Curation Update

I am happy to say that as I am writing this I am feeling very confident about the information I have found through my research so far. Over the past few weeks I have done continuous amounts of research about all the information I need to complete this project to the best of my ability. As of right now I have taken notes and kept websites I will need to construct this project. I have decided that I will be using prezi.com to help me to construct this project. Prezi has a unique way of making something like a powerpoint come to life and considering that my topic is mainly about pictures and videos, using prezi will help make these features more appealing to my audience.

My plan from this point moving forward is to put all my gathered information into a well organized work. I will admit right now that all my information is just the basics of what each style is about, but it is the true basics of all of these topics and all the infer is very trustworthy information. However, this just means that I have so much room to keep improving on these topics. 

One of the many problems I have encountered while actually organizing my information in Prezi is that I feel I am running out of room for each slide of information. To deal with this I did the best I could to use the shapes and sizes of all the information to make the slide appealing to the eye. 

As of right now I am very excited to see my final project and see how all the things fall together. This project has been a great way to end the year and to do something that is enjoying to everyone. Lastly I included one of the websites i used to learn the do's and donut's of being a preppy person. 

http://thepreppyprincess.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/fashion-rules-from-true-prep-j-crew-taken-to-task/

Curation: Update

So far in my curation I have done some extensive amount of research and video watching on what is the perfect way to achieve each and every one of these looks. There are certain steps one must take and there are certain places one must shop. But out of everything I have researched I have found that there are so many places where you can get almost all of these things. In fact, many of these places aren't really really expensive. Although, what I have heard is that sometimes you have to pay the dollar to achieve the look.

Majority of my research has basically told me most of what I already know. Although I have learned so much more than I could imagine. Getting this information organized is my first priority to completing this project. Organization to me is key and that is something that I am doing really poorly at right now. So if i am going to work on anything over the next few weeks my organization is going to be my main priority. 

Over this long period of time, I must admit I have been a little bias toward certain styles, such as preppy and sporty. These are my two favorite categories of style maybe because they interest me the most. Having this advantage I haven't really done much extensive research on these two particular subjects. However, considering I have learned so much by researching all the other subjects I have decided that by the next time the next blog post comes around I will have done some extensive research on those subjects. 

Some of the  research I have done is consisted of video after video after video. However there is one person's youtube videos that seem to help me out the most. Below I have one example on how to achieve a quick and easy classy look. 

Even after doing this project a little more, I still found that the biggest obstacle is finding that line that shows what is right and what is wrong when it comes to dressing up in any of these styles. I feel as if this is going to be a problem for me no matter how much research i do because Each style has so many different options to choose from. However, that could also be an advantage as well because people have so much to choose from and they can make their one style different from someone else.  

Besides organizing myself and researching more on the things I know about, I just need to work on continuing to work hard. I know that sounds ridiculous but it is something that is hitting us seniors pretty hard at this time of year.  Other than that I am enjoying this project and can't wait for the school year to end!

Over the course of this week I am sad to say that my progress for this curation has not been at it's best. I have slacked off a little on preparing myself for this curation. I have started it, which i think is the biggest obstacle of all. I first started by just writing out what I want to accomplish on paper. I separated my curation into different sections. There is hipster, prep, goth, athlete, ghetto, and classy. These are my  six major clothing styles I will be researching and curating over the next few weeks.

