We started with one of our favorite romantic comedies, Bridesmaids, and decided to change the genre to the style of Wes Anderson’s directing. The scene we chose was during one of the main character’s bridal shower where they begin by sitting and watching Lillian open her presents. From here, the scene escalates because her best friend, Annie, can no longer hold in her anger about Helen, another bridesmaid, trying to steal Lillian from her. This scene is done well by the setting, props, facial expressions, tone, and pace. Wes Anderson has a very different style of comedy, so there were many areas we were able to change.

Firstly, we researched Anderson’s style which involves scenes that are filmed using a wide shot and they are also always symmetrical which plays to his aesthetics. Our redone scenes were from a distance to make it more of a wide shot, and we kept the people centered and mostly symmetrical while filming at eye level, another tool he uses. Anderson is also known for higher saturated scenes, so we used backgrounds that were bright and high in color. In one section, we have a bright blue background to demonstrate how Anderson uses such bright, pastel coloring. We also filmed in front of windows to get a natural and bright lighting, again similar to his directing style.

For my Capstone, I held a Faculty vs. Student Volleyball Game Fundraiser. My idea was centered around community, specifically in SLA and creating an event that would not only include students; but teachers, parents, alumni, friends, and more. I saw a lack of activities that parents were invited to and wanted to have the game begin a new tradition. I knew I also wanted to do something that would include volleyball, seeing as I was the captain this past season. I thought holding a game would be most engaging for people to come to, and by having the girl’s team play the staff it included more community members. At my actual event, I had a great turn out of teachers, players, parents, friends, and even some alumni. I held two sets of faculty vs. girls volleyball team, then one set of students who wanted to play on another student team vs. the faculty, and finally the two student team against each other. I had music and a microphone so I was able to announce everyone to make it more exciting. I learned a lot from this experience, especially about how much planning goes into holding a school event. I learned how many people it takes to make one event happen and how many different people I had to connect with, which also ties into time management skills which I gained from this project. Overall I'm very happy with my capstone!

Works Cited

Centers For Disease Control, "Make a Difference at Your School" (2013). Chronic Disease. Paper 31. http://digitalcommons.hsc.unt.edu/disease/31

This source is centered around childhood obesity. There are many ways to influence obesity in school settings, like changing school lunch diets and promoting school sports programs and physical activity. Schools need to build a foundation for influencing exercise by

strengthening school sport policies, and fundraising for teams would help encourage joining the programs. The report noted that staff should promote health, involving them in the event would help influence students to become more active which is one of the goals of my event. Overall it would increase opportunities for students to become involved in athletics and school event create exposure. This source is the University of North Texas Health Science Center working with the Center for Disease Control, which is a reliable source because of it’s well known reputation and it’s first hand data from being a government-funded program for citizens.

Dervarics, Chuck, and Eileen O'Brien. “Back to School: How Parent Involvement Affects Student Achievement.” Centerforpubliceducation.org, 30 Aug. 2011, www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Public-education/Parent-Involvement.

This source mainly discusses the different forms of parent involvement. My event incorporates parents to attend the volleyball game, and this source gives me more insight on the importance of parents being more involved in the school community. It is stated that by including parents, it helps with parenting skills, communication with their children, volunteering because events will make them more interested in continuing interest in the community, community collaboration which helps them reach out to the community more, and more aspects of daily life. Parent involvement can create exposure for parents to see children’s interests and could begin new family bonds and bring the community together in new ways. This source is an organization dedicated to speaking about public education and is an initiative for the National School Boards Association.

Herman, Joan L., and Jennie P. Yeh. “Some Effects of Parent Involvement in Schools.” Apr. 1980, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED206963.pdf.

This is an article that discusses a study and some of the impacts of parents becoming more involved in their child’s school community. It discusses how creating strong relationships with parents creates bonds for the future with the child and the school, because if anything happens where the school needs people to stand behind them or advocate for them, the parents are more willing and supportive.Parents are more likely to become more interested in school events if they have positive associations and are welcomed to be active members of the community, which is exactly what my event plans to do. Higher socioeconomic class parents are more involved in school life, and since SLA is a culmination of kids from all different backgrounds, this gives me a good place to do more research on an making an event that would interest many parents. This document is credible because it was partnered with the U.S. Department of Education, a primary source for educational information.

Kuo, Roger S. “A Firsthand Comparison Between Magnet School Life and Public School Life: Academic and Social Aspects.” A Firsthand Comparison Between Magnet School Life and Public School Life: Academic and Social Aspects, Stanford University, 28 July 1999,https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/school_child/firsthand.htm.

SLA’s community is unique by being a city magnet school, meaning we have unique opportunities. This source is a firsthand account of experiencing both the public school and magnet school systems. This source is helpful because it makes me think about different perspectives and aspects that are specialized just to SLA’s community. The author writes about how students in magnet schools seem to be more supportive of each other’s academic success and build off of one another’s accomplishments, something that I see happening at SLA as well and also transfers to outside of school in our community as well. Magnet schools tend to select students based on who they are academically, which I see as accurate, yet magnet schools still tend to be contenders in sports teams and are avid about their team’s accomplishments. This is true for SLA and I hope to continue to build off of that enthusiasm with my volleyball game.

Osterman, Karen F. “Students' Need for Belonging in the School Community.” www.researchgate.net/profile/Karen_Osterman/publication/247662613_Students'_Need_for_Belonging_in_the_School_Community/links/5515a1420cf2b5d6a0eaaae6.pdf.

This book talks about aspects of community and the impact it has on children mentally. Community isn’t present without a sense of belonging and is made of 4 components: membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs, and shared emotional connection. It goes in depth on the importance of collaboration and how forming bonds to bring people together, much like we do at SLA and my event would encompass. Interacting with teachers also creates a sense of relatability, more accessible therefor making forming connections easier which shows the benefits of including teachers in my game. This informs me on how important making people feel included is and how to plan my event to include the most people possible and make all community members feel welcome.

Ross, James G., et al. “After Physical Education...Physical Activity Outside of School Physical Education Programs.” ResearchGate, The National Children and Youth Fitness Study, Jan. 1985, www.researchgate.net/profile/James_Ross38/publication/274620295_The_National_Children_and_Youth_Fitness_Study_After_Physical_Education_Physical_Activity_outside_of_School_Physical_Education_Programs/links/5a5fb9340f7e9b964a1dd7b7/The-National-Children-and-Youth-Fitness-Study-After-Physical-Education-Physical-Activity-outside-of-School-Physical-Education-Programs.pdf+.

Since my game involves physical activity, I researched the importance behind encouraging students to be active outside of just a physical education class. This publication speaks on the importance of creating variation with sports and fitness to introduce many different choices for students. I would be doing this with volleyball, seeing as it isn’t the most popular sport in SLA and could create new interest for students and encourage them to be more active. This helps my understanding of what sports do for students and why they matter and how I could make an impact by creating positive connections for a sporting event. This information in this source is based off of a national study surveying actual students and schools to show the impacts of physical education.

RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 3, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty and Beyond (December 2015), pp. 77-94. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7758/rsf.2015.1.3.04.

This journal discusses the role of the government in education. Since SLA and many public schools across the country are underfunded, it creates new challenges for our students. Many programs are struggling to continue due to lack of resources, like the volleyball team. Because there isn’t money, students like myself have to take matters into our own hands to change the situations. This source talks about the racial and socioeconomic gaps as an issue the government hopes to fix, and SLA is an example of a group of students experiencing these issues. This helps me analyze the problems our school faces and why.

Strauss, Valerie. “The Ugly Facts of Life in Philadelphia Public Schools.” The Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/07/the-ugly-facts-of-life-in-philadelphia-public-schools/?utm_term=.e811fe457d9a.

Up until recently, the school district was run by the State who decided our funding and performed massive budget cuts to hundreds of schools throughout Philadelphia. Teachers make less than teachers in the suburbs and also have to pay for their own health benefits, showing how the cuts are not only taxing on the students, but the teachers as well. We face many setbacks with cut funding for afterschool programs and the arts, which means students and teachers have unfair weight to carry when compared to many other school districts. This source gives me all of the information I need to fully understand our lack of funds and current situation and reminds me of the importance of making my event successful.

The North Carolina High School Bulletin, Vol. 5, No. 1 (JANUARY, 1914), pp. 26-29 Published by: University of North Carolina Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/43822093 Accessed: 26-01-2018 14:41 UTC.

A study was done by the University of North Carolina discussing how the state of North Carolina put more funding into high school sports and it resulted in more interest in sports than ever before. This shows how there is a direct correlation between funding and interest, and my capstone is focused around raising money for the volleyball team which would encourage more students to join the team and make it a stronger program overall. The state also released requirements for the student athletes, like attendance and grade requirements. Not only do students want to join sports, but they must also focus on their grades as well because they can’t be a part of the sports program without improving their academic status.

