The first semester of my sophomore year has just come to a close, and I have recently found out that I earned all A’s this semester. I am thrilled to be on the Dean’s List for a third semester, but this semester has made me feel even more accomplished than the rest. After enrolling in completely new courses two weeks into the semester and deciding to change my major, I wasn’t sure how successful I was going to be after making so many changes. Taking my first midterms of the semester taught me how to deal with spending hours in the library for days and nights in a row, as well as how to make the most out of that study time. I became a different student than I was before, and I am so glad that I have continued to be successful academically.
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Changing Majors
Going into the start of my second year at the Ohio State University, I felt ready to embrace what I had heard would be a transformational year at The Ohio State University. However, once I was moved into my residence hall and heading toward the first days of my classes, something felt off. I seemed to be feeling a sense of dread realizing I was heading back into a routine of being a Dance major that a year ago didn’t bother me. I tried to going into my classes with a positive attitude, but something didn’t seem right. I was sitting in one of my dance classes on the second day of school, when suddenly a thought hit me: Ohio State had a lot more to offer, and I had never really considered the fact that I could excel in another major.
Dance is what I had grown up with and it was what I understood most, so when I was transitioning into college from high school it was the most comfortable often to choose, and at the time I was truly excited about it. I believe that as I experienced so many new things in college and met so many people doing great things here, I realized that I could dream bigger than I ever had before.
I changed my major to something I always had wanted to learn more about: Political Science. I am very excited to begin my political science courses next semester and discover new ways that I can succeed and make a difference in the world.
With all of this being said, I will never forget the lessons that my year of being a Dance major had taught me. I learned that the arts, in my case dance, can be used in therapeutic ways. I learned how to liberate myself through movement and how to expand my creativity. Most importantly, I learned that there will always be people who doubt me, but I am the one who truly gets to determine my future, and I know that I want to do big things.
Brighten Up® Educational Workshop
https://www.assessyourrisk.org
I am a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity, and our philanthropy is Breast Cancer Education and Awareness. Today, all of my sisters and I attended a Brighten Up® Educational Workshop and learned about breast and ovarian cancer, as well as ways to prevent these. This link serves as a tool to assess your personal risk level for these two cancers. I believe this is something that everyone should use so they can discover ways to reduce their risks of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
One Hour Study: “Self Image Through the Eyes of Others”
The final project for my first year as a Dance major was to complete any study I chose, the only restriction was that I would only have one hour to gather my research. My study is titled, “Self Image Through the Eyes of Others” and is on the ways a dancer views their own dancing in comparison to the ways in which they view someone else’s dancing.
Here is my write-up from my research:
One Hour Study
Emily MacDonald
“Self-Image Through the Eyes of Others”
The purpose of my one hour study was to observe the ways someone views their own dancing and compare that to the ways in which someone else views their dancing.
The reason that I wanted this to be the topic that I studied is because I find myself to be guilty of viewing my dancing in a more negative manner than others do. When I show my peers videos of myself dancing, I have noticed that it is hard for me to watch because I see a lot of mistakes, but my peers always give positive reviews of my dancing.
Since I know that I have the tendency to have a negative opinion of my dancing when I watch myself dance, I hypothesized that the people that I used in my study would also have a negative view of their dancing than others would have.
In order to observe the ways dancers describe their dancing and compare that to the ways someone else describes that person’s dancing, I gathered two pairs of dancers, and I asked each dancer to give a video of themselves dancing. The dancers didn’t not necessarily need to know each other very well. I first showed one person the video of themselves dancing and asked them questions that allowed them to give their opinion on the quality of their dancing. Then I showed that person a video of their partner dancing and asked them to give feedback as they did with their own dancing. Afterwards I took their partner and had them do the same thing. First, they watched their own video and then they watched their partner’s video, also giving feedback as their partner previously had. Then, I compared both answers to observe the differences between the ways both people described the dances.
Summary of Person A’s response:
While watching her own dancing, Person A said that overall she anticipated that her dancing would be much worse than it actually was.
Strengths:
- there were times in which her legs were lengthened
- (while writing her strengths down she mentioned that there were times that her legs weren’t lengthened and that she didn’t like her arm carriage)
Weaknesses:
- the times that her legs weren’t lengthened
- not aware of pelvis and left it behind
When I asked if she typically liked to watch herself dance she said that it depends, and that it is harder to watch more recent videos than old ones.