After writing out what I wanted to be done I noticed a few minor problems. The first word on my list is hipster. Now, if someone came up to me and asked me the question "what is a hipster" I wouldn't know how to handle it. I would stand there trying to describe something I really knew nothing about. And without even second guessing myself I immediately googled that question. For the next hour I watched videos and read articles about what being a hipster means and that if your a hipster you don't admit your a hipster and your pants need to be as tight as possible and so much more. So for me, picking which link was the most interesting was kinda difficult for me because they all say so many different and important things. The link below is a link that I chose summed up what every other choice had said. It may not be the most interesting one I found but it gives a general over view of what it consists of.

http://thecrite.com/home/2012/12/02/becoming-a-hipster-music-fashion-and-sex-are-key-2/

As far as my biggest obstacle for this project, I would have to say that trying to describe and include EVERYTHING that each of these styles consists of is going to be a challenge. These styles aren't just clean cut topic. The boundaries are blurred and can be stretched in each direction. For example, one could be semi preppy and semi sporty, and there is nothing wrong with that. Also someone could have some aspects that make him or her a goth but might not have ALL of the criteria. This is going to be very difficult for me but it is something I can over come.

The next three steps I need to do to move forward are what seem to be basic but are actually quite difficult. The first step is to get motivated. I know this sounds very strange but especially at the time of year like this, I need to get motivated to end these next three weeks with a bang. The next thing I need to do is fine out more information about what the difference is between classy and preppy because these two seem to be interchangeable. The last step I need to do is make sure I just keep organized with this project because with all this information it will be very easy for me to become unorganized.

As far as this project is going so far, it is going pretty well except Im finding it really hard to be motivated for a project that is extended for such a long time. Other than that, I have no complaints at all.

iMedia: Real Beauty

We all have experienced those dreadful youtube commercial that come on right before you get to watch your video. We all sit there anxiously waiting to see that "skip ad" button and right when it pops up we click it as fast as we possibly can. However, have you ever sat there and actually watched that ad? One day I challenged myself to do that and what I discovered was a video that struck me in so many ways.

Beauty is the word ever girl wants to hear. But the only problem is there is more than one definition to beauty. Many of us women see beauty as a one way street, therefore we must have this and this and this in order to even look in the mirror and consider ourselves beautiful. We pick at every little detail about ourselves and try to replace or fix it to make it look better but after a while we end up changing it yet again because we still don't like it. I realize I may be coming off quite sexist, men along with women have this quality. They have the quality of focusing on perfection when, in fact, they are their own version of perfection.

The reason I chose this video was not to prove a point about beauty but it was to show a very important fact that almost everyone should know. Each and every person is a culprit of doing this. We see our selves differently that others see ourselves. We see the bad side, the negative things. We see the wrinkles in our face, the fat along our bodies, the disfiguration of our facial structure. We see it all. But we all have been looking at ourselves in the mirror for god knows how long.

What about the people that just met us? What do they have to say?

These people see what seems like a whole other person than we see. They see the kindness in our voice, the shine in our eyes, the facial features that make you look slim or pretty. They see everything in a new way. Well, a new way than we see ourselves. They see the truth, the actually beauty that lies right there at there surface where everyone can see it except for you. The one that knows this face so well is the only one that can't see it.

This video really opened my eyes, as it should for many people. The doctor says I have 20/20 vision but yet I am blind. I am blind of the beauty that I entail. But not anymore. I see myself in a new light every morning when I go to get ready. It's amazing what can happen when one really sits down and instead of cursing or getting mad because there is a commercial, one actually listens to it and takes in the message it is sending out.

Metacognition: Two Type of Mistakes

While creating anything, any work of art, any essay, any meal, any project you always find that one thing or those few things that could have worked out better. Some people call these mistakes, as in punishment like point deduction or disapproval, and others call these mistakes, as in improvement and stepping stones to the next great work.  While creating the mashup i made mistakes. In fact I made a lot of mistakes. Some mistakes were simple and easy to correct, others are mistakes deep into the meaning of the words that are hard to see at the surface.

Whether obvious or not, I could improve this mashup by eliminating mistakes. As I was creating this mashup I struggled with finding meaningful quotes about love. I knew love was the topic I wanted to do and I knew I really wanted it to be deep and meaningful but I struggled a lot with finding quotes that did what I wanted. That was one of the mistakes I made. I had this image in my head of what I wanted it to be and how I wanted it to work out and my mashup does not quite level up to my expectation. An artist or writer should always be proud of the work they have created right? Unfortunately, that is not how I feel. I feel as if  I could have done so much better if I had that second chance.