Wright, Handel Kashope, and Sidonia Alenuma. “Teaching City Kids.” Google Books, https://books.google.com/books?id=YWh8ho9e2qwC&pg=PA211&lpg=PA211&dq=pros+and+cons+of+magnet+schools&source=bl&ots=Tc3IbEXfwV&sig=P_WlppFW6G4Nvf2gs0ghF18lVPk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwit6v-IoPPYAhURON8KHUhDCo04FBDoAQhLMAY#v=onepage&q=pros%20and%20cons%20of%20magnet%20schools&f=false

This book talks about the unique aspects of urban magnet schools and how they are multicultural, multiracial, and high achieving alternative schools. This allows for a fuller educational experience that includes a wider variety of students and people, which includes the SLA community. By reading pieces of this book it helps me understand how important magnet schools are and how vital it is to support the system, giving my event more meaning by hoping to raise money to support our clubs and sports teams. My event is a chance to interest students of all types and across the spectrum to fully bring our community together and support making our magnet school system stronger.

No matter how far we come, it appears we always have to go a few steps further in order to get what we want. Simply itching to be looked at the same; something seemingly simple yet unable to be accomplished even after centuries of coexisting. Women have been attached to thousands of words making us out to be inferior, stamped to our foreheads and pasted to our curves. It feels as though we are trapped in a never ending cycle of being treated as lesser by men, and greater yet by the media, leaving the need for a drastic change.

One of the biggest issues in existence is the fact that no one tells the man “no”. Throughout countless encounters a woman is taught to be quiet, keep her mouth zipped shut with the utter defeat of pain searing inside of her lungs, begging to be released into the world singing of all the torture she has endured. The key is thrown away, with the words always being locked away deep down. This is due to the utter sense of fear women live in everyday. Walking down the street alone is no simple task. You become fragile and exposed to the world around you dominated by the male ego. Shouts pour out of their mouths. Their eyes lock onto you, scanning you from head to toe, like you are the prey. Your head tilts, and suddening the only thing you fixate on is the specs in the sidewalk pavement. Your pace picks up, the frightened scurry of your shoes scuffing the ground cannot be heard against the thumping of your heartbeat. Whistles, kissing noises, yells, all follow you down the street. It feels like you are being hunted.

Women are degraded to feeling like animals. The act of walking down the street can be as violent as having confrontations in war. An author of a poem describing experiences in Vietnam wrote: “muzzle down, sniffing like a hundred-dollar dog. Keep it on automatic. Anything moves in the bushes you open fire”. This relates to exactly what a woman can feel, how all humanity is extracted from the man who is entitled enough to threaten your security as a person. It is like an instinct, almost dog-like. Any female they can find will be subjected to the harsh realities that we are still not equal.

For centuries, humans have played the game of trying to decide who the alpha is and who is the omega. Once the idea that women were lesser came to be, society latched onto it with a full force. Everywhere you turn, you are blinded by the movies, pictures, music, and blatant ignorance the media carries.

Violence towards women is made almost appealing. Harming women can even lead to a means of pleasure. 50 Shades of Grey took the world by storm, everyone enraptured by the intense lifestyle led by the main character. He forced the woman into a relationship without love; only submission. Americans everywhere gobbled up the plot, fixating on the glamorized Hollywood faces portraying the characters and the sensuality coated with a thick layer of sexism. The Huffington Post released an analysis of this movie saying: “For some women, the themes of control and rape are not a fantasy. These women see their own abusive relationships echoed in the supposed love story of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, but efforts to have their voices heard have been roundly squashed by those who seem to believe that if women enjoy something, its feminism is above reproach.” Denial is a key contributor to these inequalities our society is facing. People absorb the subliminal messages so far sunken into the fabric of everything we do and it becomes increasingly difficult to pull apart.

The masses of America who were enraptured by the cruel nature of the movie are part of the larger issue, but not aware of their perpetuation. This blind ignorance, this adapted behavior, has normalized so many pressing topics that they are hardly even seen as problems. Women have learned to put their heads down as a mechanism to defend against cat calling, and men have only learned to do it more. The media has learned that abusing women sells, and Americans have only learned to adore it. This form of violence is hard to weed out from the overgrowth of mistreatment, and we must push through this and break the cycle. These problems need to become problems again. They need to stop being accepted and begin to be questioned. People must be aware of how they are being treated and how they treat others, and only then can we advance to an environment where anyone can walk down the street and feel safe just being themselves.

