I really enjoyed being stoic! I practiced stoicism from the 25th to yesterday and I feel like I learned a lot. Meditation is something that I got into a lot during quarantine 2020, but kind of lost my time for it as the days started getting busy again. The reflections at the beginning and end of the day really benefited my work ethic and overall mood. I found myself reflecting on things like my internal reactions to situations, not just my external reactions. I also really enjoyed the quotes for each day. My favorite one was “We were born for cooperation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of upper and lower teeth. So to work in opposition to one another is against nature: and anger or rejection is opposition.” I believe this quote resonated with me because of the nature of the Haverford community. There are times when, as a student body, we are working together, and others when we are working against one another. But the times when we are cooperating are those when I remember why I love it here so much. When there are rifts in the campus’ social life, you can feel the literal energy shift on campus, as if nature itself is rejecting our conflict. On my final day living as a stoic, I was feeling relaxed and ready to get the most out of my seventh day as a stoic. I also love nature so this worked out! The midday exercise made me feel wonderfully small. There is something comforting about being a small part of something large. And that everyone around me is also a small piece with me, and we are in turn working together for some unknown reason. This view from above was a great way of conceptualizing this idea. I absolutely adored the evening text as well. The concept of my ancestors having touched the same earth as me made me feel so connected to my surroundings and nature. This gave me an amazing sense of belonging and comfortability with where I am. The midday exercise for Sunday also resonated with me heavily, discussing the idea of what is in our power. Recognizing the things that are outside of my control helped with my self-analysis and viewing myself outside of myself. As I was evaluating the things causing negative emotions in my life I asked if it was something I could control or not. If it was something I could control, I would write down what I could do to change those negative emotions, and if it was something I could not control, I made a conscious effort to not dwell on those negative emotions. This helped me to pinpoint the source of negative things in my life and either take action to change those negative things or accept their presence. Overall, I really enjoyed living the week like a stoic. I knew what I wanted to accomplish, and how I could accomplish it, regardless of adversity, and at the end of the day, I was able to reflect and think about how to improve for the next day. I can definitely say I will be making a conscious effort to implement some of these practices into my daily routine and some of these ideas into my own mindset, as I think they will really help me learn from my daily life and conquer and move past adversity. 

The very first scene is quite serene, with Maximus walking through a field touching the blades of wheat before approaching the ranks of men he is about to lead to victory. The fighting scene against the Germanic barbarians is full of fire and bloodshed. At one point, Maximus is knocked off his horse, forced to fight off two barbarians while on his back. He stands to fight off more men and eventually shout “Roma Victor!”, ending a war and earning the approval of Emperor Marcus Aurelius Marcus is soon to die and about to name his successor, the title of which Marcus’ son Commodus is sure he will get. Commodus appoints Maximus as his successor, understanding that he is morally correct and will restore the Roman Republic by shifting the power back to the senate. Maximus tries to decline the title, wanting to return back to his wife and son, but Marcus says that him not wanting the title makes him even more fit for the job. Commodus, after hearing this news, has a long heart to heart with his father and eventually kills him. Commodus declares himself emperor, asks for Maximus’ loyalty, yet Maximus declines because he knows Commodus was involved in killing Marcus. Commodus then orders Maximus to be executed and sends guards to kill his wife and son. He escapes his execution but returns home to find his villa burned, along with the charred corpses of his wife and son. He buries their bodies and collapses in exhaustion atop their graves. He’s found there by slave traders who take him to Africa where he is purchased by a head of a gladiator school, Proximo. Maximus’ reputation as a fighter grows there and he becomes popular with those watching him fight. Meanwhile, Commodus reopens the gladiatorial games, of which Proximo’s fighters are invited to compete in. In a recreation of a historic battle, Maximus leads Proximo’s fighter to victory, after which Commodus comes down to meet the victors and is surprised to find Maximus. Also, Maximus’ old servant tells him that the army still lies loyal to him. Maximus goes on to win many fights, winning the admiration of the public. Commodus decides that legends are born in the colosseum and personally challenges Maximus to a duel. Knowing Maximus would win, Commodus stabs Maximus in the lungs with a knife, and has the wound covered with armor. Despite this, Maximus bests Commodus, Commodus asks his guards for a sword and they refuse, and Maximus kills him. Maximus is also dying, yet before he dies he orders the release of Proximo’s gladiators, and instructs a senator to to return power to the senate. Maximus dies and returns to his wife and son in the afterlife. I really enjoyed this movie! I thought that though it was intense, it made Roman history very engaging and easy to understand. I was fully enthralled by it the entire time. I highly recommend! It was action packed and educational. 

Ingredients:

• 120g flour
• 225mL water
• 2 tbsp honey
• Oil for frying
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

We mixed the flour, water, and honey together until we reached a thick batter consistency. We then heated a large amount of oil in a pan – enough to submerge the pancake in. We used a quarter cup to scoop the batter into the hot oil and waited until both sides were a golden brown and the pancake had puffed up a bit. We then removed the pancakes from the oil and placed them onto a paper towel to absorb some of that extra oil and cool down before we dug in.

Reflection:

For our roman meal, we used the VCAM kitchen to make some traditional roman pancakes! They were surprisingly yummy considering they were simply water, flour, and honey fried in oil, a simple recipe for a couple of freshmen to follow. It was pretty much equal parts water to flour and mix until we got a batter a bit thicker than that of pancake batter. We also added honey to the batter to sweeten it up a bit. We heated up vegetable oil and fried both sides of each pancake until it got a bit puffy. The first one was a bit undercooked and much too doughy. Not a pleasant eat, so we ended up cooking each for about 5 minutes before removing them from the oil. After we took them out we drizzled honey on them and some everything but the bagel seasoning. We also made some with gluten-free flour for our friend with a gluten allergy. It was super easy to adjust the recipe as we just substituted the regular flour for gluten-free flour. In my humble opinion, the gluten-free ones cooked better but were not as yummy. I assume in ancient times this was a quick and easy way to feed people with a very limited amount of ingredients. I’m sure flour and water were easy to acquire and toppings could be anything you want. I imagine these being sold with different savory and sweet toppings on the streets of Rome.