Author Archives: Cristina Nolivos

A Perfect World

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Imagine a place full of green. Where instead of buildings, trees are what soared to the sky. Mountains and hills housed humans and the concrete which grayed up our streets did not

Housing in a small mountain

Housing in a small mountain

exist. Everything was all natural so pollution would never risk life on earth. Transportation was normally made by foot. Horses and other animals helped with that, they would give them rides and help pull wagons or carriages for them.

Humans, they did not know greed or envy, they disliked but they did not hate, no judgement was given. Everyone was friendly they greet each other one way or another, either with a kiss, a hello, or a welcoming smile. Every village had a source of water many of them had wells but there were also lakes, waterfalls and rivers. Vendors would gather near their source of water, picture it like a farmer’s market or a fair. While going to get their water they would pick up their necessities as well. People here didn’t use money in fact they didn’t even trade. Knowing that people were happy with their produce and products the vendors were content, more happy if they were given a compliment.

Animal Mark

Now what would this place be without a special gift? In this place humans had a special connection with animals. Ancient tribes believed that animal spirits would help as a guidance and over time the magic connection with animals grew. At the age of 8 children would go and stay with the town priest or priestess for a few day. During this time, they would meditate and find what type of animal would help them and give them guidance. When the animal was found, the spirits would surround the child and mark them with their image. This gift allowed them to speak with their animal in a meditation state or not.

imagesCan you imagine finding a rabbit on your way home and being able to communicate with it? Ask it questions. Animals over time grew wise, they observed humans and learned the type of advises they needed in order to be happy and to continue the flow of positive energy that was everywhere. Like humans, animals weren’t selfish other’s needs were their priority and when they were needed they would be there.

With happiness people recovered quickly from sickness. They did not damn pain, they saw it as an experience, not to do a silly mistake twice or as a message, when something was wrong with their bodies. Death was seen as a celebration, to be released from one’s body and having the freedom to roam the earth and skies. When someone was release their friends and family would wear white to represent the freedom given to their relative, this was the only time one wore white and a gathering would be held by their watering hole where dancing, singing, drinking, and eating were present.

Having everything and everyone working together is what made this perfect world. Having respect and not taking advantage, sharing with everyone is what kept this world together.

“The Machine Stops”

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This short story by E.M. Forster was very interesting to read. While reading it I couldn’t help but realize a few connections with a few films and life in today’s world. Written in 1909 this story was probably set in a futuristic world where humans have become completely dependent on machines. While reading the conversation between Vashti and Kuno I found it amusing that the older generation was siding with the technology while the younger generation was going against the Machine. I wondered that as our generation grew older maybe we could possibly be placed in that situation, where our children who grew with technology start to resent it. 

  After the conversation with Vashti and Kuno, Forster begins to describe the honey celled room that belonged to Vashti and how everything was there for her use. I began to compare it with the Film Wall-E, the Pixar film that was created in 2008, the way the humans counted on the machines to do everything for them was very similar, when they need food it was given to them all in the push of a button. In both pieces they forgot how to do things for themselves. For example, in page 7, when Vashti was going to visit her son she goes on the Air-ship a man drops his book, normally they would be in their rooms and the machine would simply pick up the book for them. I don’t think the man knew he could simply bend down and pick it up for himself instead he just left it there. Which dumbfounded Vashti, not because he didn’t pick it up but because it could easily happen to her and she held on to that book for protection as a catholic would hold on to a bible. 

  The lack of human contact helped me understand why the humans in this story were very protective of the machine. Since birth the machine was all it had, babies normally look for some type of a mother figure it’s in out nature. Could it be possible that as infants they began to view the Machine as that? A mother figure that would be able to give them the protection and comfort that they as humans looked for. The committee was in control of life, they decided how many births were allows and how many deaths were to be given, humans needed permission for everything. They would request the permission to father or mother a child but since birth the child would be taken to their own room and would be cared for by the machines and the cycle begins again. I questioned why humans would request permission if they had no physical contact with the baby throughout it’s life, they don’t take care of it. Technically with the machine the baby doesn’t need it’s parents. I returned to the idea of human nature, where a baby needs to be given comfort maybe adults have the need to give it, one way or another. We are dependent creatures, in “The Machine Stops” humans just depended on the wrong thing.