But not all bad things come from this mistake. In fact I believe more good has come out of it than bad. School is all about improving to reach your highest potential. This issue that has occurred has improved the way I will approach essays and protects from now on. Yes you should be prepared and have material to create the work that must be done, but you don't have to have this vivid image in your head of what it MUST be. Let your mind flow and let things just fall into place. When this process happens, that is when great works are created.

In the mashup I could have done a lot better. I could have made sure it flowed a little nicer, I could have  made the overall appearance more appealing, I could have gone deeper into the meaning, and I could have gone beyond the requirement needed to create a wonderful mashup. I could have done all those things, but how about the things I actually did. I must say I am proud to read what I wrote. I was kinda surprised by the thinking I did while making this mashup. I really took pieces that really had no relation to each other at all and made it into one story, one meaning.

I stepped out of my comfort zone during this mashup. I had to drop the "perfect idea" I had in my head and think of a new idea. As easy of a task it sounds, it was actually quite difficult, but I was glad I did what I did because it created the mashup that I am proud to submit.

Our Darkest Hour of Love

1. Can you define love?

2. That is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation. That is why young people, who are beginners in everything, are not yet capable of love.

3. I was in love when I was nineteen; when both love and the German language were more alien to me than the moon.

4. 

5.  There's nothing like the first love. You've never had these feelings before and you imagine that no one else has ever felt this way about anybody. Your boyfriend or girlfriend are the greatest thing ever and you want to be with them all the time. Your senses become alive as you fall in love for the first time. You're not even thinking of the possibility that you may break up because that has never happened to you before. First love is filled with the optimism that you will be together forever.

6. They fling themselves at each other when love takes hold of them, they scatter themselves just as they are, in all their messiness, disorder, bewilderment... 

7. If you dig deep enough you will find that passion and your passion will lead you to places you want to go.

8. Cogito, ergo sum... I think therefore I am. 

9.  There's only 
     one thing
     two do
     three words
     four you
  
   I love you.

10. None of this came out of my mouth, because I didn't possess these words then. 

11. You have to be patient to understand. 

12. I would like to beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. 

13. 

14. If we can't find love then what is life?

15. Don't ask for any advice from them and don't expect any understanding; but believe in a love that is being stored up for you like a inheritance and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.

16. It is something we must learn. 

17. We learn so much in our darkest hour.

18. And now we are happy.

19. 

1. Personal Reflection.

2. Rilke, Rainer Maria, and Stephen Mitchell. Letters to a Young Poet. New York: Modern Library, 2001. (68)

3. Rilke, Rainer Maria, and Stephen Mitchell. (v)

4. German translation for love. Google Search.

5. Anonymous Poet. Love Poetry.

6. Rilke, Rainer Maria, and Stephen Mitchell. (70)

7. Personal Reflection.

8. Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie's World.  New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1994. (235)

9. Plain White T's. 1,2,3,4. Song Lyrics.

10. Alda,Alan. Pass The Plate, Mr. Feyman. (1)

11. Personal Reflection.

12. Rilke, Rainer Maria, and Stephen Mitchell. (34)

13. Different Languages. Google Search.

14. Personal Reflection.

15. Rilke, Rainer Maria, and Stephen Mitchell. (43)

16. Rilke, Rainer Maria, and Stephen Mitchell. (68-69)

17. Personal Reflection.

18. Wiggins, Marianne. The Shadow Catcher. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. (204)

19. Happiness. Google Search. 

  

Best of the Day: Hospitals Lights

Every person has a dream job. For some it may be to be a teacher, a pilot, a cook, a writer, a mother or father. If you were to ask me what my dream job would give them a list of things I want to be, a list of things I want to achieve. Considering I must choose at least one job to pursue going into and after college I chose to be a nurse. I do not want to be just an average nurse likes the ones you see in movies. I want to be a neonatal nurse. Now I did not suddenly just wake up and realize this is what I want to do for the rest of my life because it doesn't work like that, well at least not for me. I decided I wanted to be that nurse starting with the moment I saw that hospital at 12:32 AM.

