academic record. From now on, I know very well the importance of citing my sources, and I will do my best to avoid plagiarism.

Lecture/Career Counseling

          I never knew the library had so many resources available to us. If I ever need to conduct some form of research, or write a paper using academic articles, I now know that the library can actually help me out with my search. I’ve heard about what academic articles are, but if I hadn’t attended lecture, I probably would have no idea how to find them. The library of a University is much more different than a typical high school or even public library. 

          The career counseling was very helpful. I learned that this was the place to go if you ever needed help researching scholarship opportunities, internships, job opportunities, and much more. They could also help you in building a resume. I also found out that they host events in which employers and people working in your specific field of study come to look for UCSB students who are interested in finding work in that field. Its important to take advantage of something like this. They specifically want UCSB students, which gives us an advantage over others!

          My favorite part about the trip was looking through their mini library of books on different careers. I found one in particular that focused on my intended field of work, and I enjoyed reading about it; reading the tips it had and advice on how to approach becoming involved in that particular field of work. I will definitely be returning to continue to look for books regarding my major, as well as to research job/internship opportunities. 

Majors/Minors Academic Fair

     I was really bummed to see that there was no one at the “Film and Media Studies” table. I wanted to learn more about my intended major! Other than that though, I was able to talk with the people from the Education Abroad Program. I am really interested in traveling abroad. I found out that there a scholarships specifically for people who study abroad, which is awesome. Just like many others have said, studying abroad is often cheaper than studying here at UCSB; so there shouldn’t be an excuse not to do it!

     

     I went to their website and I was able to look up all the different courses available abroad, based on my major. I’d say the Queen Mary University of London is at the top of my list of places I want to study abroad at. Once there, I plan to take courses on Screenwriting, as well as a Production Practice class, in which we learn practical production skills for digital video. These classes provide more freedom, creatively speaking, and this is what lacks in my current Intro to Cinema class. I’m more of a hands-on kinda guy, and I know theory is important to form a basis; however, I simply can’t wait to take more upper division courses that allow more hands-on projects and creative freedom. 

     Regarding Friday’s section, there are many different ways in which you can meet people here at UCSB. You can play sports, join clubs, attend activities that FSSP puts on, go to the free admission movie nights, etc. As far as being resourceful, you need to learn how to manage your time; this includes making time for both studying and leisure. Knowing when and where to go can be a tremendous help, and I believe that through FSSP, we are more prepared for when Fall quarter starts. I’m glad we won’t be like the other Freshman coming in who will be lost the first few days; a justified sense of superiority over the other Freshman.

A Little About Me

          Hello everyone, my name is Alex Avila. I was born in Hollister, CA. I have a little brother named Alan (only about two years younger), who will hopefully join me at UCSB when he graduates from high school. When I was about two or three years old, my family decided to move to Merced, CA. Right after finishing fifth grade, my family then decided to move out of state to Denver, Colorado. I went through middle school there. I loved the house we lived in, and I still miss it today. We had a completed basement (with carpet and bathroom and everything), and we had a pool table, as well as a Foosball table down there. We would also have family movie nights down there. Being in Colorado, we experienced our first white Christmas there. It was really cool; at first. Family back in California would say they love the snow, and we would always try to go up to Sonora in the winter. Well, I always tell them, the snow isn’t all that fun when you have to shovel the driveway daily, and you have to walk to and from school with the bitter chill of the wind rushing past you. After middle school, we were all homesick, so we decided it was time to move back to California. We moved to Atwater (five minutes from Merced), and I graduated from Buhach Colony High School.

          I was never interested in Shakespeare, or any of the other material that they covered in a regular Senior English class, so instead, I took a new English class that was available at our school. It was called Film Composition. We would basically examine the process in which novels would be converted into screenplays, and then how they were made into films. I loved this class, not only because we got to watch movies often, but because this sort of thing really interested me. Throughout the year we did projects in which we would develop screenplays, either based on a book or from our own imagination, and even filmed some of our screenplays. It was the most fun I had ever had on a project. It was then that I decided that this was something I would love to do for a living; something I would want to wake up in the morning to do. 

          Thanks to that class, I am now at UCSB, looking to major in Film and Media Studies. I am really looking forward to learning everything there is to know about my subject, as well as exploring other subjects offered here at UCSB. I also definitely want study abroad somewhere in Europe within the next few years. I’m really looking forward to the next four years.

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination."

          - Albert Einstein