Canterbury Cathedral - The Historical Building That Stole My Heart

Studies in architectural history have sparked my interest in architecture. My fascination with architectural history began when I was in seventh grade. For “art” I read a condensed book about world architectural history, which explained the most famous historical buildings in the world, such as the pyramids in Egypt, the Pantheon in Rome, and the cathedral at Pisa. Each building carried a story – one that opened a world of better understanding of history for me. Since I am an extremely visual learner, I have always found it difficult to grasp abstract concepts without drawing them out or seeing a picture. When I began to study architectural history, I gradually became aware that since architecture is built by people, then architecture also reflects the people and their societies, ideas, and values. Living in Houston, where the oldest buildings I have seen are perhaps one hundred years old, I found old buildings to be mysterious and in a way “other-worldly.” But I loved the details and beautiful craftsmanship I saw in pictures of those masterpieces, and I always hoped that I would be able to see in person historic buildings and be able to learn more about them.

In 2007 and 2013, I got the chance to take a pilgrimage to Canterbury with the children’s choir at my church. I was excited to be able to go overseas, but I was even more eager to see in person the historical buildings that defined England’s stories. To this day, Canterbury Cathedral is one of my favorite examples of historical architecture. When I visited in 2013, the cathedral was under the process of restoration. Scaffolding covered one entire side of the building, and experts in historical preservation were carefully attending the stones and detaching the huge panels of stained glass for cleaning. We later received a special tour on the scaffolding and in the adjoining stained glass workshop. What stands out most in my mind is seeing a young lady carefully cleaning one the panels of stained glass with a q-tip. To this day, I wonder how many hours it would take, at that pace, to clean the entire panel. And then I remembered how many panels were in the entire cathedral. I would not be surprised if she was still working on them today.

My heart still partially lives in Canterbury inside Canterbury Cathedral. Since my visits, my love for architectural history and historic preservation has greatly increased. Consequently, I have become involved in the historic preservation here at A&M, Preservation and Conservation Student Society (PACSS). Last semester we toured Calvert, Texas, and we documented the Parish Hall of Epiphany Episcopal Church. After some group designing, we gave the Rector at the church a proposal of interior redesign of the Parish Hall and a ramp addition that would respect the integrity of the historical aspects of the church. I thoroughly enjoyed this learning experience, as it increased my hope of someday being able to work with historic preservation in churches. 

The Amazing Goober

My family has a dog named Goober. Well… we think he is a dog. Goober came to us a few years ago after he was tragically dumped on a freeway in Louisiana. My grandparents owned some land there, and my dad was working on fixing up their house at the time. The neighbors across the road had rescued him and were taking care of him, but they already had multiple dogs and could not afford to take in another. So they offered the dog to my dad. I found out about Goober when I heard my mom talking to my dad on the phone. “Are you crazy? We already have three guinea pigs and a rabbit! We cannot take in a dog!” You know how it goes… Goober ended up coming back home with my dad.

Goober arrived in our house shaven, nervous, and covered in flees. We did not know how old he was, but he had horrible teeth and problems with heartworm, which were things that we needed to take care of pretty quickly. Fleas were also a constant battle for Goober. Goober hates baths. He is convinced the any tub filled with water is a torture chamber, and whoever is the bath-giver (often it is my dad) is his designated torturer. Goober’s hair is also very curly, so he is almost always in need of grooming.

At first, I was unsure about Goober. But in just a couple weeks, I became his favorite person. He is a poodle mix lap dog, weighs less than ten pounds, and resembles the same grey color as most streets are. We joke that Goober is actually a cat in disguise. We originally tried to get him to chase balls and squirrels, but he would only sit staring at us. His comprehension of normal dog activities seemed low.

Or perhaps he is a baby disguised in fur. You know, like the wolf in sheep’s clothing? “Hold me!” he says in his eyes and face. Goober has to be held all day in somebody’s arms. He also cannot sleep anywhere except in somebody’s bed. Of course, I am his favorite, and so is my bed.