Essay:

I used to have a little table in my living room. I would sit and keep myself busy for hours making paper dolls, watches, and whatever invention popped into my four year old mind. Any time I heard someone yell outside on the street or the sound of bike tires against the pavement, I would rush to the window and peek through the curtain with excitement to see if it was the boys. I would beg my mom to let me out the door, in dire need of seeing my friends of the block. There was Ivan, who was lanky and funny, and was the oldest of the group. We liked to play Lego Star Wars on Xbox together, even though I was never any good. There was Sal, his full name Salvador, which I could never get quite right, and he would always tease me for it. There was Owen, who had moved there just for a year or two and who we didn’t see all that much, but was a part of our playful group on occasion. Then there was Nick. My little heart used to flutter every time I laid eyes on him. He wore the South Philly boy tank tops, had one diamond earring, and was the definition of perfect to a younger version of myself. They were like the band of brothers I never had. I was the baby of the group they all looked after. We would run around the street all day long, finding chalk and bubbles, riding our scooters and bikes, like a bunch of best friends.

I felt a sense of belonging on that little street wedged into the culture of South Philadelphia. I had found my people: kids who came from where I came from, but with totally different backgrounds. Nick’s mother had died when he was young, and his father seemed to be addicted to some drugs, from what my family could make of his characteristics. Nick had a good heart with good intentions, but my mom would always say she knew he could be trouble. As for me, I was just a little middle class girl going to private school, but just loving being a part of something. To he honest, we didn’t know too much about one another. They had all only been into my house for my birthday party one year, but other than that everything stayed on the street. I didn’t even know their last names, but somehow it didn’t matter. We were so contrasting in what our lives consisted of, but that neighborhood brought us together regardless.

My family had decided to pick up and relocate further down Washington Avenue, only 15 or so blocks more South. I missed turning the corner and playing on the swings of my childhood at Palumbo park, or walking to Anthony’s for an iced coffee on the weekends. I didn’t want to disconnect from where I grew up, where I felt so deeply rooted and surrounded by the comforts of familiarity. I am one to linger on every piece of my past, each memory permanently etched into the background of my brain travelling with me and piling up in stacks. I am terrified of letting even one memory slip away.

Once I moved, I missed my old friends. The ones who were always there for me. I only saw Nick one time after, many years later. He had grown to be slender, like a twig. He still wore his white tank tops, and was every bit as charming as I had remembered. As he walked by I suddenly began to feel sorry for him. His being had a looming sadness to it, he seemed the same as he did before and I worried he would never change. Would he always be stuck in the little house on the corner, taking care of himself and trying to make it on his own? He was a good kid, at least he was in my eyes. He always protected me and cared for me, and that was all I could ever ask of him. He showed me what it was like to have someone you could always count on and look up to As he turned to the street and left my field of vision, and I knew we would never cross paths again. It hit me in that moment that I didn't know him anymore. If I had gotten up and ran over to him, like I could when I was younger, I didn't think he would even know who I was. Nick was the living, breathing evidence of how I no longer fit in. I locked my eyes onto him for as long as I could, soaking in every detail which I knew would soon fade away.

Even though we no longer share Montrose street, that will always be where we grew up. Everyone has a starting place, a home town. Each neighborhood has their own traits, things that make it home. We all carry the ghosts of our childhood along with us, trailing us no matter how far away we wander. This is true of my little sliver of South Philly, and can be seen replicating across the entirety of Philadelphia. A Northern Liberties native commented, “I want everyone to know that we used to play there and that the ghosts of our past remain there playing indefinitely while new tenants live their everyday lives. Things change, but the memories will always remain.” This thought came from Ava Olsen, a girl who grew up in Northern Liberties which is her own neighborhood she called home. There was an empty lot in which all of her and her neighborhood friends used to play, but got converted into new houses. She delves into the thinking that memories are a part of us, woven into our skin, embedded into our eyes and stained to our thoughts. The names of the corner stores will continue to change, the houses you used to know will be filled with new strangers, but nothing can strip away what you take with you from your childhood.

This is a natural evolution of a neighborhood and happens continuously and everywhere. No corner can escape it, and this is a weight we all carry on our shoulders. Having to let go of the smell of spaghetti at my favorite Italian restaurant down the block, or the memory of walking into the spice shop and the old woman giving me free sprinkles to bake my favorite cupcakes. Slowly, day by day, these memories will fade, becoming less vibrant as the seconds tick past. There are too many memories and moments to carry, our brains overflowing with attempts to cram in all we have endured. None of us can grip all of them; they always manage to slip through the cracks. Where we are from still defines us however, because those memories have still molded us in miniscule ways that build up to who we are now. We are all forced to grow and learn from our past, but not cling to it so heavily that we cannot evolve in the future. Our neighborhoods give us a basis for all that we are exposed to. No matter how far we stray or when we leave our origin, our neighborhoods will always be scattered with pieces of us, and we will never forget where we came from.

