Milwaukee Art Museum

My mom and I took a trip to the MAM to see their Impressionism exhibit. They had everything from van Goh to Monet to Cassatt to Seurat! I felt like I was studying abroad again!

Break Time!

Enjoying all the little things about being home:

1. Watching The Help with my mom
2. Wearing PJs all day
3. Hanging out with Gus and Charlie
4. Babysitting for all my cousins
5. Mom's cooking
6. Reading good books

...life doesn't get much better!

Home Sweet Home!

     I'm very thankful to be home safely. Now I'm busy working and watching Law and Order SVU. I got to see my godson, Philip William, first thing when I arrived in Brookfield. He's getting so big!

Ice Skating at Forest Park

Slippery, shiny, ice SKATING 

Holding hands to stay steady

Megan took many falls on this corner of the rink...

Lena, Megan, and Megan - future figure skaters

Skating train

All my years of training at Skateland paid off! 

Beautiful (and warm) day of skating at Forest Park!

...Home in just one more sleep!

Christmas Spirit

     Now that I'm basically done with finals, I'm trying to get more into the Christmas spirit! I've got the Christmas music playing, but I barely have any decorations. That's why my girl Nicole and I headed to an on campus event to make our own gingerbread houses yesterday. They turned out pretty cute, and now I have one more decoration for my little apartment. My mom sent me a little tree for St. Nick's day, so with the gingerbread house, I'm now up to two Christmas decorations! 

Nicole and I working on our houses

Nicole and her gourmet gingerbread house!

My little Christmas

...it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Videos Galore!

     This semester, I was busy making lots of video projects for my classes at school. One was a (group project) message campaign for the city of St. Louis to encourage SLU students to get to know the city.  The second was a documentary about how social media influences student organizations and participation in them. Finally, the last one was a documentary about the St. Louis City Museum, which is basically a huge indoor/outdoor playground for kids and adults. Check them out below!

BE St. Louis Message Campaign

Rhetoric + Social Media + SLU

The City Museum Documentary

The Rhetoric of the City Museum from Nathaniel Rivers on Vimeo.

Last Day of Classes...

     Where did the time go? Today was the last day of classes...I'm half way through my junior year already. I cannot believe that it has almost been one year since I left for an amazing semester in Madrid.  This semester, I have been keeping busy with classes and working at Youth Learning Center (YLC), an academic after school program for at-risk youth here in St. Louis.  

     That's where my story begins today. After an amazing weekend here in St. Louis with my friends, during which we ate, played, and relaxed, I found myself in a surprisingly great mood for a Monday. I got to YLC and was on gym duty, which consists of keeping the kids from killing one another in an intense game of kickball. They also get snack right away.  One little boy, a second grader, came in and ran for the snack table. He ate his honeybun so quickly, and I was trying to ask him questions about his day. He was finished in about 30 seconds, and I asked him why he was eating so fast. He told me, "There was no dinner last night and no breakfast this morning. I don't even know if there will be dinner tonight." I was shocked. This means that the only meal he had eaten today was the free one that he gets at school. I cannot imagine what he was going through at school today. I know that I personally am a little on edge when I'm super hungry (as in, I may not have eaten since I went out for lunch with my friends and eaten breakfast).  That put my life into perspective pretty quickly. It's so hard because I really don't know what I can do to help this boy. 

     A few hours later, right before we were about to go, a little girl came into the homework center and sat down, staring at her math worksheet. I asked her if she needed help, and she said yes. I asked what grade she was in, and she told me she didn't know.  I later found out that she is supposed to be in fourth grade, but she is really in first grade. Even so, her math worksheet had them count by 2s, 5s, and 10s. She was unable to do any of that. She did not know what 5-5 is. She could not add 10 + 5. I was in disbelief. Sure, I could help her get her worksheet done, but one worksheet would not solve all of her problems. I feel so terrible that she, at no fault of her own, has been failed by the public school system and the adults in her life. She could not even identify the letter "t"! I cannot even compare her to my cousins in first and second grade who read so well and are already doing multiplication. It breaks my heart that I cannot fix everything for her with a wave of my magic wand. 

     Unfortunately, these cases are not atypical among the kids at YLC. I am thankful at least that they have the opportunity to come to the center and work on their skills. 

     This all makes me even more thankful for the little things today: jump roping with Aaileyah, going to lunch with my friend Kripa, eating my mom's eggplant parmesan for dinner, and having no real finals until next Monday!