We think Goober’s previous owner fed him food only from the table. During the first week, Goober refused to eat any dog food. Once his bowl was filled, he smelled it and looked at us, his face clearly showing disgust. He would wait for the smell of cooking meat, and then he became our own circus dog, dancing for food with his little jig, on hind legs and everything. He was pretty upset that we did not comply. He kept up his begging for some time, but after a week of self-starvation, Goober decided that dog food wasn’t so bad after all.

Goober is now an integrated member of the Wingate family. He is a delight to us, real dog or not. And I know that I love him, because I often think of him and miss him while in College Station. 

10 Tips for Happiness

Many people ask me why I am so happy all the time, so I compiled a list of ten ways to live a happier life.

 #1: Find purpose in life. I personally find my purpose in living for Christ. When I live for Christ, my other purposes naturally fall into place.

 #2: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3: 5-6) I have joy in knowing that God is leading me in His way, and that His will is being done!

#3: Be productive. It may be rough when there is so much on your plate, but persevere, and the end result is fantastic!

#4: Surround yourself with people who uplift you and recognize your special characteristics that make you ... YOU! People who see your uniqueness are the people who will know how to encourage you in your difficulties.

#5: Teach yourself to Love to Learn. In college, I often focus on making the grade I need. However, when I change my mentality and go to class TO LEARN, I find it satisfying.

#6: Smile often! Sometimes I find myself frowning at the ground when I walk to and from class. When I realize this, I start smiling, even if I'm not feeling great. People all around me start smiling back at me, and that brightens my day. If you don't feel like smiling, hold a pencil between your teeth. (I learned in psychology that if you do this, you'll be happier.)

#7: Learn to laugh at yourself. As a perfectionist, I've had to practice this. Whenever I laugh off something I might otherwise be bothered by, I feel so much better. I become not only happier, but also more self-confident.

#8: Get enough rest. I often hear this complaint: "I'm tired...." (I'm good at this complaint also.) I've been training myself to schedule my time well in order to get enough sleep and feel refreshed the next day. It's been (and still is) a struggle, but it is extremely rewarding when I am persistent.

#9: Find beauty in everyday life. For me, this usually comes through simple things like the colorful way light shines through leaves (when I have to get up early), or the fact that somebody smiled at me as I walked to class. It's best for me to remember to find beauty in the morning, because mornings are difficult for me.

#10: Find reasons to like traffic, and think about them every day. Here’s a starter list if you need help:

1. I have (lots of) time by myself when I can just think.

2. I can listen to my music as loudly as I want to, with nobody to tell me to turn it off/down.

3. I can sing as loudly as I want to without anybody to tell me to stop/be quieter.

4. I get friendly waves (often) from distressed people I can let over in front of me. 

How Should We Then Teach?

I am fascinated with education. I don’t mean this in the sense that I am a scholar. No, I am captivated with understanding how people learn and how to better teach people.

Perhaps I was spoiled growing up. My mom knew how to tailor my education to my learning styles because of the individual interaction I had with her during lessons. I learned best whenever my mom drew out diagrams and pictures explaining concepts. On the other hand, my sister learned well from listening. Atticus, my younger brother, learned best by throwing balls and chopping things outside. My youngest brother became frustrated with learning – except when he was able to act it out.

I know it’s not possible for everybody to have such an individualized education, but I have seen a recent surge of parents desiring to take the homeschooling route for their children. When I was a young child, we were the only family at my church that homeschooled. Many of my peers saw me as different, and perhaps a little strange, because I didn’t go to a “real” school. Now, many parents are turning around and asking my mom for advice, because they think she “did a good job” with me and my siblings. It’s rather interesting, in my opinion.