Person A’s overall opinion of her partner’s dance was that it was inspiring and a learning experience.
Strengths:
- Legs, jumps, turns
- “It was perfect”
Weakness:
- Nothing
Person A said that she did typically like to watch herself dance.
Summary of Person B’s Response:
Person B said that overall, she just felt alright about her dancing.
Strengths:
- Sharp, clean movement
- Musicality
- Stomach looked good
Weaknesses:
- She could tell that she was tired
Person B said that she usually does like to watch herself dance because it is fun to see what you look like after all the effort you put into the dance
Person B said that her overall opinion of her partner’s dance was that it was good and that she had nice technique.
Strengths:
- Technically correct
Weaknesses:
- You could tell when she got tired
Person B also said that she typically likes to watch other people dance if it’s the kind of dance that she’s interested in
Summary of Person C’s Response:
Person C said that she liked the choreography, but thought she made a lot of mistakes.
Strengths:
- There were parts of her dancing that were really powerful and aesthetically pleasing
Weaknesses
- Messed up the choreography
- Bad transitions
- There were parts where she moved awkwardly
She said that overall, she doesn’t like to watch herself dance because she doesn’t like to see her mistakes.
Person C thought her partner’s dance was really good.
Strengths:
- Sense of weight
- Dynamics
Weaknesses
- Some of the transitions
She said that she typically does like to watch others dance because it’s a learning experience, but sometimes it can be discouraging if they are really good.
Summary of Person D’s Response:
After watching herself dance, Person D said that watching their dancing made them want to cringe because she thinks she could have danced better.
Strengths:
- Back flexibility
- Use of space
Weaknesses
- Extensions
Person D said that she typically doesn’t like to watch herself dance because she feels like she could have danced better
Person D said that watching their partner dance was refreshing and she really enjoyed her movement.
Strengths:
- You could see the passion in her dancing
- Her whole body indulged in her dancing
Weaknesses
- Didn’t travel or use the space enough
Person D usually does like to watch other people dance because it is inspiring to watch
In general, it seemed that people had more difficulty criticizing other people than themselves. Many of the dancers said it was easier to notice their own mistakes than someone else’s. For example, Person C said that she made some big mistakes in her dancing, but Person D said that she didn’t notice any mistakes when watching the video of Person C.
Due to the fact that I was only allotted one hour to complete my research, I was only able to collect data from four people. However, during the research forum I had many conversations with people throughout the dance department, and realized that these conversations further proved my hypothesis to be true. Many people who I spoke to about my research told me that they, like me, also found themselves to be very self-critical.
I believe that this research could be used in a therapeutic way. This information could help people realize that what they have is good enough, and that other people are not judging them as much as they think they are.
“Backspace” Dance Film
In my Creative Technology class, I had the opportunity to work with Final Cut Pro and my fellow classmates to create my first dance film. I’ve had an interest in creating films my entire life, so it was very exciting to combine that interest with my dance skills.
I was inspired by the idea of wishing you could go back in time and do things differently; to resemble this idea I chose to have the dancing be played in reverse throughout the film.
The film can be viewed here: “Backspace” Dance Film
Welcome to my Honors & Scholars e-Portfolio
Hello and welcome to my e-portfolio! My name is Emily MacDonald and I am currently a first year student in the Arts Scholars program at The Ohio State University. The Arts Scholars program allows students to explore and engage with the music, theatre, dance, and art communities both on and off campus. I am earning dual degrees in dance and arts management. After I graduate I hope to perform as a professional dancer.
Year in Review
[ “Year in Review” is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student. You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]
G.O.A.L.S.
[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.
Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc .
Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]
Career
[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career. Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated. For more information, go to: http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/e-portfolio. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]
About Me
Emily MacDonald is a second-year student from Miamisburg, Ohio. She is majoring in Political Science and minoring in Dance. She is thrilled to be an Arts Scholar at Ohio State because it enables to her to expand her knowledge and appreciation for many different forms of art. Emily enjoys being involved on campus, and is a member of Dance Connection at The Ohio State University in addition to being a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, Alpha Zeta Chapter. She enjoys being a leader, and was the president of her high school’s National Honors Society. Throughout high school Emily was involved in serving her community as member of her school’s Students Against Destructive Decisions club as well as the Interact club, both of which provided her with more opportunities to make a difference in her community. Now, she serves as the Director of Membership Enrichment for the Alpha Zeta chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha.