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Safeguarded History within Geneva

Hidden within Cologny, a canton of Geneva, the Martin-Bodmer Foundation has been an avid collector of manuscripts and special editions of a wide range of literary works. Starting from the year 1920, their collection has grown expansive and contains such worldly relics as a Gutenberg Bible and Shakespeare’s classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Here are examples of the preciousness of their collection, and its diversity as a whole.

The collection possesses an original print of the classical poem, Paradise Lost, published in 1667 and heralded in modern times as one of the greatest works of the 17th century.

An early copy of the original comedy written by Shakespeare in 1595, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a drama that challenged the status quo of its time.

The collection ranges far and wide as they even possess one of the earliest printed versions of the Qur’an, written here as Al-Coranus, dating back to 1694.

Not only restricted to storybooks or plays, Martin-Bodmer has an extensive collection of original encyclopedias on various subjects, such as this book on botany.

The collection contains assorted handwritten books on subjects from well before the use of the printing press, shown here in this Chinese gardening manual.

While easily mistaken as a rock, this stone cylinder was a message sent by Nebuchadnezzar to Akhenaten as an early method of paperless communication.

Spread Your Wings

Seeing your family after spending a term abroad can be overshadowed by anxiety, also known as aerophobia: a fear of flying by plane. Holiday trips planned in advance suddenly seem less attractive than staying at home away from the airport. That was exactly my case for six years in Switzerland. The fear of flying appeared out of nowhere and has made my life more challenging, so I decided to understand what causes aerophobia and how to eliminate the fear.

Most likely, having aerophobia means being scared of crashing, but can be an outcome of claustrophobia: the fear of being trapped in the closed space for some time with no possibility of getting out. People are often scared of having a panic attack in the air. Some cannot even explain what it is they fear exactly, and the anxiety just takes over.

A majority of people may not have an instant fear of flying; however, it can develop overtime. The fact of suddenly being afraid with a history of traveling by plane can confuse flyers.

A bad flight might be a starting point for aerophobia. For example: experiencing strong turbulence or change in plans due to some technical or organizational issues, making people feel as if they had just escaped a dangerous situation.

Another reason could be hearing about unfortunate flights in the news. Plane crushes often get huge media coverage, which makes flying seem dangerous. A lot of people got aerophobia after the events of 09/11. However, plane crashes are rare, that’s why they get so much attention.

These suggestions have worked for me personally and helped me to get over my aerophobia. Try them and, hopefully, you will be able to order a tomato juice in a calm voice during a strong turbulence, just as I did during my recent trip home.

A Narrative In Sound

Humans are amazing at creating meaning out of isolated events. It is exactly this that I wanted to study in this experimental. Where each note represents a generic shot, how does a short narrative change based on the order of the shots?

In other words, how does the melody affect the story? Can we create meaning from shots that are not connected to each other solely based on what we hear coupled with what we see? Six shots, six notes.

A Journey Back Home

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all Webster study abroad students were sent home early. This shows my last day in Geneva and my trip home after being away for a year and a half.

Hibiscus Tea

Youssef discusses pretty tea while stuck in quarantine.

The Shadows Along The Journey

I left home when I was 18, hoping for adventures but also having the fear of growing up—growing up to be independent, growing up to make decisions. To be away from home for five years, I thought everything would be fine, and it would be an amazing journey of my life, but in reality, being on my own beat me down.

Loneliness and discrimination filled my life, all I had left was silence. I have trouble sleeping every night; when I look into the darkness it is as if the darkness is my only company. I find reasons not to pick up phone calls from home, because I do not want my parents to find out that things are not going well. For a year, I had nothing to be happy about, and I have forgotten the last time I truly smiled.

As the day goes by, negativity never ends. I tried really hard to change my circumstances, I made plans for the rest of my academic years and made the decision to study abroad and graduate in advance. I am still afraid that this nightmare will repeat, but I still chose to go for it. It is another lonely journey, but there is more to be grateful for.

“As time goes by and when you look back, everything will be fine,”—I wrote this a year ago in my diary. After a year, I am thankful for the changes I made. Those shadows that almost buried me were left behind when I decide to take a step forward. It’s ok not to be ok, but never to stay in the same spot. I am still walking on the path of finding myself, with every step I value who I am. There might be bigger challenges in the future, but all the sadness and the bruises will trace the beauty of my journey.