Sources:

Olsen, Ava. Street Note: Northern Liberties. Re-Place-ing organization.

Introduction:

My challenge for writing this piece was fitting in all of my ideas within the word limit. I am one who sometimes can add “fluff” to my writing, tying in background information that doesn’t contribute to the larger concepts discussed in my writing. For this essay in particular, I made sure to keep my ideas structured and start with my overview theme of Ireland and how our accents are seen as differences and not accepted in each other’s culture. Accents can make us feel disconnected from one another, yet it is the theme of the piece to realize we are all the same underneath and our cultural backgrounds make the world a more special place we can all come to appreciate.

The steering wheels are flipped, the sun never shines, there are sheep down every road, and their accents are strange. I grew up with a father who has a Northern Irish accent that when people recognize their eyes light up. They gasp and say: “Oh my gosh, you’re Irish? Is that accent real?!”. I smile back, boasting how I’m ⅞ Irish and I’ve been to Ireland over 8 times. I was different from everyone else. I had a special cultural connection that was all mine.

When I visited Ireland this past summer, I was one of the “American cousins”. One night, my family had a barbeque as a reunion for my dad to see all of his childhood friends. Other teenagers came in and out, always excited to meet me. “This is Emily”, my cousin would tell them. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you”, I would reply politely. As soon as the words fell off of my lips, they would crash against the floor and shatter into a million pieces leaving me covered in the word “American”. A hot, tingly feeling would reach my skin, turning my cheeks the color of a bright pink bubblegum. I remember constantly being asked to say the phrase “how now brown cow”. With my Philadelphia tongue, it rolled off sharp and quick. The Irish kids would laugh, or even  tell me it was adorable, like I was a two year old who had just recited the A-B-C’s for the first time. I felt like a child, being pushed to a level of inferiority as soon as I opened my mouth.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Ireland and meeting all of the new people. I fit right in; that is, until I uttered a single sound. By the end of the trip I had gained a little draw in my tone emulating the native speech. I don’t know if this was from exposure to the dialect that it naturally shifted, or if it was my brain subconsciously forcing my tongue to contort until it began to ease into the rhythm of the Irish slang. I was called out for being different. Sure, I was different. I am different. I was raised in a completely contrasting environment. I was already in a foreign society, but being made fully aware of me not fitting in was like being the black sheep in a herd of white. Something that was accepted and normal in my own culture when thrown into a new world made me stand out. Irish culture is one where everyone wants to fit in. The girls had the same shirt from TopShop in varying pastel shades, with the same tight, black high waisted jeans and dirty Adidas sneakers. They all wore thick cat-winged eyeliner and straightened their hair. I wore similar clothes, enough to make me one of the crowd until I would speak. It was all about the tone of my voice that made me a target of cultural shaming.

I was not alone on my expedition of sticking out in a way society deemed as negative. Gloria Anzaldua showcased this idea perfectly in her work of How to Tame a Wild Tongue. She grew up speaking a different language, one that was even varied with the Spanish culture. Even inside of her own community of Spanish speakers, she was outcast. Once she went to college, it wasn’t enough to prove that she was smart enough to be there to be like everyone else. Instead, she had to change who she was to blend in. “At Pan American University,” she writes,  “I, and all the other Chicano students were required to take two speech classes. Their purpose: to get rid of our accents.”  The college wanted her to change who she was and make her conform to what their standards were of normal and beneficial.

In the modern world, differences are not being accepted. We pick and choose how we allow people to be, especially when it comes to culture and language. Being an outsider as an American in Ireland is a small scale example of global societies feeling the need to point out differences and make them appear as flaws. English and Spanish are taking over the world, destroying smaller languages and populations in its wake. Ancient languages are dying, because the majority speaks English and it’s seen as common and what is expected of everyone to know. We must change this perception and realize that our differences are what make the world such a special place. Travelling to Ireland taught me about a new culture and I got to have new experiences that help shape who I am today. In the end, it isn’t even about the accents, what words you say, or how you talk. It’s about what it says about us, and how we are all individuals who can learn from one another and our individual ideas of literacy.

