As my capstone I decided to make my own choreography concept video. A choreography concept video may sound more complex than it actually is. Basically it has a storyline that is complemented by dancing. The dancing should tell the story. Dancing has been one of my hobbies since before I can remember. I always liked to dance but never in front of people. The only people that knew that dancing was one of my hobbies were my closest family. Coming to SLA I was exposed to an openly creative and unique environment, providing the perfect opportunities to show what you’ve got in a sense. It took me until this year to take advantage of that by means of this project. I wanted to do something that interested me and also show a side of me that not people knew. I knew from the get-go that it wasn’t going to be some kind of paper or science experiment because I’ve been there, done that. My project was more personal to me in helping me become more comfortable with myself and kind of putting my talent to the test.

As for the the core values there are five of them. I think collaboration and presentation are most obviously applicable to my capstone. My final product was to be a video that told a story. In order to do that many things in terms of how to present the story to the audience had to be deciphered. While doing my research on videos similar to what i was trying to do, I found that most of them didn’t have a lot of talking. But because of the storyline I chose, the audience would better understand with talking and voice overs. I didn’t realize how major collaboration was going to be in this project until I got into it. I had three guy dancers and two girl dancers. I also had someone filming for me and extras here and there. As far as inquiry goes I questioned what would make a good video based on what I wanted to include. I looked at tons of dancing videos on youtube. I found that the ones I enjoyed the most had a story and I also found that I like some specific choreographers. Studying what I liked help me create something that I thought my audience would enjoy. When it comes to reflection this is that aspect of my capstone.

The first thing I did for this project was come up with some story lines. I eventually chose one and then wrote a full script. The script wasn’t that hard considering I was used to creative writing as part of my english class first/second quarter. It was in between those two quarters that I had to do a bibliography. I had watched a lot of different choreography videos by a lot of different choreographers, but then i realized my sources couldn’t all be youtube videos. I then started studying two of my favorite young choreographers and a famous one. When I finished the story line and research I had actually choreography three separate dances. This took me longer than expected so I started to film the speaking parts before I finished the choreography. I had six other people that I needed for my capstone.  It was hard trying to get them all in one spot every time I need them. I sent out tons of emails about when I wanted to use them but everyone had a different schedule so it got frustrating trying to accommodate everyone. To overcome this obstacle I often worked with the girls and guys separately. However when I needed to film with everyone together I made sure I would let them know at least three day in advance.  I guess all the people that I asked for help are the resources that I taped into. Two weeks before capstone was due, I spent both of my lunches editing. I definitely took advantage of the equipment Mr. Herman had. Without it my project wouldn’t be nearly as good.

I feel like my capstone showed how I blossomed asa person since going to SLA. I’ve become more comfortable with myself, although not entirely. Despite the stress and even tears I was able to get it done. I learned a lot about myself by doing this project. I was able to put myself to the test. There was no doubt that I could dance but I wasn’t sure if I could choreograph. There were definitely times when I was ready to quit because I could come up with a move that went nicely with the beat I had chosen. I’m also proud of the fact that I had people who care enough about me to deal with me and help me out. If I could do this capstone all over again I wouldn’t want to do anything differently. It was hard at times but everything can’t be easy. I enjoyed doing this with my friends.

Being at the end of my senior made me realize that I didn’t really leave my mark in SLA until this year. Before this year I wasn’t to big on expressing my opinion, I’m still not really big on it but there has been much progress. I’ve brought some calm moments to SLA and some loud ones too.I don’t know for sure if I’ve made SLA a better place but I know that I haven’t done the opposite. I’m not going to say that SLA would be nothing without me. The truth is, I would be nothing if I didn’t get the chance to experience SLA. 

Since childhood I have enjoyed dancing however I had never taken formal classes. As a preteen I would come up with dances for my friends and I, it became my number one hobby. As I got older I found myself drawn to any and everything that had to do with dance. I watched every reality dance show,award show performance, and I even started researching/watching young choreographers. This project is the result of putting my abilities to the test.

It's not easy to say this but we've got a really complicated relationship. Sometimes we're right in time with each other, other times we're minutes off. Sometimes you move too fast for me, I find myself stumbling and apologizing. Other times you move too slow, making me feel like you could care less about where I have to go. There's a lot of people that need you as much as I do. From the school students, to the officer workers, to the sleepyheads. Sometimes you clean up nice and other time I just wonder how you could let yourself go. But through it all I cherish the time we spend together. You got me through a lot these past 3 and a half years. From home to school and from school to home, I couldn't do it without you. You've accepted me when I was lonely and when I came with company. I guess what I'm saying is, through all the hustle and bustle I still love you. I'll always be here to fill that empty space in your cart.

