By Erick GarciaRevolution: a sudden, complete, or marked change in something. That was certainly the feeling in the air when the Russian revolt of 1917, otherwise known as The October Revolution, Red October, or The Bolshevik Revolution and the Yugoslavian Bulldozer Revolution of 2000 took place. Aside from being two extremely significant events in themselves, these two revolutions embody two important concepts: control and unity. Before the Russian revolt of 1917 occurred, there was already a lot of social unrest in Russia due to it being a very impoverished country during the early 1900’s. Under the reign of the royal Romanov monarchy, corruption in the Russian government was rampant, the Russian economy was suffering due to the investment of money in various wars, and many people were losing their faith in the Czar’s failing leadership. Thus, on November 6 and 7 (October 24 and 25 on the Julian calendar), the Bolshevik Revolution took place, otherwise known as The October Revolution of 1917. Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin along with a group of leftist revolutionaries overthrew the provisional government, calling for a Soviet government ruled by soldiers, peasants and workers as opposed to leaders from Russia’s bourgeois capitalist class. This would prove to be the first step in establishing the Soviet Union, and consequently, the first step in establishing a dictatorship that would last for sixty nine years. In 1998, college students got together in Belgrade, in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to form what is known as Otpor!, which in Serbian means “resistance.” They did this in order to call for the removal of Slodoban Milošević, who at the time was the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, because under his regime, new laws were being enacted that imposed political control over their universities and that harassed the independent media. It was announced on July 27, 2000 that early elections were going to be held on September 24, 2000, and Milošević was campaigning for reelection, even though he wouldn’t officially finish his term until the following year in June 2001. After this announcement, Otpor! united and formed the Democratic Opposition of Serbia, with Vojislav Koštunica as the chosen candidate to oppose Milošević. When the vote took place on September 24, 2000, it was reported that Koštunica had won over 50% of the votes, but Milošević refused to accept defeat. Because of his refusal, the revolution reached its peak on October 5, 2000 when between 500,000 and 1 million people took part in a mass rally in Belgrade. The Bulldozer Revolution obtained its namesake due to an engineering vehicle operator named Ljubisav Ɖokić (nicknamed Joe) taking his wheel loader (the Bulldozer Revolution has the name Bulldozer for convenience) and using it to charge a building in Belgrade where RST (Serbia’s public broadcaster and symbol of Milošević’s regime) was the tenant. Once Joe had broken through the police and security lines, the protesters swarmed the building and took over RST’s airwaves and quickly renamed it Novi RST (New RST), therefore serving as a symbol of their victory in taking down Milošević’s regime. Both of these revolutions are of monumental importance in our history. It’s worth nothing that these revolutions were similar in some ways and different in others. Both revolutions involved a group of people that fought for what they believed to be for the good of their country as a whole. The Bolsheviks fought to end the Romanov’s rule in order to save their country from poverty and from further destruction due to war and the people of Yugoslavia fought to establish a transparent democracy in their country. Additionally, both The Bolsheviks and The Yugoslavians fought their revolutions without spilling the blood of their enemies and were each. Where these two revolutions differ are their end results. While the Yugoslavians united to fight for the democracy and freedom of their country, the Bolsheviks fought for control of their country. While the Yugoslavians successfully and officially achieved democracy through their rebellion, and therefore, ended up fighting for the good of Yugoslavia, the Bolsheviks fought to overthrow an oppressive monarchy only to establish something that was equally as oppressive. Essentially, their hunger for power led them to replace one oppressive form of government with another. Their intentions were noble at the start of their revolution, but along the way they only started to think for themselves and not for the rest of their country, and this is what led to the start of the Soviet Union. The Yugoslavians who led Otpor! also fought against an oppressive regime that was rampant with corruption and also led a revolution that sought to overthrow that regime, but their intentions did not change throughout the course of their revolution. They did not seek dictatorship once they succeeded in their efforts to overthrow Milošević and his regime. Rather, they sought to replace Milošević with someone they believed not only better suited to carry out his position as President, but who would ultimately be representative of the people and not his own selfish interests. One who would represent democracy and unity instead of corruption. And it’s important to note that even after Koštunica replaced Milošević as President, Otpor! still existed to monitor the activities of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia until early September, 2004, when they eventually merged with the Democratic Party. Both of these revolutions are powerful reminders of what can be achieved when one fights for the right to be heard and to unify his or her people. And being that this October marks the centennial anniversary of The October Revolution and the 17th anniversary of the Bulldozer Revolution, let’s use these historical events to remind us of what we can achieve when we unite to fight to make our voices heard.
