THE LOOP
Olivia

Artsy Shmartsy

When you're an art major, you tend to go a lot of art shows. As a result, I've seen a large amount of incredible art by some really talented and prolific artists. Art is a funny thing. It's intimidating, confusing, beautiful, and necessary, among countless other things. I've had to study it more than the average human normally does (unless you were an art major, in which case *fist bump*) and more often than not, I find myself having less than no clue what is going on in an exhibit. Rather than pretending to "get it," because I'm not that good of an actress, I usually try to to look at it from the standpoint of: 
"I have no idea what's going on but I like _____ about this."
Or, "this piece makes me feel ____."
Or, "how does this apply to me and to my life?" 
Art allows us the opportunity to look at things from a new perspective and through a different lens. It humbles us (or at least myself) and gives us the opportunity to dialogue with others about what it means, how it makes us feel, etc. All good things, if you ask me!  

Here's some photos from an exhibit by Doh Ho Suh. I hope it inspires you to go see some cool art somewhere and talk about it with someone


Courtney

Interviews on the Mind (Again)

One of my favorite interview questions to ask candidates is “On a scale of 1 to 10, how lucky would you say you are?” I love this one because of the scalable number, and the array of reactions people give about their answer.


The number can reveal a lot about someone. There’s no wrong answer to this one, but the person who very quickly answers “10!” followed by a list of family and friends and health records, is usually a very different candidate overall than the person that says “Pretty average..a 5 I guess.” It helps to give me a glimpse into that person’s optimism, enthusiasm, and outlook.


But it’s the explanation that comes after the number that really counts. Some of my favorite answers have been things like “2. I’m not a very lucky person at all, but I don’t use that as a scapegoat for my outcomes”


Some other popular answers:

 

“I don’t believe in luck; I’m blessed”

“I don’t gamble so I don’t know” or oppositely so “I suck at roulette”

“Can’t complain"

 

 

So whether you believe in luck or fate or neither, and whether you’d give yourself a 2 or a 10 on the scale, it’s your reasoning and opinion behind it that matters most. When it comes to my opinion, I like to refer to this cool quote: 



Nery

Story Time with Nery

A few hours of backroads driving and everything starts to look the same. I was on my own searching, for what I was not quite sure: adventure, fun, solitude?


Winding through these opens roads gave me ample time to think about my reasons. Not just for why I was out here in the middle of nowhere but, why I did anything.


I guess that is why many of us seek these wild places to find something, to find ourselves. Bumping around in my little truck I am not sure if I found myself but, I did realize something: I love stories. I realized that all I wanted to be was an old man with good stories.


I often find myself lost and grossly ill prepared. I am not sure if this makes me an awesome adventurer or a terrible one; either way, it makes for great stories.

So Dive into life and find your stories.

P.S. Happy Valentines Day!