Items

• Prompt 7: RIT Student
  The biggest thing getting me through my RIT career is energy drinks. I mainly drink Monsters or Redbulls but this school year I discovered how good the Lemonade flavor of Rockstar is. These are the only thing that has gotten me through this semester.
• Prompt 4: Personal Memento
  During my second week of this school year, my mom sent me a care package. It included two squishmallows. They were a blue turtle and a rainbow pumpkin. I love these two so much and I sleep with them every night.
• Prompt 8: Covid-19
  My senior year of high school I audition for my first musical. However, our school shut down because of covid. So we had to do rehearsal over zoom. It was difficult but eventually we were able to go back in person.
• Polaroid of My Family at Disney
  This is 6.2 x 4.6 cm Fujifilm instax mini polaroid of my family standing in front of Cinderella's castle at Walt Disney World. We are all wearing matching tie-dye Mickey shirts, and standing with my parents on the outside and my brothers and I in the middle.
• Article of Clothing
  My clothing item is a shirt that is from my favorite band As it is, a pop punk formed in Brighton England in 2012. Shirt was either purchased on their merch website or at one of them many times ive seen them in concert I do not rember its exact origin. The logo on this is something that has stuck with me from the time i started listing to As It Is in 2013/ 2014 when I was in 8th grade. I was constantly drawing the four lines on my left wrist over the years. I knew I would one day get this tattooed on myself. So last april while attending the RocCity Tattoo Expo with some friends I decided to ask if there was an artist willing to do the small tattoo with out an appointment. I asked around a little and one artist agreed she was doing something for a friend of mine and I enjoyed her work. So this shirt has a greater meaning than it seems and is one of the many shirts i own in support of As It Is, but contains a logo that has changed my life.
• Letter from Kaitlyn
  This is a set of three pages of 4.25x6" journal paper teared out of a notebook with a letter written on it in red pen.
• My Pep Band Uniform
  This is a replica RIT hockey jersey in the newer style that the old bookstore launched in 2019. It is made of a thinner polyester than the old jerseys, with no laces at the bottom of the collar, and no embroidery of the RIT tiger logo. On the upper half of the left arm there is a patch that says 'RIT Pep Band Senior.' Covering the back of the jersey are the signatures of every player on the RIT men's and women's D1 hockey team since 2019, in Sharpie.
• Protest - Cael
  This is a box full of chapter resources and memorabilia received from the national body of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. In 2018, I was involved in the foundation of RIT's chapter of the aforementioned organization, and in 2019 I took on a leadership role. While the chapter dissolved in the fall of 2021, I'm proud to have been involved in it. Included in the box are two banners, several bags of pins, many sheets of stickers, and several hundred pamphlets. We were involved in protests against the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, in a vigil for victims of the Tree of Life shooting, in climate justice protests and marches, and protests against the RPD following exposure of Daniel Prude's murder. We worked with Rochester DSA to host workshops and talks on several topics as well, such as prison abolition and medicare for all.
• COVID-19 - Cael
  This is a mixture of dice generally used for playing tabletop roleplaying games. Several are made from a lightweight metal with gold coloration, hollow inside with dragon embellishments. The others are made from a translucent glass called opalite, which resembles the stone opal. During the pandemic, my boyfriend and I got involved in several Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, both as players and as dungeon masters. These would occur anywhere from a weekly basis to a monthly one, but they kept us trucking through the exhaustion of entirely-online classes. Eventually, I would take the time to begin writing my own tabletop RPG, and I think if not for COVID-19 I likely wouldn't have.
• RIT Experience - Cael
  This is the word "Bees?" written vertically on a brick wall using periwinkle sidewalk chalk. During my freshman year (2018), a friend of mine began to write "BEES?" on various walls in campus. These would be in residential side, the tunnels, academic side, essentially anywhere there was surface to write on and not be obstructive (such as a wall within a classroom). He continued to do this through 2019, and inspired a similar 'movement' in that spring. On one night, he chalked over 200 of these across campus. This really encapsulates the spirit of campus life, for me at least, before COVID. Going to campus, doing something likely ill-advised, and still finding time for classwork despite that. It also, in my opinion, speaks to the eccentric nature of a large number of students here.
• Written Correspondence - Cael
  During the COVID-19 Pandemic, my boyfriend had become quite enamored with eating yogurt. Very often he struggled to get up in the morning without first having food, so he would message me via Discord letting me know what he wanted. One morning, this was the exchange. He wanted yogurt, and yogurt he received. This is not only representative of a typical conversation between us, but effectively communicates the way we talk to each other out loud. Silly noises, mispronouncing words, and mutual understanding.
• Article of Clothing - Cael
  This is a buttoned, collared flannel shirt with green and black patterning. It was acquired at Target in 2018 for $20. On its own it doesn't communicate anything, but I will usually attach various pins to the exterior. These pins communicate information about my cultural and political alignments: pins with my pronouns, pride flags, support for planned parenthood, for example. Beyond that, some are just fun pins. For example, the budgie pin, or the goose holding a knife.
• Self Portrait - Cael
  This is an photo of myself, taken next to the RIT Sentinel statue. I was waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up, and decided to take the image on a whim. I'm looking at the camera, smiling, and my glasses have slid partway down my nose. Several of the pins on my laptop bag are visible, but the more important item present in the frame is the pendant around my neck. This was an anniversary gift from the aforementioned boyfriend, and is half of a paopu fruit from Kingdom Hearts, with my boyfriend's initials on the other side. Within Kingdom Hearts, two individuals who share a paopu fruit have their destinies intertwined forever.
• Map - Cael
  This map which was created with Google My Maps indicates positions that I have fond memories of, or particularly strong ones. I suffer from brain fog, and so to actively and immediately recall a location is a big deal for me. That was the thought process that went into selecting the points on this map. Landmarks include my childhood home, my high school, the store where my partner and I have gotten all four of our parakeets, the convention center for Pokemon Worlds 2019, and the location of my family's old condo in Wildwood, NJ.
• Jill: Map
  Shows of the locations and distanced of the places I have called home. I lived at 1010 Pinebrook road for the first five years of my life,in 2006 moving right before I started Kindergarten. We would move to 210 Ocean where my parents still live and I would still often consider this home even though I don’t live there anymore. In august of 2019 I left home too move into my dorm. I lived in Nathanial Rochester Hall or NRH as we called it. I would live there my freshman and sophomore years on the same floor - photo house.Photo House is one of RITs special interest housing and i happened to be apart of that one. At the end of those years I returned back to the home at 210 ocean. For my junior year I moved into University Commons an on campus apartment. At the end of the school year I moved into where I currently live 2023 East Henrietta. An apartment that is about 10 minutes from campus.
• Prompt 6: Heritage
  The closest I really come to celebrating my heritage is when my family takes a spring trip to Holland, Michigan. My family is Dutch and we love going to an event in Holland called Tulip Time. As suggested, the entire event surrounds Tulips and Dutch heritage. It's really fun and I love getting to go see the flowers even though they make my allergies flare. The picture I chose is from Holland, Michigan and the windmill in the picture is really popular. You are able to go inside the windmill and it has displays that relate to how windmills were traditionally used for work. The line is always out the door and it takes a long time to just get inside the windmill. But it's always worth it to get to the top and see the fields of Tulips surrounding you.
• Prompt 5: Written Correspondence
  This past summer before I came back to RIT, my family had to put our dog down. It was a hard time for my family and to this day we still miss our dog. We decided to have her cremated so we could still have her. The way my sister and I coped with no longer having a dog was by making jokes about it. The text conversation in the picture is from when my family got our dog's ashes. My sister decided to send me a picture and we both started to make jokes about it. Making jokes to cope with death has always been something my sister and I have done and when our dog was put down, I knew that it was going to be the same situation. It just feels nice knowing that we have something that we can use between the two of use to help.
• Prompt 3: Article of Clothing
  When I first started exploring my identity, I found my self gravitating toward hats. I wasn't sure why at the time, but now I know that it's because I can express my self through hats. The hat in the picture was bought for me by my Aunt who has always loved and supported me. It is from the brand Life is Good and the design on the front is a campfire. I love "dad hats" cause I find that they give me a more masculine look. I have had this hat for probably four years give or take. It's my favorite hat that I own and I have found that it has become my go-to when I want to express my gender indentity.
• Prompt 2: Self-Portrait
  This picture is one of my senior photos. They were taken by my sister (who isn't a professional but still got the job done). The place we took them is in the neighboring city of Newaygo. There's this old, destroyed factory that has a lot of graffiti from locals. It's right by the river that runs through Newaygo and I had always known that I wanted to take pictures there. I find that the picture is one of my favorites because it wasn't originally going to be part of my pictures. My sister didn't like how I was squinting because of the sun in my eyes and didn't want me to include it. But I found that the authenticity of the picture is what made it a good one to use. Whenever I look at it I think about getting to drive around town in my sister's jeep and climb in the old factory remnants.
• Prompt 1: Map
  The image above is of the town boundary of Ensley Center, Michigan where I grew up and currently live. I come from a small town (at least in comparison to most of the people at RIT). As of July 1, 2022, there are 2,625 people living in Ensley Center. There isn't much to do in Ensley Center except for walking in the woods. It is said that the majority of Ensley Center is either a Woodard (my family) or a Folkema (a family that my family is close friends with). Most of the land in the town is used for farming. In the summer time, my cousins and I would watch the tractors go by because we didn't have much to do. Although there isn't much to say about Ensley Center, it's still a beautiful place that is primarly untouched.
• Prompt 9: Protest
  I went to many protests for Black Lives Matter in 2020. The image I included shows the signs my best friend and I made for a protest in Victor, NY. I believe that the way Black people in America are being treated, as though their lives don't matter, is wrong and therefore I showed up to support at the protests and help fight for systemic racial equality.
• Prompt 8: Sydney Majka
  After being completely isolated for a month I was really missing everyone. In June three of my friends from the gym I was working at had "parking lot parties" where we would park our cars in the Gananda High School parking lot 6 feet away from each other. We'd sit in our trunks facing each other, eat food, play music, and skateboard with masks on. Our parking lot parties were what I looked forward to every week and they were a safe way to bring back a sense of normality during a time that was so lonely and turbulent.
• Prompt 3: Sydney Majka
  This is my warm-up shirt from my senior year and last season of volleyball in high school. This shirt is very special to me because not only does it have my name on it but it has my teammates names surrounding the volleyball in the middle. This shirt has traveled with me all over from Pittsburg to Phoenix and I even still practice in it. My warm-up shirt commemorates my favorite team I played on in high school which was VFX 18s Mystery even though my last season was cut short due to COVID.
• Prompt 6: Sydney Majka
  My great grandparents on my mom's side emigrated from France and didn't bring much of their culture or traditions with them because they wanted to assimilate as much as possible and be seen as just American. One of the few things they did pass down was their recipe for French Pastry. The recipe I have today is theirs that my grandma typed up and as seen in the image has my mom's handwritten notes. My mom and my grandma make french pastry together for every holiday and it's something the whole family loves. One day I hope to add my own notes to the recipe that's been passed down generation to generation.
• Prompt 4: Sydney Majka
  I bought this tiny replica of the statue of David by Michelangelo when I was in Florence, Italy in 2019. I keep my little David on my desk so I can see it every day. It reminds me of how much fun I had on my trip that I got my first job for so I could save up. Going to see the David was my favorite part of my visit to Florence. The sheer size and detail of the carving took my breath away; it was truly amazing to see in person so of course I had to get a tiny copy for myself.