Author Archives: garobins@usc.edu

Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

Nationality: Korean American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 4/3/18
Primary Language: English

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

This proverb is very commonly used. In any given situation I try to be the most positive that I can, and always prepare for something to happen even if it’s not probable. This proverb and what it meant to her. When you have a positive mindset it is much easier to attract great energy and not have something bad happen, however, there are coincidences where people think everything’s going fine and something sudden happens that is horrible. And an example where this proverb really comes into play was during my friend’s math class. Every day after class the professor would assign students homework. She said that the student should all prepare to hand in their homework to count as a quiz Grade but it was dependent upon their gas on a tour a coin toss. It’s not guaranteed that they will always guess right, but by preparing for the worst, which would be to hand in the homework or do not hand it in if you didn’t complete it, your grade would drop. Hoping for the best would be that you guessed right, and do not have to hand in your homework, so if you didn’t do it and you guys all gas right you would be saved. This proverb can be applied to almost any situation and is just a great thing to keep in the back of your mind on a day-to-day basis.

 

Childhood Camp Song

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Cornell University
Performance Date: 4/12/18

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As any other child who went to summer camp, it is classic to have been picked up and driven to camp on a school bus. Even if that didn’t happen for you, you probably had some other kind of experience that was bonding for a group of people. One of my brother’s favorites was the lyric down by the bay. We would always have different games and songs that we would sing on the bus just to pass time and again to bond with people. This song was about going home and making up a silly rhyme. Basically, each Time that you saying “down by the bay where the watermelons grow, back to my home I dare not go, for if I do, my mother will say,” and then insert a different kind of rhyme such as “did you ever see a moose kissing a goose, down by the bay? And then continue the rest of the song for it however long you could go. Sometimes we would spend up to 45 minutes singing this song on our way home. It was overall just a very fun way to interact with other campers and to socialize.

 

Wisdom about Human Interaction

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Philly, USA
Performance Date: 4/20/18
Primary Language: English

Small minds talk about people, mediocre minds talk about things, great minds talk about ideas.

This is a prayer that my friend’s mom always told her. When she was telling me about his parish she was explaining how people have the capacity to think however they want. When Making ideas, there are different Things that people associate with. When people talk about people, it is referring to the people that gossip, and there isn’t much substance to the conversation. When others talk about things, it could mean anything from my favorite fruit is an apple or my favorite place in the world is Africa. This kind of storytelling has some kind of significance to that person, however, it isn’t necessarily relevant or important to anything except themselves. Lastly, when people talk about ideas, it shows it they are innovative and thinking critically about how the world works and their place and it. This kind of thinking delves into creation and business models which could be considered great. Parents often tell this to their children to help them become the best version of themselves and to think about the world in many different kinds of ways.

 

Give Us Lord, Our Daily Bread

Nationality: American
Age: 56
Occupation: Contract Landscaper
Residence: USA
Performance Date: 4/4/18
Primary Language: English

God is good, God is great, let us thank him for our food, by his hands we all are fed, give us lord our daily bread.

My dad first heard this from my uncle’s wife, and has instilled this into our family gathering meals. This “makes us think about where our food comes from and to be grateful for it. To the sink for until remind us that we have food on our plates and we are able to sustain ourselves based on our fortune. I think it is especially important to note that my dad and uncle adopted this tradition for my aunt’s family, who had been practicing it for many years before.  When analyzing each part of this prayer, God is great is acknowledging God’s power. God is good, is supposed to imply that God is looking out for each individual and acts on our behalf, for our own good. Let Us Thank Him, is showing praise and thanks to a higher being for the deeds that have been done in life. For Our Food is quite literal. It refers to the creation of our food throughout the entire process. Whenever we visit everybody in the room and extended family knows this saying. It is important to acknowledge a simple saying, that also rhymes and takes less than a minute to say. It is also a great way to break The ice and pave the way for great conversations.

 

Grandpa Charlie, The Robin

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Cornell University
Performance Date: 4/12/18
Primary Language: English

Spirit of our Grandfather as a Robin. 

This is an example of a positive premonition. My father always told me that whenever we see a Robin, we view it as my deceased Grandfather visiting us. Every time this happens, their Folklore of cardinals in time of need signifies a close one acknowledging your hardship. Whenever I see a Robin I always think of my grandfather, my grandmother told me this, my father told me this, and all my dad siblings think of this too. A premonition is to think about something and then see it come to fruition. If I am having a hard time, sometimes a Robin will randomly appear and I’m reminded that I will be OK. It kind of goes along with thinking about a higher power in the universe and accepting that there are people and spirits watching out for you. While spirits and ghosts are different entities, it is important to think about how spirits play a role in living society. This is similar to when you see a cardinal and it represents some kind of guidance and enlightenment. It can really be applied to any aspect of your life, but for my family, we have distinguished of Robin as my grandfather spirit visiting us.