Le Guin

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 Reading Ursula Le Guin’s stories I had a very clear picture of what was going on. Whatever the setting was I can imagine it as if I was remembering a scene from a movie. Comparing her stories “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” and “The Day Before the Revolution” I realize how different they are. I enjoyed more “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” it had a very pleasant setting, with every one being happy and living to enjoy life. Le Guin introduces the story with the Festival of Summer which I pictured as a Southern Party from the 1850’s. In the eyes of the people it was perfect, they found a way to erase a horrible secret and bury it in order to live a happily ever after life. Reading the beginning of the story and hearing about this wonderful place I began to imagine what would be like living there and how it would be nice to live there, but when the part of the little boy came my mood about this perfect life changed completely. I started feeling pity and anger, I even started feeling very protective of this imaginative innocent child. I could not imagine how the people in this story could go and see him like it was part of a ritual into adulthood and go on with their happy without doing anything. In my opinion if someone can live with that they don’t deserve to be happy. and I believe that I were in this story I would be one of the people who leave the town and live a hard life then to live on a good one at the cost of someone’s a child’s suffering.

 “The Day Before the Revolution” didn’t capture my interest as much. Although I also was able to easily picture the scenes in my head I wasn’t able to obtain (I guess you can say) the emotional connection that I had with the previous story. This had more of a dystopian setting, with the citizens wanting to revolt again their higher authority, it seemed like a place of chaos. Where the law enforcement was taking advantage of their power and people were fighting back. Abuse and violence everywhere. I think it was a little too out of control, so much that the main character, Laia believed that the new generation was fighting for a reason that was not originally planned for the revolution. After her husband died, she lost interest in fighting for the cause and she became nothing more than a piece in a historical museum until she had enough and gave in into “falling.” They were very interesting stories, both with an unexpected twist and I have a good feeling that the other stories by Ursula Le Guin were just as interesting and captivating as “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” and “The Day Before the Revolution.”

Who am I?

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  I’m a nineteen year old brunette with brown eyes. Five feet tall and I weigh 114 pounds. I’m the oldest of three siblings, plus the only female.  I love looking at the sky so you can easily guess my favorite color. I enjoy reading and writing but my favorite thing to do is paint, I like the mess of it. The freedom the paintbrush allows me to have. I’m not going to lie, I’m horrible at it but I just love the feeling. It’s why I changed my mind from studying architecture. When I think of it using rulers and triangles, it seems like a nightmare.
  My name is Cristina Nolivos, I’m a student majoring in Art and Advertising Design and this semester is the second half of my second year here in college. Last summer I was able to go and visit the beautiful, Niagara Falls in Canada which was AMAZING

Photograph I took of the falls

Photograph I took of the falls

and I do hope that I go again. By the end of summer I was lucky enough to get my first official job at a Physical Therapy office as a front office assistant. It was a bit tricky getting used since I started the same week my classes start but I’m proud to say that I managed.
  In high school was a really big fan of teenage romance novels mostly dealing with supernatural and fantasy characters such as ghost, fairies, vampires and all that jazz. In my senior year I began reading more non-fiction novels  such as A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard. Another book I read was The Help which is one of my favorite books and I was super glad that Emma Stone was casted in the movie. I do like to read, especially if the piece that I’m reading has my interest. If I find something boring and uninteresting it will take me a few tries to pay attention and get into what I’m reading.
  English is one of the very few subjects that I am good at, I believe it’s because I like writing. I like to convert my thoughts into words on a paper or a screen in this matter. I think that my weakness is having to write something I do not have an interest in, having to do that is something I wish I was able to avoid. I do know a little bit about utopias and dystopias, I find them both to be a little disturbing and not something I would want to live through. They’re complete opposites, a utopia being a perfect world where I imagine everyone having an obsessive compulsive disorder. Dystopia I see as a gray world, where authority takes advantage of the power they have and enslaves everyone they believe they have power over.
  I do know a thing or two about computers, I’m not completely clueless when it comes to technology. I’m the type of person that can fix what I need to fix on my computer but when it comes to other people’s computers and tablets I lose my mind and I have no idea what I’m doing. This is my first time using Open Lab and I think I can get the hang of it after a few tries. I do expect lot of writing in this class I just hope that after a few weeks I won’t feel forced into writing, I’m a much better writer when I do it willingly and freely. I’m taking this class to complete the number of credits I need but I don’t see this class as a drag and hopefully my opinion of it doesn’t change.