For my research, I found many reliable sources which gave me guidance during this project. I found numerous statistics and images, yet the only thing I wish I could have included are real life incidents. This is incredibly challenging to find, seeing as not many people are comfortable or in a safe enough environment to speak out about their personal experiences. I feel like it would have added another level of depth and feeling when thinking about domestic violence. I want to know more about how people get away with abusing and how they initiate the violence.

For my original research, I got to talk to a representative from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence(NCADV). It was so amazing to talk to someone who’s job was centered around ending domestic abuse and I gained a lot of knowledge after speaking with them. I would have contacted them sooner though, because I got no luck at any other organization and would have reached out to the NCADV first!

My agent of change achieved my goal somewhat, but my hashtag I created didn’t get as many responses as I would have liked, but many people did paint their nails and drew X’s on their fingers. I’m not sure if it really had a value to everyone, because it was supposed to raise awareness and spark an interest in the participants to learn more about domestic violence. As I have stated in the past, education and speaking out about this sort of “hidden” issue is what will help us to come together and try and stop allowing this violence to continue in our communities. I hope it actually did accomplish raising awareness and proved to be more than just nail polish, and proved to make a difference, one coat at a time.

In my blog posts one and two I spoke about how unknown Domestic Violence is. It is a sort of hidden, underground issue, yet effects one in four women and one in seven men in America within their lifetimes. It is mostly viewed as a “woman’s issue” because 85% of the abusers are men, and women are more likely to become dominated by an abusive partner. This is not to say that men do not fall victim, domestic violence targets men, women, and children of all races and economic status. One of the primary issues surrounding domestic abuse is that it is extremely hard to inform people that you have fallen victim, sometimes because the bruises are worth the so called “love” they have found. Education is key in stopping this problem facing millions.

Campaigns have been started trying to capture the attention of the people living in a social media dominated world, like Safe Horizon. The campaign is called “#PutTheNailInIt” and teamed up with Miss America 2015, Kira Kazantsev, to help prevent domestic violence by painting your left ring finger purple to pledge against domestic violence. I decided to use this same concept, adapting it to fit my own guidelines. I created my own hashtag, “#NailItPhilly” to track how many people I myself could motiviate to join the movement. I said that we should keep the nail polish movement the same, yet I know many people who are not comfortable painting their nails so I also made it so we could draw a purple X on the same finger. The original campaign also includes donating, and I thought education was most important and most managable for those around me. Domestic violence needs all the attention it can get to help create a brighter future for all of America.

There are many different ways to try and end this issue,

like by using the hashtag by safe horizon and Miss America

I learned a lot through doing this project. I learned that people really look to others for guidance, especially involving this hashtag. At first, no one contributed and posted, but after I got one or two posts, it began to increase the amount of posts. It was hard motivating, and I see how difficult it is for one person to try and spread a hashtag. I would have maybe made it more entertaining for people to want to help if the topic itself was not motivation enough. The ALS ice bucket challenge was very successful and spread through social media very quickly. I could have designed my own challenge which might have turned out with more results. Through this entire project, I learned more about domestic violence and got the amazing opportunity to speak with a representative from a large organization, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and reflect on how much attention this issue truly needs. I feel like I made an impact, and that is a step in the right direction towards ridding this country of domestic violence.

These are some examples of the people who contributed to my hashtag!

Check out my Annotated Bibliography!

In my first blog post, I spoke about how Domestic Violence is secretly hiding in plain sight all around us in modern day America and how it proves to be one of the most unreported crimes in modern day. Millions upon millions of victims find themselves lost in a sea of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse seeming to have no way out. Fifteen million children are abused as well and are forced to watch their families crumble one punch at a time. Abuse takes place over thirty six thousand times annually and does not show any sign of stopping unless we work together as a nation to end this great crisis.

    The NCADV has been working hard over the course of many years to fight domestic violence

Domestic violence is viewed as a woman’s issue and something that is focused around women. This may be percieved as true because more than 85% of abusers are men, but not all cases are just with women as the victims. When men do find themselves in the position of a victim, they may face skeptecism from the police and have limited resources because it is so oriented towards women being abused. Legal obstacles are also an issue for men as well as the overwhelming sensation of embarrasement and shame when coming forward about their abuse due to being seen as the physically dominant gender.