I thought to myself that I had never seen anything more peaceful in my life. A building. A square, tan, tall, wide building. A building full of windows on ever floor. A building with a lights on in every hall way. A building that does nothing but sit there while chaos is within it. How and why would anyone think this think is hospital is beauty?

In class today, my group and I were brain storming ideas on how to make a hospital clinic attract the attentions from viewers on the outside. It's all about architecture. The way the building flows with its surrounds, or even how it doesn't flow with the surroundings. These are both key element on attracting the human eye to a structure like a hospital clinic. This observation of our really made me think. Why would I be so attracted to a boring hospital at 12:32 at night when it doesn't even have great architecture? And why would I ever wanna work in such a thing.

It took me a while to answer these questions. Because we talked about architecture so much in class, I thought for sure that had something to do with the problem. But surprisingly I was mistaken. I realized something I never realized before. This something was one of the best realizations I came to earlier today. This something was light. But this wasn't sunlight. This was artificial light.  The kind of light you get from lightbulbs. As I drove past the hospital that Friday night, I realized that the reason I loved it so much was because unlike most buildings this building never loses light; whether it is sunlight or artificial light it is always glowing. You can see hospitals from far away distances at night time because of light. You can see into the hospital hallways because of light. You can see that even though most of us may be sleeping, the hospital is not, because of light.

It was the light that brought me to love the look of this building, even as square shaped as it is. It was the light that lead me to believe that I wanted to be in the light, I want to have that light surround me everyday. But when the lights do go out, even for a moment, it stills seems to shine because in reality, it is the people that are the light. It is the suffering, sick, and helpless people that are shedding the light and I now know want to be someone to follow that light for the rest of my life.

Blogging Around

Katie's blog was the most recent blog we did. She made a great connection between postmodernism and the commericals and things we see in the real world. The video she showed from the Superbowl was this very emotional and moving commerical that in the end turned out to be a car commercial. I really enjoyed reading this post.

Hi Katie J.

I was sitting on my couch and saw the the exact same commercial! This is a perfect example of postmodernism, I couldn't agree with you more. Everything you said makes sense to me and describing the commerical in a postmordern way helps me understand both postmodernism and the whole message the video was saying.Your writing was very insightful and I really enjoyed reading it. GOOD WORK KJ!

-Katie Dwyer

 

In Annie's blog post she talks about technology and how she and everyone around her is pretty much addicted to the technology around them. I truely loved this blog post. This blog post brought up a question I ask myself everyday. How and when did technology suddenly take over man kind!

 

Annie
I honestly couldn't agree with you more. I ask myself that question almost every day. This issue is everywhere we go, even with in the walls of Glenbrook South. There is not one day where I dont see a large amount of people around eachother on their phones instead of talking and interacting with the people around them. It shocks me everytime I see it. But the worst part of all of this is that I am sometimes one of those people. I think out of everything that technology has done to human beings, the fact that I am a culprit of not sociallizing when I have the chance to is something that will always bother me. Other than that, I really liked this blog post. Good work!

 

iMedia: Playgrounds

Modernism and postmodernism have been difficult tasks for me to grasp. There are so many distinct differences between the two, yet I still find myself to get confused when approached with something and asked if it is modern or postmodern. So, in order to help myself understand this concept I went on a search through the web and found myself in a deeper hole than I already was in. Out of pure frustration I then decided to take a drive and go get myself some Starbucks. On my way home I took the long way back to my house just to stall even more time. As I was driving, there appeared out of the left side of my window and school playground which I had never seen before considering I always take the short way home. And in that moment thoughts went running through my head and I finally got myself to understand, or begin to understand, this difference between modernism and postmodernism.