Yours Truly,

Symone

Ingredients:

2 packets of ground turkey

2 packs taco seasoning packet 

1 pack of Whole grain taco shells

1 pack of Shredded Cheese

1 head of lettuce or pack of shredded lettuce

Salsa:

3 tablespoons of onion (chopped)

2 small cloves of garlic (minced)

3 tomatoes (peeled,chopped,seeds removed)

2 hot chile peppers (finely chopped)

2 1/2 table spoons of cilantro (minced)

1 1/2 tablespoons of lime juice

Salt and pepper

Guacamole:

3 avocados

1 tablespoon of lime juice

1/2 cups of red onion (chopped)

1 tablespoon of cilantro (chopped)

1 jalapeño pepper (seeded,chopped)

1 glove of garlic (minced)

1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

1 tomato (seeded,diced,)

Steps for Guacamole:

Cut avocados in half and remove seeds.

Scoop the avocado into a bowl and mash together with all the other ingredients.

Stir and cover.

Steps for Salsa:

Boil two cups of water.

Put chopped onion and garlic in a strainer.

Pour bowling water over onion and garlic.

Combine onions and garlic with other ingredients.

Chill for 2-4 hrs.

Steps for Meat:

Turn on pilot to highest degree and place a large sauce pan on it. Allow to heat up.

Once hot, place ground turkey into the pan. Brown on both sides.

Use a fork to break meat apart.

Let sit until golden brown.

Drain off liquid.

Add a little water,less than 1/2 cups.

Add both packs of taco seasoning and stir.

Let simmer.

Sources:

http://southernfood.about.com/od/salsarecipes/r/bl40212k.htm

http://southernfood.about.com/od/diprecipes/r/guacamole-recipe.htm

Analysis:

The only processed part of this meal is the ground turkey,tacos seasoning packets and the soft whole grain shells. So maybe 50% of this meal is processed. Everything in the guacamole and salsa was fresh/whole food.To give a round estimate, this dish is less than 300 calories. I think all the sugars in this dish are natural because i didn't add any sugar. Fruit and veggies are good for the body. Ground turkey is light but somewhat filling so you won't be left hungry. I do think this meal may contain too much salt to eat everyday.I know for a fact that ground turkey is produced here in the US. I think the tomatoes and avocados I used were commercially grown, I didn't get them out of the organic section.At the market the groceries rang up to less than $40. You could problem get a least 4 meals from a fast food restaurant for that price. ShopRite made money off of this meal because that were I brought all my ingredients from. The brand of ground turkey I brought was Butterball so they made some money off this meal. From researching I found that Shoprite gets some of their tomatoes from NJ, which isn't too far away. When you grow tomatoes yourself they tend to be more red and have more flavor. I did know that the tomatoes I brought were a lighter red and not a deeper red.

Reflection:

I think simply put I'm a consumer in our food system. I buy what I like and whats easy not necessarily what is best for my health, as many do. There is where the problem lays.It is easier to grab a hamburger from McDonald's than it is to go to the supermarket and then make a salad at home. It takes extended effort and time to buy or cook food that is better for ones health. Easier more convenient food is always cheaper than food that is healthy. As we learned in class there are some areas where supermarkets are more than a mile away. People today don't have as much time or money anymore.Thus the good stuff is inaccessible. When the obvious healthy food is unavailable people turn to the things that seem to be healthy. Stuff with labels that say “all natural” and “light/lite”. We may think these things are benefiting us when in actuality they aren’t as healthy as we may think.

As for me personally I try to be conscience about the food I eat but not overly conscience to the point where I become obsessed. More recently I have been eating less fast food and making more food at home. Changes in diet almost always bring results either for the better or for the worst. Eating less fast food will most likely result is less risk of things such as obesity or high blood pressure. One change I’m working on is drinking more water and less juice. This could definitely lower my risk of having diabetes. It may be a struggle but it’s worth the effort in the end.

This act in itself has redefined what a terrorist is because the requirements of being a suspicious person are not specific enough. Terrorism is the main concern, however many feel that the focus is to take over the lives of Americans by invading their privacy. Certainly this would raise debate because privacy is something that Americans feel like they are owed. Americans want safety but not at the cost of losing their privacy. Something could and should be done to please them in both ways. Maybe the techniques that are allowed by means of this act could be change so that innocent Americans aren’t being interrogated, in a sense. If efforts to protect the U.S continue to be put in the wrong place it may turn out for the worst. One comment brought out that this issue may be leading us closer and closer to a dictatorship. Another said that essentially the terrorist have won because of this controversy. Both of these statement are exactly what we don’t want to happen so I think its best that the whole act should not be changed rather some pieces should be tweaked. If not, our reality will become the fiction of Tony Scott’s Enemy Of the State.

During the Revolutionary War the Declaration of Independence was written. The copy that effects us today, however, was not the first or original copy of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson wrote the first copy and in this he included a debatable paragraph that discussed slavery. For this project I decided to change history so that the original copy was used. Due to the fact that the south was all for slavery, they were not in agreement with the Declaration. In an alternate history they were so displeased that they separated themselves from the north and sided with the King of Britain. 

What I liked about this project was the fact that I got to dictate what I wanted to happen. Based on my research I could create a reasonable alternate reality. What was difficult however was coming up with a situation that would really make a difference. The original idea that had was to effect the history of slavery by ending the life of Harriet Tubman. Automatically I assumed that this would rid history of the underground railroad but then it was brought to my attention that someone other that Harriet Tubman could have created the underground railroad or something similar. Another difficult thing was creating the articles (the primary sources). Often times I felt that I was being very repetitive and at a lost of what to write. I wanted to change history but not so much that I confused myself and come up with an unreasonable outcome.

I think that history itself is based on the actions of an individual or group. Without people trying to solve problems in history or standing up for what they belief there is no history. Systemic changes are a result of the individuals effect on history. Often times I think systemic changes are hyped up more in history. This is not to say they aren't important though. I didn't realize until this project that if a simple decision wasn't made in the past, it in fact could have change my life completely at the moment. Usually I think of history as a set thing, I never thought about changing it.

I think that with this project we had a lot of freedom of choice, we chose the topic, what type of primary sources, and how we wanted to present it. Now that I'm done with the project I think that it was a good idea to handle the project the way it was handled. I don't really have any improvements that I could suggest. But if I had to do this project over I definitely would have spend more time finding a topic that interest me more instead of picking the first one.

Goal:Effects of the language in persons life.

Las Preguntas:

¿Comó aprendes español?

¿Tienes la clase de español?

¿Qué haces en la clase?

¿la clases esta amable con tu vida diario?

¿Cuándos uso español?

¿Hablante do lenguajes esta bien? ¿Qué es unas ventajas?

Transcript:

Yo-Hola chica! Tienes un minuto?

Ella-Hola..si

Yo-necesito preguntar para el blog.

Ella-si.

Yo-Primero, cómo aprendes español?

Ella-Yo soy de Puerto Rico, así que crecí escuchando y me metieron en un programa de inmersión en español en la escuela primaria.

Yo-Tan hablas español desde que infancia...muy interesante.Explicas la programa por favor?

Ella-Así que el padre puede decidir si o no para el niño estar en el programa. Pero básicamente se trata de todas las clases (ciencias, matemáticas, escritura, etc) todos en español. Crees que va a ser duro, pero tiene un hijo a aprender cosas más rápido.

Yo-Muy interesante…¿Tienes la clase de español ahora?

Ella-si

Yo-Yo también...la clase de español tres.¿Qué numero tu tienes?

Ella-cuatro

Yo-si si..yo tengo la clase próximo año.¿Qué haces en la clase?

Ella-Trabajamos en la gramática y la conjugación de diferentes períodos de tiempo. Para que las cosas gramaticales en lugar de la palabra como un todo.

Yo-Si, yo hago cosas similares en español tres.¿La clase esta amable con tu vida diario?

Ella-Si

Yo- explicas por favor

Ella-Lo hace porque me ayude a ampliar mi vocaulario y mi programador para cuando en mi día que entran en contacto con alguien que hable español. Ya sea un visitante en la escuela o uno de mis amigos me ven en la calle.

yo-Bien bien…la clase ayuda en conversaciones similares a eso...jaja.¿Cuándo uso español?

Ella-En español clase jajaja Pero cuando voy a mi tienda de la esquina que tiene los puertorriqueños en el mismo, cuando veo a mi familia española o cantar canciones en español.

Yo-si si..¿hablante dos lenguajes esta bien?¿qué son unas ventajas?

Ella-Sí. Es muy divertido. Sobre todo cuando se los pone a ambos juntos. Pero sus ventajas es que puede una ventaja en las personas desde la lengua más común que se va a enseñar en las escuelas es el español. Me siento como el idioma está creciendo y va a ser el segundo al Inglés.

Yo-si si están completo gracias!

Reflection:

I contented talking to Brianna Perrin. Somewhere between this conversation and the last I considered talking to a stranger but I thought it would be better to continue with the same person. From this conversation I learned what to expect in spanish four next year. I also learned about immersion programs. I also learnedd how Brianna benefits from being bilingual. This time around it was easier to come up with questions without having to write them in english first. I'm not sure if that is because I'm getting better at writing questions or because my goals are easier to reach. I still feel like my conversations are more like interviews. So that what I'm definitely going to try to improve on for the last conversation. Maybe for the last conversation I won't plan out questions, just have a normal conversation.

Goal: Share my opinions and experiences (Talking about things we have in common)

Las Preguntas

¿Música esta importante en tu vida? ¿Por que?

¿Qué typo de música te gusta?

¿Comó estas presentar bailar?

¿Solamente tu te gusta bailar en tu familia?

Transcript:

Yo:Hola chica! Que pasa?

Ella-Hola.nada,escuchando música y tu?

Yo-Yo también! Yp escuchando a Justin Bieber para el momento.jaja.¿Música esta importante en tu vida?

Ella-si musica es importante en mi vida

Yo-¿Por que?

Ella-La música es importante para mí porque me ayuda cuando estoy molesto, feliz, cansado, excitado. No importa lo que yo estoy en el estado de ánimo que puede encontrar una canción para que coincidan. Yo crecí con la música tocando el piano, la guitarra y el violín. Es lo que me mantiene viva del tipo.

Yo-yo ve,yo ve.M siento también…la música ayuda me relajarse,concentrado,y hace feliz.A veces música describe comó me humor mejor de me.

Ella-claro que si.

Yo-Esta bien.Me gusta R&B y pop.¿Qué typo de música te gusta?

Ella-todos.

yo-esta bien. Qué es tu favorita?

Ella-R&B

Yo-si si…con todos la música a escucha,te gusta bailar?

Ella-Si te gusta.

Yo-Yo también!! ¿Comó estas presentar bailar?

Ella-Yo bailo ballet y danza moderna. Cada canción me hace bailar de otra manera. Depende del ritmo y el humor de la canción.

Yo-¿llevas clases de baila?

Ella-No. Yo me enseñan a partir de vídeos y viendo Dancing With The Stars.

Yo-Jaja yo también! Yo bailo desde que pequeño pero yo no llevo un clase.Me gusta veo vídeos de baila en Youtube y intento aprendo la coreografía.

Ella-si si yo también!

Yo-jaja.Mi padre baila tambien...yo obtengo mi habilidades desde el.¿Solamente tu te gusta bailar en tu familia?

Ella-Un poco más. Mi papá baila para ser gracioso. Pero desde que mi mamá es de Puerto Rico baila salsa cada vez que tenemos los partidos con la familia.

Yo-Muy Bien!

Reflection:

For this conversation I continued talking to Brianna Perrin. I like talking to her because I feel more comfortable.In this conversation we talked about something that interest both her and me, music and dance. I feel like this conversation is actually a conversation we would have as friends, it seemed more realistic and not like an interview. I think I am making progress with making my conversation more casual. This is helpful because if I'm talking to someone in spanish its not just going to be question and answer. I noticed that my transitions and conjugations are getting better. I still do need to improve on getting my point across with my questions,make them more specific.

Goal of the Conversation: Reviewing Daily Routines

Las Preguntas:

¿Que es tu rutina diaria? Describes por favor.

¿ Que te gusta hacer en las fin de semanas?

¿Que pasatiempos tu tienes?

¿Quién pasas con en base diario?

¿Cual es to rutina diario differente en el verano?

Transcript:

Yo-Hola chica…como estas? estas bien?

Ella-Hola.Si yo estoy bueno. y tu?

Yo-Tambien. Yo quiero aprender más sobre tu.Esta bien?

Ella-Si si.

Yo-Primero, qu es tu rutina diaria? Describes por favor.

Ella-Mi rutina diaria es me despierto, ir al baño, lavarme los dientes y lavarme la cara. Que voy a mi habitación y poner en la habitación. Yo bailo por espacio de 10 minutos tratando de despertarme. Que me puse mi ropa, que mis perros e ir en mi camino a la escuela.

Yo-Despues de escuela,que hace?

Ella-Después de la escuela me voy a casa. Lo que sí depende de mi mod. A veces voy a tomar un aperitivo y ponerse al día en mis espectáculos. Otras veces escucho música, y estaba en mi cama. Después de 20 minutos de hacer lo que sea, que me cambio de ropa y comenzar en mi tarea.

Yo-Yo ve,esta bien.¿ Que te gusta hacer en las fin de semanas?

Ella-Los fines de semana, paso más tiempo en la tarea. A veces mi familia y yo íbamos a ir de compras e ir al cine. Una vez al mes salir a comer en Red Lobster. Me encantan sus galletas. Los domingos voy a la iglesia con mi abuela y su hermana y, a veces después de ir a desayunar. Por lo general, es sólo un fin de semana relajado y divertido.

Yo-Muy bien! Te gusta gastar tiempo con la familia y tu trabajo fuerte.

Ella-si si

Yo-Pero tu tienes más pasatiempos más de hacer la tarea!¿Que pasatiempos tu tienes?

Ella-Me gusta bailar, cantar, escribir poesía y dar largos paseos por el parque. Para aliviar el estrés que a veces cocinar y terminar comiendo toda la comida.

Yo-¿Quién pasas con en base diario?

Ella-En mi rutina diaria, mis amigos y familiares están involucrados. Por ejemplo cuando se está preparando para la escuela me levanto a mi hermana y tomamos el desayuno juntos. O cuando estoy haciendo la tarea les pido a mis amigos para solicitar ayuda cuando lo necesite.

Yo-si si.¿que son los nombres de tu amigos?

Ella-Symone, Jessica, Dre, Imani, Morgan y los estudiantes en mi "stream".

Yo-jaja si si.Yo sé una chica se llama symone.esta bien.¿Cual es to rutina diario differente en el verano?

Ella-No era diferente.

Yo-Fue a la escuela en el verano??!?! jaja...bien para tu....te gusta estudiar mucho

Ella-jaja si yo estudia en la verano.

Yo-yo no puedo estudia en la verano...estudia es mal.

Ella-jaja yo sé.

Yo-¿tienes un trabajo en el verano?

Ellas-no

Yo-Solamente escuela.esta bien.gracias chica.

Ella-de nada.

Reflection:

For this conversation I continued talking to Brianna Perrin. I like talking to her because I know her intentions as a friend is to help me with my spanish. This conversation was kind of review of the stuff we learned last year about daily routines. In this conversation I learned what a day being Brianna is like. Reviewing the things I have learned previously is essential in progressing towards becoming fluent. I noticed that I'm using the dictionary less and ranking my brain for words that I already know that will get the point across. I'm still improving on smooth transitions between questions. 

Goal of this conversation: Learning about culture

Las Preguntas

¿Cómo es tu vida differente porque a tu cultura?

¿Que tipo a tradiciónes tu familia tiene?

¿Que tipo a actividades están común en tu cultura?

¿Que comida están común en tu cultura?

¿ Que te gusta a mayoría de eres Puerto Rican?

Transcript

Yo-Tengo muchas preguntas de tu cultura pero son simples. Primero,cómo es tu vida differente porque a tu cultura?

Ella-Mi cultura es de africano americano y puerto riqueño.Yo no hables español en mi casa con mi familia pero nostros comien pastelillos tostones y otros como de puerto rico mucho.

Yo-Yo veo.La pregunta próximo es similar a tu habla.¿Que tipo a tradiciónes tu familia tiene?

Ella-Comieron comida de puerto rico y bailan mucho como salsa y regetton.Yo me gusta prince royce y enrique inglesias cuando ellos hablen y cantaron en español.

Yo-Si, yo sé.Tan la activadad común en tu cultura es bailar y la comida común es pastelillos tostones.¿Que más?pollo?arroz?

Ella-si si,arroz con frijoles,flan, y arroz con leche.

Yo-Son muy deliciosos.jaja.Esta bien.La pregunta último es que te gusta a mayoría de eres Puerto Rican?

Ella-Yo nunca había estado en Puerto Rico, así que no sé. Pero por lo que mi familia me dice es que es hermoso y espero visitarlo pronto.

Yo-Esta Bien. Gracias Chica!

Reflection:

For my second conversation I again talked to Brianna Perrin.In this conversation I learned more about Brianna's culture. She is Puerto Rican and I learned about some of the traditions that her and her family have. I also learned some of the common foods in her culture. When I was coming up with the questions I realized that I forgot some basic words so this conversation was a nice refresher. I'm proud that I could keep the conversation going with saying more than just "esta bien" even though I did say it once. My improvement for the next time is to ask questions that will carry on a longer conversation.

Questions to ask:

¿Cómo se llamas completo?

¿Cuántos años tienes?

¿De dónde eres?

¿De dónde está tu madre?

¿De dónde está tu padre?

¿Qué te gusta hacer?

¿Qué comida te gusta?

La Conversation Uno- Con Brianna Perrin (Transcript)

Yo- Hola Chica!¿Como estas?

Ella- Hola! Estoy bueno, ¿y tu?

Yo- Yo también.Tengo muchas preguntas personales para tu. ¿Esta bien?

Ella- Si,esta bien.

Yo-Primero, cómo se llamas completo?

Ella-Brianna Beverly Perrin

Yo-Esta bien. ¿Cuántos años tienes?

Ella-Yo tengo diecisiete años.

Yo-Bueno. ¿De dónde eres?

Ella- Yo soy de Puerto Rico, pero yo nací en Nueva Jersey y vivo en Filadelfia.

Yo-Esta bien. Yo nunca sé.¿De dónde está tu madre?

Ella-Sí. Mi madre es de origen hispano, mientras que mi padre es afroamericano.

Yo-Esta bien,esta bien. ¿Qué te gusta hacer?

Ella-Me gusta hacer muchas cosas. Depende del día y mi estado de ánimo. Pero me gusta mucho cantar, bailar, leer, escribir y dar largos paseos por el parque.

Yo-si, me gusta bailar tambien! ¿Qué comida te gusta?

Ella-Me encanta comer pastelillos de arroz con frijoles, tostones y Kit Kats.

Yo-jaja

Reflection:

I spoke with Brianna because she is a friend that I knew had grew up around spanish. Something new that I learned about her was that she is from Puerto Rico. Asking the questions I had prepared was kind of like a reminder of how to ask people about themselves and also how to tell people about myself. The more I practice the better I become, my goal is to just become better. I think I achieved my goal for this specific conversation. I learned more about Brianna. I need to work on making the conversation flow a little better rather than being more like an interview.

-Become more familiar with using conjugations in speaking rather than writing.

-Replacing words like uh,um, and like with bueno, pues, and este.

-Learning some of the shortcuts or slang that native speaker use.

Describe yourself.

Describe your daily routine.

What were you family or friends doing this weekend?

What are some slang words that you and your friends use?

Should There Be Hope?

I feel like I’ve been with her before. Vividly I can picture her in my mind, yet she still seems so foreign. This plan cannot fail; I don’t know how much longer I can go without assuring my motherin’s existence.

“Elisa! Elisa!” my fatherin screamed over the intercom breaking my thoughts.

“ Yes fatherin?” I replied

“Antonion is here for you…”

Before he completed his sentence I was in front of the door unlocking it. I hadn’t seen Antonion all weekend and craved his presence. I dragged him up to my room before I said anything. When we reached the room he was flustered.

“ Um…Harty Elisa…” he greeted me in-between breaths.

“ Sorry I’m just very anxious, I haven’t seen you all weekend.”

“Yeah I know, I missed you. But what is this plan that you want to inform me of?”

At that moment Antonion gave me his full and undivided attention. I explained how I couldn’t go any longer without my motherin and how much I yearned to have one moment with her. I poured my heart out to him and he took the time to listen. For this I am greatful.

“ So are you going to go with me?”

“Anything to support you.”

The plan is to leave early in the morning without my fatherin catching us. Then we will head North to Nerm where my aunt lives. I haven’t spoken to let alone seen her since childhood but hopefully she will be able to tell me a little about my motherin, enough for me to start a search for her.

The anxiety stressed my mind enough to keep me up for half of the night. Eventually I trekked downstairs to find something calming to drink. With my back turned to entrance I heard footsteps. Slowly I turned around to find my fatherin standing in the doorway.

“How are you down here but I heard movement in your room?” he questioned me.

“Well um..” I stammered.

“ I know you and Antonion are planning something so it would be best if you told me now then waiting for me to find out myself which requires me to go through your belongings. Sit.”

“I guess I have no choice to be honest…You know fatherin as I get older I begin to wonder about my motherin. I mean I can’t go through life without knowing she is out there somewhere and she cares about me.”

My father gave a loud sigh, “ I’ve been preparing myself for this conversation. The story is extremely complicated.”

“ I’m willing to listen…” I urged him on.

“ Your motherin made a great sacrifice for her family. Your greatmotherin died a few months after your motherin was born. Because your motherin was so young the line of rule was past to another family. To get the line of rule back to her family, your motherin made a big decision.”

“Fatherin please get to the point. Where is she?”

“ Elisa you are her.” He mumbled.

“ For a second I thought you said I am her.” I chuckled a little knowing that isn’t possible what he said.

“ Elisa that is what I said”

“Wait how is that possible? How can we be the same person?”

“Elisa when you made a big sacrifice for your family. I know you don’t understand that right now but in the future it will become clear. I’m here as a support to show you what you have to do in order to get your families rights back.”

“ So you are not my real fatherin? ” I replied utterly confused

“ No I’m not.”

• How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?
  
  Each person basically pitched the idea they had. Then discussed the pros and cons of each idea. We originally decided to focus on voting online. But after talking to Ms. Laufenburg we had to come up with another idea. Our theme of convenience stayed the same but our new idea was voting on the weekends.
  
  
• 11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change? 
  
  The role of the individual is to take action, expressing their concerns and what they think can be done to solve them. Giving up on getting things done is not an option.
  
  
• How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?
  
  Learning the ends and outs of how a voters ballot counts help me to understand why some people think that in essence they still get no say. There are a lot of factors that go into the final decision. Not to mention a lot of different representatives and things. Before I didn't have view a view of the  electoral process. Now I see how complicated it really is.
  
  
• How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?
  We had a central theme of convenience. With our campaigning we tried to keep things simple and to the point.

How can I put this idea on paper in a way that makes sense?

Yawing all day because it took me all night to come up with a thesis.

Irritated because I didn’t get the grade I wanted.

Writing is something that I have to do to pass my classes.

Reality is that I rather use my spare time to do something that is easier for me.

I envy those who can create words that make me want to read them over and over.

The ease of writing comes to me occasionally.

Every once in a while I do write something awesome.

Una casa de amor.

Vengo de la musica

Y bailar.

Vengo de la familia de Smith.

Un nombe común

Pero con rasgos ünicos.

Vengo de donde los ladrillos son ponían

Alto suficiente a cubrian.

Vengo de un lugar tranquillo.

Una casa de amor.

Vengo de la musica

Y bailar.

Soy De Filadelfia.

Donde edificios brillantes suben.

y carros moscas.

Vengo de dónde todos vivan para sueños.

Pero todos no llegan los sueños.

Vengo de un lugar tranquillo.

Una casa de amor.

Vengo de la musica

Y bailar.

Un nombe común

Pero con rasgos ünicos.

Vengo de donde los ladrillos son ponían

Alto suficiente a cubrian.

Una casa de amor.

Vengo de la musica

Y bailar.

For my sculpture I found approximately five different how to on wallets. I created three different types of wallets, varying from easy to hard. From the 200 photos I choice one found of clouds, one photo of lockers, and one photo of the disney castle that I took the week of spring break. I used photoshop to add and change several things on each of the photos. My choice for the copied piece of art work was White Flower on Red Earth by Georgia O'keeffe. I didn't not color the flower but I added some shading to make it look like it was in black and white. For m final pieces of art work this year I drew a bike three times. One with negative space, one with just lines, and one with just shading. Unfortunately I was unable to complete the outside drawing. See below for the completed pieces.

I have no complaints about what the teacher should have done differently. She was there to help and let us handle drawling art in a way that was good for us. She allowed us to spread out through the hallways and listening to music. Which made the environment more relaxing making it easier to draw. As for what I could have done differently, I would definitely say that in the beginning I should have take the class more seriously so that I would have to be stressed when it came to finishing the pieces.

For the extra project I choice Cubism as my genre. Cubism is an abstract art form. In this type of art the subject is shown in many different angles by using geometric shapes. I choice this as my genre because when I looked at some pictures of Cubism it seemed as though there were a bunch of shapes, creating somewhat of a mosaic,but under was also another picture. Kind of like one picture on top of another. As you look at my pieces can you tell what the hidden object is? 

¡Bienvenido a peluquería de Nicey! Hay muchos cosas nosotros puedemos para tu. Lavarse y secarse el pelo con champú,sauvizante, y el secador costo veinticinco dólares. Alisar con el alisador de pelo costo deiz dólares. Rizar con el rizador de pelo y gel costo quince dólares.¿Cómo me permite?