I spoke with a representative from the National Coalition Against Domestic

Violence for an interview and l learned more about their mission

After reaching out to many other organizations with no response, I found the perfect organization to talk to: the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. I spoke with the Developement Director Gretchen Shaw who was willing to have an over the phone interview and able to answer all of my questions with incredibly helpful dilligence. You can listen to the audio recording here. After having spoke with Ms.Shaw, I now am fully aware how much help people receive by reaching out to organizations like the NCADV. When asked what society can do to stop this issue all together, she responded: “I think there needs to be an attitude change. People assume that the victim can just leave, which is not the case. It’s more a case of a victim escaping their purputrator, their abuser and their main mission is to make their victims lives nightmares. I think at the root of it all society must turn their focus to why are we letting the abuser get away with it rather than ‘why doesn’t she just leave’.” Ms.Shaw explained that each case is unique and an individual experience, yet the immense pain left behind is the same. After speaking with her, it answered all of my remaining questions and gave me more insight on how this issue is being handled by some organizations. It helps me to understand the position the victims fall into and the types of people that are putting them there.

In my opinion, this topic needs far more attention than it is receiving. After seeing all of the statistics of millions of people being abused, I am scared to grow up and maybe myself become a victim. While interviewing Ms.Shaw, I asked how I could help to end domestic violence and she said that knowlegdge and asking questions about domestic violence is vital in assuring I do not become a victim. Yet we both agreed that information is not enough, however. Preventing it from happening to me does not solve this issue in any way, I want it to end for everyone. The only way to end domestic violence is to join together and face it together, which people like Ms.Shaw are dedicating their lives to.

For my You and the World project, I was considering using the power of social media. Miss America 2015, Kira Kazantsev, launched an inniciative using the hashtag “PutTheNailInIt” where you paint one of your fingernails purple to show your support for the cause because the symbolic color of domestic violence is purple. I wanted to bring this idea to Philadelphia and encourage those around me to take part in stopping domestic violence.

this picture is referrencing a social media phenomenon, the blue black/white gold dress. Social media proves to be powerful in sending a message to end domestic abuse.

Also, take a look at my Annotated Bibliography!

Domestic Violence is an everpresent crime infecting our communities one victim at a time. Silence falls over those who are in danger’s way, far too fearful to speak out about the dangers of not knowing what abuse lies in their futures. By educating myself of the heinous acts of abuse cast upon one third of American women, I am able to give a voice to those silenced by the bruises left by the ones who supposedly loved them most. Since this issue effects so many people around me, I refuse to be apart of the thirty six thousand abuse accounts reported annually. I am desirous to contribute to the efforts of many to stop domestic violence and create a more positive society with brighter futures for all.

Bruises are just one of the numerous marks domestic abuse leaves on its victims  

http://growingupchaotic.com/2014/08/05/podcast-national-domestic-violence-hotline/

Domestic violence is heavily silenced. It isn’t taken as seriously as other misconducts even though it accounts for fifteen percent of all crimes committed. It is right under our noses, yet we are blind to it. We may not notice the signs of those in harms way like the wearing of long sleeves in the summertime to hide the imprints of struggle, or those who wear sunglasses inside to cover the bruises layering their skin. It isn’t solely about the beatings, though; it can be taken as far as resulting in murder which is the fate of five hundred women annually. The effects can be fatal, and the forms can be mental and sexual as well as physical. After realizing that someone who claims they love you can bear to beat you day after day, it can cause many psychological issues such as depression or anxiety. Domestic abuse takes many forms and tactics are used to effectively violate the victims such as dominance, humiliation, isolation, threats, intimidation, denial, and blame. The general public seems to believe that this issue is easily solvable, all the victim has to do is leave the relationship to end the torture. What the majority of people are unaware of is that more than 70% of deaths from abuse happen after the relationship has already ended. The abuser does not like to lose and likes to control the situation at all times, hence the abuse in the first place.

  Domestic Violence effects almost everyone, whether it be directly of someone

                we know is effected by it, domestic violence is hard to escape in American societies.

        http://www.wstudies.pitt.edu/blogs/eyd3/poverty-battered-women-and-work-us-public-policy

One may never know everything about Domestic violence unless it is experienced first hand, and this means I am left with numerous questions. I am wondering why this issue it is not taken more seriously, and I wonder if it could be because not many people are informed of how much violence is taking place in the United States. I am also wondering if people who have been abused are more likely to then become abusers themselves or to stay as far away from domestic abuse as possible. I would be interested in hearing personal stories of domestic violence victims and how it has changed them as a human being. I am looking forward to seeing what answers I uncover in my future research and am most interested in finding a way in which I can help to end domestic violence once and for all.

Also, here’s my Annotated Bibliography!