Who would have thought that a playground would help make two ends meet for me? Who would have thought that a little frustration and a little sip of a white chocolate mocha would lead me to getting on my computer and checking out design plans and ideas for playgrounds for kids?

Let's take this picture for example:

This picture is the kind of playgrounds I grew up with. The swings, the sandbox, the slide, and the spiny thing that always made me feel sick. Those are what I used to have fun. Those are the basics to playgrounds. Those are the foundation to modern-day playgrounds. Those are representations to my understanding of modernism.

Modernism was the building blocks to the post modern world. Without modernism there would be no post modernism. Without the basic slide, without the basic swings this wouldn't go from this...

To this...

and this...

Let's analyze these differences just a little more. What post modernism does to change from modernism is first the overall appeal to this playground. The appeal of the middle school playground was the one thing that caught my eye. This playground went beyond all the boundaries of traditional playground. This playground broke down lines, broke down circles and triangles and bent and curved these shapes to create figures that look appealing to the modern day eye. This not only accomplished the postmodern appeal in my eyes but it also caught the appeal of many children's eyes. I will argue that any playground is fun to play on, but for children if there is a challenge, if there is something that stands out to them they will feel more inclined to play on this work of art. Yes, this playground is a work of art, its a work of art with many purposing but its main purpose is to provide this postmodern appeal for kids all around. 

It Matters: Breaking the Status Quo

"Go above and beyond."

" Be the change you want to see." 

"Don't let good be good enough"

     "Stand for what you believe in"

"Achieve the unachievable."

Sound familiar? Those are some of the most famous words any parent or educator says to young children. They instill this image in their minds, in my mind, that we can achieve anything we want if we just put our minds to it. Assuming my parents and teachers were right I tried to fly by jumping off a chair, but gravity once again won the battle and the cold hard ground broke my fall. Maybe, it was my young 5 year old mind that didn't understand, or maybe it was just because I couldn't fly at all, no matter how hard I tried.  

 "I can't achieve the unachievable, " I said to myself, "I can't fly on my own. I just can't." 

Can't. Can't. Can't. If I have learned one thing over my whole life it would be that the word can't isn't good for anyone. This word, which I used for many  years following my attempt to fly, is a word I like to call a boundary word. The moment you say the word can't, you draw a line for yourself. This line blocks you from continuing forward. This line is a line that you won't cross. 

If I must admit, I have drawn plenty of those lines for myself throughout my whole entire life. It wasn't until recently that I've consciously noticed these lines in my path. But why now? Why have I just started to realize that I have so many lines I have not crossed yet? If not why, then what? What brought this to my conscious attention? 

It was Martin Luther King Jr. It was the letter he wrote to Birmingham. It was when he said, "Perhaps I was too optimistic; Perhaps I expected too much." 

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I interpreted my parents in the wrong way. I expected that if I wanted to fly, I could fly. But no, I can not fly, at least not on my own. I am a human being. I was not made to fly. But maybe I expected that if I couldn't fly by myself that everything everyone told me was wrong. But in reality, I was wrong. I expected too much. I can fly. I really can. 

He can fly too.

And so can he.

And so can he.

So why can't I?

What these men are doing and what Matin Luther King Jr. has taught me and all my classmates, is that breaking the status quo, breaking this image of flying and transforming it into something else, can get you so much farther than you ever thought possible. In a little article I read about changing the status quo, this man, Stan Lewis, explains the limitations the word can't puts on achieving things in life. 

" I can't do it. As long as you say that, you will always be correct, that is until you embrace change. Change will affect our Thinking as our minds are open to new opportunities around us. As our minds open up, new thought processes begin in our minds. Things we would have never imagined start to enter into our heads. These new thoughts produce new opportunities."

So it matters. Breaking the status quo really matters. And because of it, I will be able to fly one day. Because of the status quo, I will be able to some day break it and change my life forever.