Janiya Collins Public Feed

My Efforts To Help The Homeless

Posted by Janiya Collins in English 1 · Giknis · E Band on

Recently, In my first blog post about homelessness, I’ve talked about what it was based on the research that I’ve done, (all links are in my annotated bibliography at the bottom of this post and my past two posts about homelessness). In my second blog post, I interviewed both my parents about their experiences with being homeless themselves. In this blog post, I want to talk about what I did to bring a bit of awareness to this issue and what I did to help a few people affected by the issue.

This past Tuesday June 6th, 2017, i set out with my mother, older brother, and younger brother along with a few of my mother’s friends, to feed a few of the less fortunate. We bought apples, bananas, pizza, philly pretzels, chips, cookies and waters to give out. We also had rags, towels, and large water bottles for them too. We ended up giving away ALL of the food we bought, and it honestly felt good knowing I was able to provide for men, women, and children whether they needed it at the moment or not. Many of them were very grateful. Many were humble and didn’t want to take.they kept their pride and made sure to stay cleaned up, so it didn’t seem like they needed anything. Only a few of them didn’t have those good traits, but not all of the homeless are bad people.IMG_20170606_201018.jpg

In the process of all of this I met this man. Lets call him “Leo” to protect his identity, plus he looked like a Leo. We asked him what the reason was for him to end up without a home. He said that he got laid off his job and his girlfriend ended up going to jail. He couldn’t get a new job in time to pay the rest of his bills and he lost his home. So he had to resort to living on the streets. I’m sure he’s going to try and find another job, but it can be hard. Just like my dad said in blog post two, people in businesses judge you and are less likely to hire you, after knowing you’ve been homeless. Leo also said that after his girlfriend gets out of jail that they are going to try again to get jobs. Im praying for him. \

I chose to feed the homeless as my agent of change because I’ve done it before and it means a lot to me to help these people. You learn a lot from this. Especially because both my parents had experienced this. You learn to appreciate what you have. I want to give. Even if and when I have nothing, i still want to be able to give and help out people who have less.

To be honest, i really loved doing this project. I loved how I got to actually talk about something very important that people don’t always talk about. Whenever people think “homeless” they think “they did drugs” or “they didn’t go to school” and that is because our parents fill our minds with “you will end up homeless on the streets if you fail school, or do drugs” and that’s really not the case. Yes I know that there are still many people who are homeless because of those things, but there are many other reasons why. I saw homeless children that day. Not because they did drugs or dropped out, but because they had no family to go to. Many children run away from home, not always because they don’t listen. Sometimes children have a very rough homelife. There are many many different reasons people go homeless, so you should have an open mind about it. Be willing to hear them out and know their story. Help them and give to them, but don’t ever give them money, because you don’t know what they might buy with it.

My Annotated Bibliography

Potassium

Posted by Janiya Collins in Art - Freshman · Hull · d1 Band on
My element was Potassium, Atomic number 19. it was discovered by Sir Humphry Davy through the process of electrolysis way back in 1807. it's name was derived from the word English word Potash, which is where it can be found. Potassium is an Alkali metal, which is group 1 of the periodic table. 

Potassium can be found in foods like bananas, avocados, fish, potatoes and more. It is used in fertilizers and also in the making of glass. The idea for my image was based on how potassium is used in fertilizers and can also be found in natural foods. So I drew a vine, in the shape of a K because K is the symbol for that element. (you can see the K better if you turn it to the side or tilt your head). I drew this vine to represent plants and growth. (fertilizers help plants grow, and those potassium rich foods help people grow). 

To do this project, I had to do research on the element, which luckily was easy enough for me because I already had done a project on this element before. Then i had to think of an image that could represent this element and be 4X6'' (not bananas! That's boring). at first i wanted to draw stained glass because it is used in the making of glass, but I didn't like the way it turned out, so I decided I wanted to do a K in calligraphy. eventually it started to look like a plant so I continued with that idea and drew leaves. After the drawing I traced it onto a piece of parchment paper and turned it so that it was backwards and traced that onto my plate. After that, I rolled paint onto my plate, stamped it onto a piece of white paper, and chose the neatest nicest ones to be matted. 

I then cut my image to the right size, 4X6''. To Matt my images, I chose a piece of construction paper and measured it to be 6X8". finally I glued my cut image down to the middle of the paper so that it has a 1'' boarder. there aren't many things that I would do differently because to be completely honest i loved this final project and i think it turned out well. I think the only thing I would do differently is be more careful with the paint, because I made a few stamps and kept messing them up because I wasn't careful. 

My favorite part of this project was the designing process. I like to draw and even though I was frustrated a lot, the final outcome was amazing in my opinion. I think it was very creative and i thought outside of the box for this one. 

Negative Space Reflection

Posted by Janiya Collins in Art - Freshman · Hull · d1 Band on

What is negative space?

Negative is the extra space not being used. If you drew an image and colored it in, the negative space would be what’s not colored in or, if you drew an image and didn’t color it in, but instead colored in the outside, the colored in part would be the negative space.


How did i find the negative space in my cut out?

The positive space is what was cut out, the dark pink and the negative space is the light pink.


Why does it help an artist to see in negative space?

It helps you see the symmetry and difference between the two images


Does seeing in negative space enhance drawings, why or why not?

I think it does depending on the image. For the one i did i could clearly see that it was a tree and it looks good. But for others, it might need shading for you to completely understand what the image is.


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Homelessness; The Struggle Is Real

Posted by Janiya Collins in English 1 · Giknis · E Band on
What is Homelessness? Homelessness is when someone does not have a place, shelter wise, to live. Many also struggle to stay warm, have food and clean water, clean clothes on their bodies and so much more. Chronic Homelessness is when someone has been homeless for at least a year or has been homeless at least 4 times in 3 years.  Many homeless women can’t even afford tampons and women’s hygiene products which are a necessity. A lot of youths are homeless and have to be turned away from shelters because they do not have enough beds and services for them. Of course there are also homeless adults. In fact, more men are homeless than women. Why is that?  
               Image result for homelessness

Anyone can go homeless, and many people do go from homeless to not homeless many times. I want to help the homeless because I hate when I am going somewhere and I see a man or woman looking sad, asking for money. I wish I could help them somehow. I hate that many of us, including myself walk right past these men and women sometimes not even noticing their existence. They probably are going through many difficulties that caused their homelessness such as addiction, not being able to get a job because of their race, sexuality, age, gender, religion or even just the fact that there is a lack of jobs available. Many children are homeless because they’ve run away. Many people also are homeless because there is a lack of affordable houses available. But there are people who aren’t really homeless and are just looking for attention, so if you want to help, know what to look for.

 

There are many other reasons for homelessness, but it saddens me even more not being able to help. But I can help. We can help, anyone can make a change. You can always donate items that you don’t need anymore, like socks, clothes, blankets, hygiene products, and other things. Many people donate money and food. I want and plan to get friends and family to get together and make, and donate food to homeless people and people in shelters. I know it doesn’t make the biggest change but it does feed them for a day and thats 1 less thing for them to worry about for the day, and that would make me feel happier knowing I could attend to someone’s desperate needs.  Image result for homelessness

The topic of homelessness is important to me because I have witnessed people in my family go in and out of homelessness. It has definitely scared me, and the fact that I didn’t know how to help hurt me a lot. This why I want to start something to get more people to support these people in need. Seeing my dad struggle for money, a car, a house and even food at times, put not only him but me through stress, and he had no one in his family to rely on. His parents and siblings live in Virginia, his children (my brother and sister) couldn’t help him and sometimes were mad at him. I’m the only one he feels he has. And i never felt like I could help him.

My father isn’t homeless anymore, and he’s even got a good job and is working to get his own house and move out if the one with his friend. I’ve learned great deal of new things about homelessness and why people might be homeless. I didn’t think that people might be homeless because of mental illness but now I understand more of why that is a cause. Hopefully this project and my plan to help and bring attention to this issue will show him and a lot of other people that i really care.


My Annotated Bibliography


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