pbernal's blog

Like tomahawk mentioned, Flanagan's passage made me remember of a ted talk one of my friend's made back in highschool of the effect of videogames. Personally, I'm not a videogamer neither and I wasn't really a fan of people playing videogames either. My brothers and sister play and never seem to take interest in any physical activity, which really annoyed me. I never grasped why most people loved playing videogames. Medrano, my friend explained, like Flanagan, that videogames are a way for people to escape reality and become people they've always hope to become or wish to become. It's a virtual world created for people to escape the stress and frustration and relax. In the real world, we can't become the top gansters of L.A. and get every cute girl, but in L.A. Noire, we most definitely can. In SIMS, we play another life, no violence, no physical activity, simply participate in another life through a virtual world. Videogames are essential, although most people consider it pointless, they're a way for people to cope with stress and live a virtual different life. 

Jessica Bernal

ESEM- Play in The City

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Trains were a figment of my imagination. They would only get as real as Thomas and Friends, The Polar Express and only as exciting as the Zorro movies with Antonio Banderas. And now I find myself walking back slowly step by step startled by the roaring sounds of what they call a train.

As much as I try to tell myself that the trains are real and that no, I’m not on the set for the next Back to The Future movie, my feet can’t seem to believe it. I get a little push from everyone around me making his or her way onto the monstrous silver caterpillar. The chilly wind brushes off the nerves away and I embark onto discover what Philadelphia holds.

I take each step as if I were walking in the dark yet my eyes are wide open looking at everyone and everything on the train. The young couple too busy with each other’s faces to notice we’re all staring, the woman reading her book with no attention to her surroundings, and half of the train busy on their phones texting away as if their thumbs were on a marathon. I’m trying to look for a seat but I find myself more interested in the people on the train than the actual empty seat right in front of me. I feel like a kid in the candy store for the first time and I haven’t even arrived to the city yet!

When I was younger, my favorite part of the day would either be recess and for a short time period, naps also became the vital part of my day. Soon, they took that away from me and all I could look forward to was recess. All my friends and I would stare at the clock and watch the minute hand slowly move as 12 would strike. We'd feel like animals trapped in a small cage and once the bell rang, we escaped and gazelled out of enclosed space. We were free and the sweat dripping down our backs made no change on the bright smiles on our faces. Most of my favortite memories from childhood are from recess; it taught me quite a few things that a room with four walls could never. Recess is a vital part of growing up and if we take that away from children and bombard them with more work and trap them in four walls all day, then they'll miss out on essential experiences. 

When you taste something for the first time, your tongue seems a lot more sensitive as it tries to taste every ingredient in whatever you're indulging in. The tongue wants to know exactly what it's tasting in order to decide if it likes it or not. It can't judge the food based on one ingredient, your taste is based on the overall food experience. Same goes with the overall experience of a city, you can't judge it based on one distinct area of it. I believe you have to really dedicate some time to get to know the city well all around, the good, the bad, and the ugly. In order to understand how well a certain city functions, how it's structured, and what it holds for its people, one has to involve itself with the city and explore past the known and recomended areas of the city. 

Jessica Bernal

Play in the City ESEM

 The Melting Pot

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As human beings, it is in our nature to clinch to conformity. We pursue crowds in society in which we can associate ourselves and find resources available to our daily needs. We seek not only a friendly welcoming, but also a challenge to explore and venture through everything society can offer to its people. Without the voice of the people, there’s nothing worth establishing. Skyscrapers, restaurants, public transportations, schools, and etc. physically construct a city, but without people, without soul and diversity it means nothing. A city is a puzzle and the people are its pieces, without a piece you cannot put a city together, you cannot call it a city.

For the most part, I am a very optimistic and always smiling type of person. I don't like to hold grudges or dwell in the past. I love setting goals for myself and challenging myself mentally, emotionally, and physically. I love to live for the adventure and no matter the circumstance, I push myself until I see the sun shine bright once again. Hence, my avatar picture reflects who I am as a person, big smile and the pink shining through the light coming through the window in my dorm. The background of the picture is white, unfilled and untouched as it awaits for a new adventure to be drawn and fill the space.