Angelica's World

Last night I went with a friend of mine to see Zoned In, one of the films playing at the Tribeca Film Festival which takes place in a bunch of movie theaters throughout Manhattan. This was the first time I had ever attended the festival but it's really cool. There are hundreds of films playing over the course of the week, some of which (like Zoned In) that are premiering for the first time ever. Check out the listings!

Zoned In is a film that follows Daniel over 9 years. It begins when he is in North Carolina sharing with the viewers about his life growing up, his family situation, the fact that his two older brothers are in jail and he had a son when he was only 15 years old. We then find out that he has moved back up to the South Bronx where he attends William Taft High School. We continue to learn about his triumphs, and the hard times too, and see him all the way through to his mid-twenties. It's a great story and certainly a motivating one--one that should certainly be spread throughout schools to encourage students and teachers!

Today was my last day of my second semester student teaching. I can't believe how quickly this year has gone. It's been a really positive year, in many aspects, and I've definitely learned so much. I was really flattered to see the impact that I seemed to have had on my students. I gave them all Mad Libs since they're learning about the parts of speech and I thought it would be a fun, yet educational gift. They then presented me with a compilation of letters that each student had written to me as well as a book from my Cooperating Teachers.

The letters the students wrote me were so sweet and really mean a lot. They continued to tell me how much they were going to miss me. When we went outside to play on the playground, we took tons of pictures and the students shared stories with me and wanted to show me their cool tricks on the monkey bars. It was a really fun day--I just can't believe that I'm halfway through my student teaching experiences and virtually 3/4 of the way done with COLLEGE!!!

Sprout is an organization that provides "innovative programs for people with developmental disabilities." Each year, they host a film festival where they show films--documentaries, shorts, music videos, narratives, and animations--related to those people who have developmental disabilities. The films, as with their mediums, are about a variety of topics and I chose to see a few of them over the past two days.

The Sprout Film Festival, which was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has 9 programs this year with central themes to each one. I was fortunate enough to view Programs 1 and 7--1 being about inclusion and 7 being about the impact on family members. Program 1 showed Including Samuel and Look, I'm In College!--the first one created by Samuel's father, a photojournalist, who documented his son growing up with Cerebral Palsy. Look, I'm In College! introduces the viewers to four students who have Autism and are in NYC's District 75 but, being college age, are part of a pilot program with Pace University allowing them to take class on the college campus while still being covered under their public school education.

Tonight's program 7, about families, showed Ups Not Downs, Siblings, Fathers' Voices, and The Teachings of Jon. I'm definitely glad I had the opportunity to view some of these films and learn more about the field I find so fascinating--from new perspectives too!

No, I didn't...but I did sit with everyone who did!

So as some of you may know, the All-University graduation is typically held in Washington Square Park, our "campus"! But, thanks to some construction going on in the Park, graduation was transplanted to none other than Yankee Stadium! Even though I wasn't graduating, I was initially disappointed because graduation in the Park is part of the NYU experience. But, I was proven very wrong.

The majority of my friends were seniors this year and fortunately, one of them had an extra ticket to graduation and I happened to plan on staying through graduation day before moving home anyway. So, I was able to attend the ceremony...and (shhh) sit with the Steinhardt graduates.

I'm really glad I went to graduation--it was a fun ceremony and really cool being at Yankee Stadium with NYU comments on the diamond vision and other screens throughout the field! It's scary to think that I only have one more year left of college--it feels like I just began; this was by far the fastest year yet but thankfully it was also the best one! Although next year is going to be very different as many of my friends have graduated, I really think it's going to be a great year and one that I'm very much looking forward to!!!