Play in the City 2013

I have always been a straightforward and to the point kind of person, so I felt that using my full name as my username was appropriate. Besides this straightforward nature, I also believe that pictures, and that the images that people choose are able to give an insight into who that person is, and what resonates with them as a person. I had the privilege of growing up in Santa Cruz, California, which I believe to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. It is known for its beautiful beaches, hippies, and being one of the top spots on the California coast for surfing. All of these aspects of Santa Cruz are true, and I appreciate all of them, but the part of Santa Cruz that resonates with me most are the thousands of magnanimous Redwood trees that tower hundreds of feet above you. Their history and size have always given me a sense of serenity and comfort, and one of my favorite past-times laying down in the giant forests and looking up through their leaves and branches to the sun and sky. This photo taken through the trees gives me a sense of peace, and reminds me where I'm from and the beauty it holds.  I am so excited for this new journey at Bryn Mawr, but Santa Cruz will always be my first home.

My avatar is a picture of the most distinguishing landmark of the other place I call home: San Francisco, CA. Although I hail from Virginia, where I have lived for the past 16 years, I spent the first few weeks of my life in The City. These few weeks were the end of three years in which my parents lived there, rent paid for by the US Army. The stories they told of it enthralled me, and, three years ago, they took me back to visit. I felt an instant kinship with the place, with its colors, unusual architecture and landscaping, and sheer sense that the inhabitants are whoever they want to be, no restrictions imposed.

Once, I caught myself remembering the beauty of San Francisco, and told myself that it was just my memory making it seem more beautiful than it actually was, as has happened with other places. I returned to my photo album, and discovered that no, in fact, my memory was actually dimming the beauty.

Without the help of the military, I will not be able to live in San Francisco again unless I find a very well-paying job--the cost of living there is greater than in London. However, I have not given up hope that I will find a way to return.

For the most part, I would hardly call the people in my picture my friends.  I knew them for one or two years at most as they passed through the theatre program at my high school, but I rarely got to know more about them than their names and vague impressions of their personalities.  Still, for every back turned and face blurred in that picture, I could tell you a story about that five minutes in two years that I got the chance to talk to them.  That five minutes has left a lasting impression on my memory.  Moreover, I could tell you about this moment in the picture when the entire room was silent, and each of us closed our eyes while our fellow cast-members surrounded us.  The exercise was simple: match the breathing of the person next to you.  After it ended, I went backstage with the realization that I could trust the people around me.  In an existence marked by fleeting relationships and unknown people, this was a moment when everything stood still, and I did not have a single doubt in my mind about anyone in the room.

There are a few reasons I choose a profile picture of a perched hawk. The first is, simply, I don't tend to put my face on the internet. Most of the people who I would want to keep in the loop regarding my everyday life, can just as easily get an email with a picture than they can look it up on facebook. The second reason, similarly, is that I really like birds of prey, and hawks in particular; they are among my favorite animals. This particular hawk seemed to be paying rapt attention, which seemed fitting. Finally, although this is rather subconscious, there is something fun about having a representation of the self that has certain cultural assossiations; a reference to something or someone the person with that picture would like the person seeing it to remember and connect to. I generally think that when one has a profile picture with cultural associations, then whenever the person with that profile picture demonstrates some small amount of one of the qualities associated with their profile picture, then that quality becomes strengthened in the reader's memory.

I am a city girl. I've lived in a city for almost my whole life, and was taking public transportation by the time I was in preschool. Where I'm from, our transport is run by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, known by locals to be called Muni. Most San Franciscans have a love-hate(mostly hate) relationship with Muni rooting from the changeable train schedule and the crowds that often come with riding a common route. One reason people love Muni is that is provides them with something to complain about. I chose this username because Muni is how I accessed all that my city had to offer, for which I'm very grateful. Despite this, I couldn't bear to put an image of one of those trains as my avatar (See the distaste shining through?) so my image is a combination of some other things I love. It's a small piece of a digital painting of mine, and shows my love of art and my love of horses at the same time. I'm looking forward to finding my way on some new public transportation!

Fun fact: The title of this post is similar to a line from a song by Journey, a band from SF.

My name is pretty bland- in fact I have the most common first name in the class of 2017. When I looked my last name up in the phonebook in second grade, I found 200 listings. So when I was born, my parents wanted to give me a more unique middle name. They chose Juneau, after the city in Alaska where my mom went to high school. It seemed like a perfect choice for an Esem about cities. I chose a picture from a trip to Juneau, with a bus in the foreground. I like the colors in the picture, and the misty mountains in the background. Public transit makes me think of cities, as well as my own trips downtown, often on my way to fun events. Busses are a way to access a city, as is this class.

I choose this picture because the Winnie in the picture is not only a toy of my favourite cartoon character，but also my birthday gift sent here by my best friend this year.

My birthday is on September 6th, which is alway at the beginning of school semesters. Thus, when I was a child, different with other children who hated the end of holidays, I was always looking foreward to the new semester. 

My birthday this year is the first time for me to celebrate alone without any family members or old friends. However, I never feel upset for the simple reason that I meet so many new friends here. Although I am far away from my hometown, I can still feel warm and happy.

Moreover, I notice that there is a parade night on my birthday on campus, which makes me feel excited, and I hope to make friends with more girls that night!

Choosing this avatar really reminds me where I am from- Sichuan, China, a place famous for pandas and spicy cuisine. Like what we have done when entering the college, I want to tell you where I'm from. I'm from the bell rings of the rickshas in the narrow and  long alleys; I'm from adorable pandas, from hot-pot and from numerous antiques in history; I'm from brilliant and beautiful poems and literatures thousands years ago. It is the place I was born and grew make me nowadays. Because of the eating habit, I act in a piquant way. Because of the long history, I obey various tradition. Because of the relaxing atmosphere in my city, I like sitting besides the rivers, drinking  tea, and reading some fictions or playing cards with my friends. There's no need to think, no need to worry. No matter where I am going, I know I'm from there, and I am always there. It's rooted in my heritage, my blood, my value, even in my free-well, my soul and future.

The simple thought of going through a day without some form of music frightens me. Whether I am walking to meet a friend or on the way to school, music is my companion. It is my workout partner and my study buddy. Unaccompanied by music, boredom comes too quickly in its place. This is why my profile picture is so important to me; it is of myself and my one true love, music. Specifically, Jack Steadman, the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, Bombay Bicycle Club. This was back in January of 2012, and I still consider that night to be one of the most memorable of my life. Without Jack – without music – I would be alone. Many walks would have gone unwalked, many dances gone undanced, many car rides gone unbearable and monotonous. Not only that, movies would be lacking emotion, MTV wouldn't exist, and exercise videos would just be people sweating, someone yelling, and silence.