I view the American school system as both a blessing and a curse. Our society is literate and moderately educated, but in making that possible, standards have been lowered for everybody. Since everybody is required to go to school, classrooms are larger, and individualized education is not always possible. Teachers cater to the average learner: anybody who learns faster is bored, and anybody who learns slower is lost. Many energetic children who learn best from throwing balls and chopping things outside have the “ADHD” label stuck on their foreheads and are force-fed pills to make them more calm and standardized. My younger brother, Atticus, who is extremely intelligent in mathematics and science, never needed pills. He just learned about the world through physically experimenting with it.

Even college has made me more skeptical about the education system. There’s a strange phenomenon that I have yet to figure out: grades. People say they’re not important and that it’s really only about what you learn. And yet, everything is centered around what grades you make. People who make A’s are seen as better than people who make C’s. Scholarships are given based on grades. First choices for study abroad are based on grades. As a student, I am torn by this dichotomy.

I have many ideas that I don’t think will ever become a reality. I see a corrupted system that I wish I could make right. But as a Christian, I believe that anything led by people will not be perfect and cannot be without the redemption given through Jesus Christ. I plan to use my love of teaching people to individualize the education of my own children in the future. Learning is fun when you do it the right way.

Making Cancer History

“Making Cancer History” is a phrase that ties in with most of my childhood struggles. When I was six years old, my dad found out that he had a late stage of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, or as I knew it at the time, a lump in his neck. He immediately started treatment at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. At the time, I was the third child of four in my family, but my youngest sibling, Samuel, was about to be born. My parents were also about to buy land to build a new house for our growing family.

My life immediately changed.

There was much confusion and scare throughout my family and church. My dad was added to the “Prayer’s of the People” list, and I heard his name, Phillip, every Sunday. My dad was in the hospital all the time, and I barely got to see him. I remember that my siblings and I would spend days and sometimes weeks at homes of family friends while my mom spent time with my dad in the hospital. I liked the time at friends’ houses, because they treated us very well and gave us lots of food and toys.

One time my dad came back home after what seemed like a month of his absence. I remember us running to the door crying out “Daddy’s home!” and feeling ecstatic as he hugged us all and asked us to sign his bald head with colored sharpies. But those times at home scared me. I remember that he was in pain and threw up all the time. His treatment went on for about two years, coming close to death multiple times.

My dad is now cancer-free, but the effects of his cancer have affected me and my family in ways most people cannot imagine. I knew from a very early age that I would have to pay my entire college tuition by myself, and so I started working and saving money since I was eleven years old. My family still struggles constantly because of the after-effects. But that’s the downside of the effects. The positive effects, in my opinion, largely outweigh the huge struggles that we face every day.

My dad is alive - thank the Lord! We were raised in the church, and consequently, we have a strong Christian faith. Our church supported us throughout my dad’s sickness.

In my family, we depend on each other. There was always a scare that my dad was going to die, so my family became very close. My siblings and I saw my dad’s persistence to live. The doctors told him he was a rare case and should have died. But he didn’t, because he had something to live for – God and his family.

We know that happiness and success does not come from money. We live without luxuries and don’t take for granted many American privileges. My peers have many worldly complaints, but I try to focus on the blessings God has given me.

"Making Cancer History" changed my life.

The Life of a Homeschooler in a Prejudiced World

I was homeschooled.

Yes, you might have a series of questions for me. I’ve heard them all many times.

“Does your mom teach you?” This is my sweet answer: “Yes, my mom teaches me.” This is my sarcastic answer: “No, my mom hires a private tutor to teach me in her own home so that she can go to work to pay for the private tutor.”

 “Does that mean you don’t have homework?” The clever ones twist this one and say, “So all of your schoolwork is homework, right?” I chuckle. Schooled people don’t seem to have any concept of schooling without homework. This is a secret way of life that most homeschoolers take part in and guard with their lives.