The Voice We are Given

I walked into the office with nerves jumping around in my stomach like kids in a bounce house.

“ Are you here to start the scrabble club? Symone right?” He asked.

“ Yes.”  I said.

He walked into the principal’s office assuming that I would follow. The principal met us there and introduced herself. We sat at the table and they began to ask me different questions, the usual questions.

“What school are you from?” the principal asked

“ I am a student at Science Leadership Academy.” I replied

“Oh ok. What grade?”

“ I am a sophomore.”

“ So how are you going to run the club? Do you have supplies or do we have to provide them?”

“ Well, I have to attend an orientation next week. There I will be given all of the details as to how exactly I am to run the club and activities that the kids can do. As for the supplies the company that I am working with will provide them.”

“ Okay, well it seems like there is nothing further we can do until you go to the orientation. So here how about you take my card and you can email me with details, questions, etc.”

 My building contact Mr. Jengo finally chimed in, “Did Avi give you my information?”

I had to think about it for a moment. What did he mean by information? All I had was his email address, nothing more.

“Um, no” I said thinking that he was going to give me something other than his email. He wrote just his email on the back of the card. I felt extremely bad, I felt like I had lied to this guy because I already had his email.

 I left the building and headed for the car. That’s when I began to think, I should have said this and I slightly began to panic because I didn’t know the answers to the questions that they had. They probably thought I was just some high school student that did this because they had to, not because they cared. Plus I probably slurred my words again, I hopped that spit hadn’t flew out of my mouth. Who knows what they were saying about me after I left. I often have these kinds of after thoughts whenever I’m talking to someone important or to a group of people. One thing said wrong could make me sound unintelligent.

In her story about a young girl Maxine Hong Kingston wrote “It was when I found out I had to talk that school became a misery.” The little girl in this story felt different because of the way she spoke. She found it stressful to speak in front of the class. This little girl just wanted to be accepted by her peers rather than be teased by them for the way she spoke, so she didn’t talk at all. I find myself feeling the same way in class or even on important interviews. If I don’t have to talk then I don’t because I’m afraid to say something stupid or that doesn’t make sense. I know people are going to talk about it later either way.  I want to give the best impression I possibly can. But lately I have realized that the impression I have been giving is not the real me, because being quiet just isn’t me. I am a loud but intelligent person and that I need to embrace that while I’m with my friends, in class, or even during interviews.  I should not strive to be something more proper than what I am, using big words and trying to sound more sophisticated. I have been striving to express my ideas in class discussions in a way that sounds profound, to make my voice heard rather than letting it fall to the wayside.  But something that needs to be pounded in my mind is that I don’t have to try so hard to be profound because my way of expressing my thoughts may already seem profound to others and if not that is okay to. I just have to believe in myself and stop worrying about what others think. The interesting thing is there are a lot of people that act the same way, maybe not the same situation I’m in but similar. They act and speak in a way that is not them just to receive the approval of others. A prime example is when kids start at a new school. They want to be accepted by their peers so they start to talk differently and even dress differently.  The truth is you should want people to accept you for who you are not for some front that you put on to impress them.  This is where language and identity fall into play. The way you speak is not necessarily who you really are, your true identity. Rather it could be what you are hiding behind. Even if you’re different and speak differently as long as you are being the real you it is a good thing. 

Also unfortunately, during this marking period  I got a little side tracked. I found myself getting bored with the piece I had started the first marking period, so I started on a new project. A hobby that I had taken up was polishing my nails. However this was not just polishing my nails with one color. Some how I had taught myself to duplicate the nail art that is done professionally at salons. I had not realized that this in fact was an art until I received comments such as "Your really talented!" and "Wow.You should get a job at the nail salon!".  So as a side project,I paint several girls nails in my art class. I have done intricate designs such as strips and flowers.

Truthfully I was back an forth this marking period. Closer to the end of the quarter I got new ideas on how to complete the Super-Girl replica and also realized new meaning to why I started this project in the first place. This Super-Girl sign, although viewed as childish,in essence represents the strengths and weaknesses women and I have. Strength is represented by the the sign altogether. The candy wrappers represent the weaknesses. It was brought to my attention that in the end you can and will have both strengths and weaknesses. I feel as though this sign does symbolize me in a way, so it is vital that i complete in despite the minor set backs.