I feel like I accomplished a lot with my drawing. I make the ceiling, floor, back wall, windows, and a table and chair. I attempted to draw everything required. I would change this project by being given more instruction. I am one that works better with more guidance, but this project did help me to work more independently and work through any issues I came across myself. One drawing I found successful was one where the tables fit really nicely in the spacing of the room drawn. The sizing of all objects in the room seemed to be correct which made the overall drawing work. I learned a lot about one point perspective through this project. I learned how important orthogonal lines are and how they make the perspectives look accurate which completes the entire picture.

The internet was made to open new pathways. These new pathways led us to faster and more communication between us, engulfing the society we now live in. Technology is everywhere, and it is hard for many teenagers to find a way to turn it off. It is built into who we are and we should use this as a tool meant for everyone to use, with no hierarchy on the internet. Without net neutrality, it would slow down the world we are accustomed to and keep us from expressing what we want to which should be a right never taken away or made slower for the better of internet service providers.

By not upgrading to the “fastest” and most expensive version of your internet made available by internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon, the regular internet will become slower with new speed bumps. If one were to buy into the more expensive option, it would basically be the exact same internet you started with, just more expensive. This does not benefit anyone other than the service providers. Is this a world that we will know, one where people act only for their own benefit, ignoring what is best for the whole of America?

Service providers would like to filter what you do on the internet. They want to charge you based on what sites you visit and what applications you use and charge you from there. This is simply money against the happiness of the people. Society has become numb to life and has taken away many purposes of living and tries to focus just on advertising and self benefit. That is not what life is about. Life is about doing what makes you happy, and by doing whatever you want. The internet is one place that is supposed to be free for everyone, a place where teenagers can go for entertainment, inspiration, communication, anything. The internet is supposed to be limitless. Don’t let internet service providers take this away from us. If they take away what we do, they take away what we are. I want to live as who I am, and I’m sure many teens are with me.

Sources:

https://www.aclu.org/net-neutrality

http://www.theopeninter.net/

https://www.battleforthenet.com/

Growing up, I was always shy. I never spoke up or said how I was feeling. It all changed when I discovered musical theater, my gateway to music. I began to open up, and sing my heart out and express who I really was, finally breaking free from my shyness. After this, I was exposed to how powerful music can truly be. Now, music is what helps me through anything and everything. It motivates me and inspires me, and I don’t know who I would be without it.

I decided to dedicate my slide to the one thing that symbolizes who I am. A picture of a girl holding a record in front of her face symbolizes music, and also shyness. I liked the black and white aspect to keep things simple and to keep the mood calming and serious. It is a picture from Tumblr, because I wanted it to be artistic and unique. I made the font big and clear to see with varying font styles. The pink font made it pop and added a little bit of positivity with the contrasting “escape” to make that word stick out most because it is the end of the meaningful statement. This slide is simple like any good visual campaign should be. Sometimes, less is more and holds more value, but nothing like the value music holds to me.

Presentation Zen was a great source for me to use because it directed my presentation and gave meaning to it. I made the background white with a mainly black picture and bold, brightly colored lettering. I made the majority of my quote a pink color that seemed to fit my slide well. My last word, escape, which I find very symbolic, I underlined, changed the font, and made black to really stand out against the white. Presentation Zen gave the idea that having the one image used, to keep the focus simple, to have the image bleed off of the slide, which I chose not to do on purpose due to the fact my picture was a square and I liked the look better with having white bordering it. That’s my presentation!

Growing up, I was always shy. I never spoke up or said how I was feeling. It all changed when I discovered musical theater, my gateway to music. I began to open up, and sing my heart out and express who I really was, finally breaking free from my shyness. After this, I was exposed to how powerful music can truly be. Now, music is what helps me through anything and everything. It motivates me and inspires me, and I don’t know who I would be without it.

I decided to dedicate my slide to the one thing that symbolizes who I am. A picture of a girl holding a record in front of her face symbolizes music, and also shyness. I liked the black and white aspect to keep things simple and to keep the mood calming and serious. It is a picture from "Tumblr", because I wanted it to be artsy and unique. I made the font big and clear to see with varying font styles. The pink font made it pop and added a little bit of positivity with the contrasting “escape” to make that word stick out most because it is the end of the meaningful statement. This slide is simple like any good visual campaign should be. Sometimes, less is more and holds more value, but nothing like the value music holds to me.

Source: 

http://qualitystreetmixes.com/tumblr-is-musics-next-hot-platform/