“How do you socialize?” This one is actually quite humorous because it is so illogical. The people asking me this don’t seem to notice that they are partaking in the act of socializing with me by asking me that question. I usually don’t point out their ignorance, because it is not an uplifting way to communicate with people. Instead, I laugh it off. I also usually don’t tell them that I actually have many wonderful friends whose ages range from young children to aging adults, and that I could easily interact with all of them. I also don’t remind them that they are stuck in a room all day full of people that are only the same age as they are, which means that I probably had a better social circle than they have.

“Do you get recess whenever you want?” Yes, and in fact this is actually a much more effective way for children to learn. Children have so much energy and curiosity that it just seems logical they should be using it through play to learn about the world. Why stick them in a classroom all day writing out problems on pieces of paper when they can be figuring out problems in the real world by playing? It’s healthier anyways. We don’t want any more of those obesity problems everybody constantly complains about.

“How do you know you’re getting an adequate education?” This one is offensive. People tend to have this preconceived idea that a home education is synonymous with a bad education. You know, someone’s education isn’t considered adequate until it’s been proven by a standardized test, right? Luckily, my parents made me take one of those tests in fifth grade. (So I can actually empathize with all schooled children who sit through that misery annually.) My “above average” scores on all areas of learning was a way my parents could prove to skeptics that they could actually teach their own children. Isn’t that an absurd idea?

“Do you get to do your schoolwork in your pajamas?” This is my favorite question because I get to make people jealous of me when I scoff and say, “Yeah, after I get up at eleven in the morning!”

I was homeschooled. Do you have any more questions?

Project 1: Non-Points-Based Grading Rubric

I believe that the grading system for our college is corrupt. Instead of encouraging students to focus on learning, it promotes an education that is focused on getting grades. Growing up homeschooled, I understood that grades (seldom used) were to gauge what a student did and did not know in order to efficiently learn unknown subjects. It was not a category somebody was placed in, and it did not determine a person’s intelligence. With that mindset, I propose that this project be graded on a non-points-based rubric coupled with a professor-student relationship that encourages learning and growth through re-submissions.

In order to grow, students should be placed in an atmosphere that encourages messing up, getting back on track, and performing better afterwards. With a non-points-based rubric, design students will be able to explore their creativity without a fear of getting a bad grade. Students would then meet with the professor to discuss where their proficiency is within the project categories, and then resubmit their project after deep consideration of the categories in which they need to grow.

Two reasons for a non-points-based rubric for studio projects are as follows: 1) Design is subjective, and 2) the working world is not graded. Many of my peers and people I know who are working at firms all agree that project grades are too often negatively influenced by a professor’s opinion (even though we are encouraged to develop our own style). In regards to the working world, if you do not produce, then you are fired. If you put in effort and work hard, then you will continue to have a job (assuming economic stability).

The professor should note each student’s work and progress in each of the following categories, noting proficiency as “Improvement Needed,” “Meets Expectations,” and “Exceeds Expectations.”

Time Management

-         Scheduling in order to meet deadlines

o   Importance: an architect always has deadlines he/she needs to meet.

Craftsmanship

-          Attention to details

o   Importance: An architect is successful when he designs in the details.

-          Moving parts

o   Importance: Understanding how the joints work reflects an understanding of the reality of design.

-          Cleanness of the final model

o   Importance: Designs need to be portrayed beautifully to a client in order for it to sell.

Structural Stability

-          Solution for weak joints

o   Importance: On a much larger scale, weak joints could lead to drastic failures in a building, causing waste of time and money, and sometimes leading to injuries or deaths.

-          Understanding of basic structural concepts taught in class

o   Importance: Architects need to have a basic understanding of structure. Even though the structural engineers will do the detailed calculations, the architect should originally design with an approximation of required structures in order to reduce changes in the future.

Teamwork

-           Communication with teammates

o   Importance: Architects communicate with and are held responsible for all the people involved in the building project.

-          Fulfillment of assigned duties

o   Importance: If you do not do your work, you might be fired.