Dignity Grows is an organization based and founded in Connecticut that focuses on ending period poverty.

On Tuesday, the CAP and Global Studies diploma programs went to visit the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

Rosh Hashanah is a special holiday for the Jewish community, as it signifies the end of a year and the start of a new one.

I, along with many other students from the Global Studies program, went to experience Friday Prayers at the Farmington Valley American Muslim Center. We got to the mosque and were greeted with open arms as we were led into the sanctuary. Even though we were outsiders it did not feel as such. The Imam gave a lovely sermon, while we watched, and listened. Then after that was over, we got to talk with the Imam and his wife about their lives as Imam and Wife of the Imam and about Islam and religion in General.

This play was monumental for me because this rendition of the play focused very heavily on women's rights and the power that women don’t have until they make it for themselves. At the end of the play, Emilia, Iago’s wife powerfully made a speech stating the unfairness of life and womanhood, and the manipulation that she faced from her husband. Along with the fact that Othello killed Desdemona not because of her, but because of the influence of his “best friend.”

The ADL: Never is Now Conference was hosted at the Javits Center in New York City and was a moving and informational experience. There were two parts that were special to me. The first of them is, that as a Jew in a school with not many others like me, it sometimes feels like I am different or have to explain things to everyone all the time. At the ADL conference, a lot of the people were Jewish and could share my experiences and the warmth that I feel all the time. Just seeing and being with those total strangers was very comforting and special.

Death of a Salesman is a very famous play that has historically been done with an all-white lead cast. This rendition of Death of a Salesman was the first all-black lead cast on Broadway. The play was absolutely gut-wrenching. The play overall was really effective in emoting pity, and sadness for the characters. It is about a struggling man in his 60s who struggles with success and being liked. In his old age, his mind is going and he remembers back to his younger days fantasizing about how he was “liked” when in actuality he wasn’t. The play is about a man struggling to keep his dignity as the people he watched grow up pull the rug out from under him and fire him in his darkest days. The actress who played Linda Loman successfully portrayed the loving mother and loyal wife struggling with her husband's mental health. The grace with which she plays the character is phenomenal.

As I grow up I realize what art means to me. When I was younger I did dance and that was all the art I felt I needed. When I stopped dancing, I relied on books to give me that feeling of being immersed in a beautiful piece of art. Through Mass MoCA’s interactive and immersive art, I felt connected to my younger self and the people around me.

 On Yom Kippur we say G’mar Chatima Tova. Which translates to, “may you be sealed in the book of life”. Not may your sins be forgotten or may you have a great year, but may your sins be recognized as sins and may you atone.

The exhibit, “30 Americans”  at the New Britain museum of American Art, was an exhibit focused on the lifting up of black artists. It was interesting to see pieces that were made for a white audience and pieces that were made for a black audience as it seemed most were curated for a white audience. I enjoyed many of the pieces as I assume I am supposed to and it made me aware of the uncomfortable feeling that sometimes would arise in my chest.