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By: Giselle RamirezBlueberries for Sal was a book I reread countless times in the classroom of my 1st grade library. It was also one of the high level reading books, so I was very proud of myself for being able to read it completely on my own. However, while I was excelling at English in school, I was failing terribly at Spanish at home. Being a child of immigrant parents, culture and language was something deeply valued in my household. I have an older brother so I picked up on English quicker than Spanish, so my English ended up becoming better than my Spanish, which worried my mother. Hoping to improve my Spanish, she bought me books in Spanish instead, but it did not work. Instead, I constantly kept asking for Blueberries For Sal and cried whenever I was given anything in Spanish. To be honest, I barely remember the plot this book because I lost it among the piles of old toys and books I have stored in my closet. However, it represented a time where I was confused and frustrated with the presence of Spanish in my life because I felt it was not necessary since everything outside my home was in English. As I grew older though, I learned to embrace Spanish because it not only gave me more opportunity, but also allowed me to appreciate my inner Latina. The Lover's Dictionary is a very short novel I read when I was sixteen. The author tells the story of a failed relationship between two genderless lovers in a dictionary format. I do not think it was the story that affected me as much but rather the way the author told it. The story did not have a beginning, middle, or ending, he retold the relationship as a series of good and bad moments. It is very relevant to how we do not think back on relationships in chronological order. Instead, we tend to distinguish between the good and the bad moments of a relationship. This book affected me in the sense that love stories do not always have happy endings, which is something I usually look for when I want to pick up something to read. Nevertheless, it is a unique book and I reread it whenever I am arguing with my own boyfriend or feeling bothered by something because it reminds me that communication is completely necessary in a healthy relationship. I read this book this summer at the current age of 20 and it was moving to see so much diversity in this book. I was amazed to see that the girl being crushed on was Mexican and had beautiful brown eyes. It was wonderful see myself in a book, when growing up all I remember was reading about the girl with wavy blond hair or the cute boy with blue eyes. Aside from this, the book also discusses and expresses certain concerns that young people may be experiencing during a confusing time. Including the topic of exploring a new sexual orientation and discussing what constitutes as racism among minority groups. Sana, a Japanese American girl falls for Jamie, a Mexican American girl, which creates racial tensions among both their social groups. The story brought up questions relevant to the reality that we live in now and how we need to be considerate of everything we say even if we are not intending any harm. I thought it affected me directly because there are certain unspoken boundaries on what constitutes as racism when it comes to comments made by one minority group to the other. Discussions and consideration are steps to be taken when interacting with people of all colors and I think this book lays out a good foundation on how to open up the room for discussion on this topic. by Linda CheriyanAfter much contemplation, I have concluded that there is no easy way to say it. Before the summer started I was very hopeful of having a great time and getting to spend some of it with friends, because I rarely ever get to see anyone due to my busy schedule. One thing I definitely did not have on my schedule for this summer was the death of a friend. Death forces you into adulthood. Your thinking suddenly changes, especially when the death is unexpected. Anyone who knew Frederick Swope knows well that he was a charismatic young man who loved life so dearly. Here I want to pay tribute to the person he was. He is not the kind of person who can be summed up in just a few words. Freddy Swope deserves a whole story to explain who he was. I met Freddy over a year ago at an Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) event. He came up and told me that he was at his first school event ever since he started college. We talked about the organization, and I was struck by how passionate he was about a club he barely knew. He wanted ALPFA John Jay to get the recognition it deserved, and I immediately knew I wanted him on my team. That semester we had our election, he got voted in as secretary and I got elected to be president. We became the dream team, working tirelessly alongside each other to make the organization better, more visible, and to get a bigger audience. As the ultimate duo; I refused to do a single event without Freddy. Though he got accepted to Baruch for the following year- we promised we would stick to the pact we made when we first joined. We both dreamt of having an event where we would have hundred students joining our event one day before we graduate. He helped me pick a new team for ALPFA and promised to always help me with the organization we were building together. We said our goodbyes after the last event we held together, which was one of the hardest things, but promised to stay in touch.
We talked about starting a nonprofit organization that would change the entire world. Freddy had passion for many things, one of which included music, creating music in his apartment and sharing it with me for my opinion. He was so passionate, and we talked about incorporating music into our nonprofit organization where it will change everyone’s perspective on music. In addition to our plans to change the world at 2 am, we talked about almost anything and everything philosophical. We would ask each other, “What’s in a name?” or “how does the stock market work?” To this day I still don’t understand how the stock markets works (sorry Freddy, I have failed you there), but through the stock market, Freddy would try to make me understand his passion for economics as well. As friends we didn’t always agree on every single topic, and we certainly had our disagreements, but we made sure to look past our political views and always remain friends. Every once in awhile he would have an epiphany around 2 am and text me saying “Linda are you ready for some bitter TrYouth?” TrYouth was the name of his blog, which he constantly bribed me to write for. He would tell me, “Linda you are an amazing writer and you need to invest your time in writing for my blog where you will make a bigger impact on society.” Ironically, now I’m writing about him for the very blog he tried to lure me away from. At the beginning of summer, I made my usual summer list of restaurants and places I would want to visit to photograph. I briefly mentioned the idea to him and he said he wanted to venture out with me. I was delighted by the idea because I’m always looking for new adventure buddies. All summer we tried to hang out, whether it was before, between, or after work. For one reason or another, it was not possible to get together. Freddy got a new internship at Northwestern Mutual to sell insurance and I had just started a new internship at a financial institution. A week before his accident I felt a terrible feeling about our friendship in my gut, and I realized how neglectful I’d been as a friend. I immediately texted him and told him we NEEDED to hang out as soon as possible. Though he was at home visiting his family, he said we should make plans for as soon as he came back to New York. That Monday July 17th at 11 am, he texted me saying “we should hangout this week”. I looked at my calendar and responded, “Can’t, let’s do next week”. We agreed on Monday July 24th after work. On July 21st, I received a text from one of our mutual friends asking if I’d heard from Freddy, because she received a missed call from Freddy that same Monday. I smiled and thought he called probably to sell the insurance he has been trying to sell all summer. But then, I also realized in that moment I had not heard from Freddy either. I texted him that morning to see if we can hangout the very next day instead of that Monday, but I had failed to notice even the normal things in my life because I was so consumed with fast pace of things in my life. It escaped my notice that someone I texted on a daily basis had not texted me in the past four days. My friend told me Freddy was in a terrible car accident that left him in critical condition. I quickly searched his name up on Google and hoped this story she was telling me would be false, but sadly, I came to find out it was the opposite. The article provided a very graphic picture of his briefcase, his one shoe and a pile of blood. I remember the briefcase really well. He had received it for Christmas and was super excited about how professional it looked. It didn’t take much to excite Freddy; he found everything in life to be a gift and found philosophical meanings in everything. One time in October of last year at a volunteer event, I noticed some dried blood on his notebook, and he refused to wipe it off because he found it memorable since it was his first nosebleed. This is how he approached everything in life. He made sure everything was memorable for him and for those around him. He made the most out of everyday, so it is still unclear to me how someone who valued life so dearly can be taken away from it so soon? As soon as I could, I went to visit him at the hospital, and I felt desperate to see the pace at which he was recovering. When I saw him I couldn’t recognize him: I remember asking my friend a few times if that was really Freddy in the hospital room. The Freddy I knew had so much energy and was full of life. His dad gave me an update about his recovery. And though his injuries were very serious, I would not underestimate his recovery skills, because he had never underestimated my abilities in anything--whether it was my creative side or my presidential side. The next day, July 24th, I returned to the hospital to hangout with him as we had planned a week before. I went to the hospital with our mentor who has helped coach both of us in our career paths. But, as we walked to his room, we saw the room was dark, the curtains were drawn and his family was not to be found anywhere. Deep inside I still held onto hope that maybe he was just taken to surgery so he could get better. I asked the two nurses who were there, and they told me that he had passed away that afternoon. That moment seemed to last forever as we kept asking if it was really Freddy they were talking about. You can never be prepared for that moment. When I heard the news of Freddy’s death, I wanted to curl up and forget everything about the world. That entire next week I sent emails, text messages, read posts, and wrote comments on posts about his death. Normally the more you engage with something, the better you get at it. But no matter how many times I brought myself to talk about it, it still felt fresh and it scared me deeper. The crazy thing about death is that you sometimes lay around thinking of all the last things you would’ve said or would’ve done if you had known the person’s last days were approaching. You think of all the ways you could have shown them your appreciation, and you can’t help but begin to realize how much of their presence you took for granted. You begin to realize how much you appreciate your own life because in a matter of seconds life can be taken away. Freddy’s death has made me face so many life regrets. Freddy has always tried to teach me life lessons and still continues to do so, even after living. I learned that you are never too busy for your loved ones. Freddy, I hope you are able to forgive me for all the times I wasn’t able to hangout. You were a good friend and colleague, and I will truly miss you. I hope I have expressed enough of my love for Freddy, but I know no amount of words or pages will ever do him and his grand life justice. Freddy’s greatest goal aside from being successful in finance was to be known for his music one day. So I would like to conclude with a few lines from a song he wrote called Drones: We fly away when days are getting hard,
the pain I made it through, it left me scarred. Remember back when times were so bizarre, the scenic visuals that wasn’t far. Keep the faith and thankful to the stars, 24-karat magic, Bruno mars. Living life, don’t got no time to pause. Rest in Peace Freddy. by Joseph "Joey" ButtsTo say that a book changed my life is a stretch. I am more comfortable saying that a book has without a doubt helped my life. Some people might not see the distinction there, but to me, there is one. Not many people know that I enjoy reading as much as I do. This is probably due to the fact that it is so difficult for me to find a book that I truly enjoy, so it results in me reading not as often as most book-enthusiasts. But nonetheless, I have picked up many books, in hopes that they’ll be able to get me through the first few chapters. Some books I gave up on after a few pages. Some I read just because I felt like I had to. This is thanks to the TV shows and movies that make me intrigued about the differences between how an author viewed his book, and how a director interpreted it. The handful of books that really get through the good and bad times, are as follows: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach; Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You by Peter Cameron; and None of the Bad Ones by Andrew Brown. They enabled me to view my outlook on life differently. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach This book was recommended to me by a woman I used to work with. She told me that the main character, Henry, reminded her of myself. I was the guy at work who wouldn’t speak much. I just went about my business, spoke when spoken to, and maybe cracked a few jokes here and there if the moment was right. For my standards it is a relatively long book, having a page count over 500. I probably read it in about three or four days. I could not put it down. If I didn’t have any other responsibilities, I could have done it in an one day. Everything from character development, to the detailed descriptions and to the points of narrative, were flawless. Although I never thoroughly watched or played baseball, I could still feel a strong connection to Henry. The book follows the course of three other characters in the book whose stories overlap and cross. It was beautifully written, and deserves to be read more than just one time. But Henry had such a humbled yet strong pursuit for perfection, and when things didn’t go his way, he began to unravel. He fell apart and began to struggle; not only in baseball, but in life. But after reading his experiences, and comparing them to my own, I could empathize with his pain. He let himself collapse, and almost destroy everything he had going for him. There was a point in my life where I thought this was happening to me as well...call it the “quarter-life crisis”. I gave up on everything. I became a person I thought I never would become, and it showed. I would walk around with my head down, burning bridges with friends and family; all because I was in a bad place. Henry Skrimshander inadvertently helped me through these times. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You by Peter Cameron So I had just accidentally missed a meeting with Professor Rougier. I broke up with my very serious girlfriend a few days prior. It was by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I broke this girl’s heart, and lost my absolute best friend. I was a complete mess, even though I knew it had to be done. We didn’t line up well. The longer we were together, the more I could find myself growing distant from her. I don’t remember exchanging emails with Professor Rougier to schedule a meeting in the first place. I couldn’t distinguish what was reality and what was in my head. I was practically a zombie, just going through the motions of my usual days with no real thoughts or comprehension of what was going on. When it was all sorted out, we met in his office. He told me he was going to give me this book on our original meeting date...which was such a coincidence just because of the title of this novel. It was hard for either of us not to laugh at the irony of the situation. I thanked him and read the book within the next few days. The main character, James, seemed like a spitting image of myself when I was 16, 17, and 18 years old. A quiet teenager with few friends and a knack for being a sarcastic smart-ass. James thought the idea of college was ridiculous. Something I would always tell my parents (and sometimes still do). I would always say that I would never go, and that I didn’t need it to be successful. My parents would do as James' parents and grandmother would. Tell me I am acting childish and that I didn’t know what I was doing. None of the Bad Ones by Andrew Brown This is one of my all time favorite books. I read the online New York skate blog Quartersnacks almost everyday, or at least when they put up new content. One day I saw they had an interview with the author, Andrew Brown, discussing the release of his book. In the interview, Andrew Brown was asked if the novel was a love story. He responds by saying “It’s a fucked up love story”. He also says to go into it with an open mind, other wise you will think it is some trashy book. And maybe to some extent it is, but it’s about how yourself as an individual interprets this trash. If anyone decides to read this book, I recommend reading this interview first. So after I read the interview, I ordered the book and began reading it. It was a pretty short novel.The book takes place over the course of one weekend in the mid 2000s, when BBM was a huge thing, with his encounter and relationship with a girl who has a bad reputation whom he hasn’t seen in quite some time. But the story was really hitting home for me. My connection with the nameless narrator and his days in New York City over the summer was just so eerily familiar to what my friends and I do today. Now, if someone read this book and heard that I said it hit home, they would think I am some sleazy guy who goes clubbing and does all that other stuff he describes in great detail, but that really isn’t it. There’s more to it than that. One part of the book, he describes skating down the avenues, and how New Yorkers always know what streets are the good ones to push down. He talks about going to Tompkins Square Park, and skating flat, learning new tricks. A bunch of my friends still do that. Almost everything about the novel, I could relate to. Not the erotic parts, but his relationship with the girl in the book, I could imagine. I could see it so clear. He describes his apartment and I feel like I have been there. The entire time I read this book, I was just smiling. It made me want to grab my skateboard and go downtown and skate with my friends. It made me want to buy a Blackberry and see if anyone in the world still used BBM. The book was nostalgic to me, which is strange because I have only been living in the City for three years. But it made me feel a certain way. I felt warm reading about his weekend with this girl. His love gained and love lost story. These books all did something for me. One of them might have made me smile, while the other two could have made me melancholy. Maybe you read None of the Bad Ones and say that it just belongs in the garbage. That is okay. These books helped me learn more about myself than anything else. And that is why I chose them. They were my inspiration. Not only can I see myself as these characters, but I can see myself writing like these authors, too. And this is why I started by saying: To say that a book changed my life is a stretch. I am more comfortable saying that a book has without a doubt helped my life. Some people might not see the distinction there, but to me, there is one. If a book changed my life, that means it would have taken something from my personality or my soul, and spit it out different than it was before. For me, a book cannot do that. I know who and what I am. And I like what I have turned out to be. But sometimes, I need some help, some guidance. And these books do that for me. I was told that the best way to become a better writer, is to read.
by Henry CruzThe best lessons I learned in life are how to accept my fate and how to appreciate my loved ones. English literature has always been my best subject, but only when it came to writing. I started to love reading after I read books that were relatable and written with words that expressed the emotions I endured every day. Those books were Hamlet, Great Expectations, and Bodega Dreams. These books shined a light on my darkest days and contributed some of the best lessons I learned in my life. Great Expectations In high school, I was taking an AP Literature class and the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens was given to me to start reading over the summer before the class started. At first, I was not accepting the assignment because I wanted to enjoy my summer without any school work. However, as the days grew closer to school I knew I had to begin reading it. After reading it, I was in shock from the overall message and ending of the story. A boy named Pip grew up with the guidance of his brother in law Mr.Joe. At the end, I learned to never forget where I come from no matter how much I grow or change in life. I believe the important message of the story is to appreciate your loved ones because any trip with them is worth more than the destination. Hamlet I always believed that a person is responsible for his/her own fate despite their beliefs in something. To me, beliefs are a person’s creation to give them answers that they are too afraid to give themselves. William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet shaped the way the way I think about life and death. His famous lines “To be or not to be, that is the question” goes beyond a romantic ideology of his work. This line expresses that no one can escape suffering whether they are dead or alive. When a person is alive, they walk through life with their troubles and sorrows, perhaps wishing they were dead. Death is described as an end where all the suffering and pain is gone no matter what choices were made when being alive. Death has physical or emotional feeling. However, Hamlet explains that when a person is dead, they are asleep, and when they are asleep they dream, and when they dream, they have nightmares about their problems. Death is defined as an end to life, but also represents the beginning of an afterlife. The choices we make when we are alive determine how our afterlife will be. Even if we avoid the consequences when we are alive, those consequences follow us through our morals and guilt. We eventually learn through consequences of what we should have done and what we should not have done. We are responsible for our own fate and the way we structure it. We compose the velocity of our lives. For instance, some people choose to live slowly, day by day while others live life rapidly making each day count as if it is his/her last. There are times we think about short term effects rather than long term. We cannot blame others for the consequences within our path because we are our own pilots who manage the direction where we want life to take us. Bodega Dreams
I grew up in a tough and poor neighborhood. Although I did not know everyone in my neighborhood personally, I would still greet and speak to them because I saw them as human beings before anything else. This book brings me flashbacks of the crazy things I would do to prove myself to people and how far I would be willing to go. As a man, I would be willing to do anything that would help my family in any way. Bodega Dreams taught me no matter how far I go out of my way to achieve something, appreciate those who are worried for you. For example, I learned to appreciate my beautiful girlfriend even more than when I first met her. Not only is she my lover, she is my best friend and that is what gives me the most comfort every day. I was blessed to having an amazing person like her to give me unconditional love every day. In Bodega Dreams, the main character Chino grows up with his girlfriend Blanca (Nancy) and deals with the emotional burden of wanting better for her. His financial situation becomes more challenging as he learns that she is pregnant. He becomes concerned with finding a good paying job and an apartment with more room but in a better neighborhood. However, she notices that he is troubled and worries for him. Despite her feelings, Chino secretly isolates himself to achieve his goal of obtaining a better apartment for them to live in. This situation is very relatable because I would also be willing to do anything to accomplish my goal as the main character Chino did for his. Although I have people who worry for me, I now know how important it is to stay strong for them and appreciate every second I spend with them. When your body is tired, exercise your mind. Reading these three books contributed to how I deal with my emotions and rationally think. Life tends to put people through physical and mental obstacles that shape how we carry ourselves through our lifetime. The overall message I took from all three of these books is to appreciate the trip more than the destination. No matter where life takes me, I am responsible for what direction I am headed for. |
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