All The World's A Stage

The second Elective term is here, and we're more than ready in this course, focused on the place where all the drama happens. On the stage. Stage Chemistry is a class all about stage design, you know, from theaters and plays. This Action Project challenged us to find and report on an appropriate with some sort of presentation in mind as well. Personally, there's a criteria on the rubric where we're tasked to compare aspects and details, the Goodman Theatre (or any other location as long as you get accurate measurements). Considering the open nature of my space, it was difficult finding direct numbers I could use to calculate and compare. However, I was able to think outside the box and utilize already established or common assets like "windows", even if they're somewhat irrelevant to the play. With that being said, I have a Playbook just down below, in PDF form, that tells you all you need to know about my stage.

The play I chose is actually a rendition of The Legend of Zelda. A simple tale of adventure and heroic feats. It's a common tale that's no doubt grown even that much more popular recently, as it is one of Nintendo's leading franchises. I had to thinking of just what kind of stage would appropriately fit the world of Hyrule or at least reenact parts of it. Thinking within a realizable budget that wouldn't make things go overboard, as well as being an accessible location for me to take measurements of, I was determined on having an outdoors location.

VG, Welles Park, March 2017

Then I realized something, Welles Park Gazebo was perfect, or at least for accessibility. I couldn't fit a large audience all the gazebo, considering how limited views would be as soon as the action moved about the audience. And limiting all action to be just inside the gazebo as an arena stage (a stage in which the whole audience surrounds the stage) would also be far too limiting for the actors and wouldn't mimic grand scale that all Zelda games have. I wanted to accommodate for the large open spaces, long travels, and also portray a variety of locations. However, with just one gazebo, that seemed almost impossible without making the theatre the literal entirety of the park.

VG, Welles' Stairs, March 2017

That's when I realized a type of flexible stage (one that can be modified) or proscenium stage (standard layout) would be the best set up. Utilizing the gazebo as a guide for key locations, as the identity of the gazebo changes throughout the acts, and using the peripheral vision of the intended audience location as the boundaries for the wings of the stage. Yet one challenge I still haven't overcome is the struggle of creating a  reliable or consistent backstage or other wings.

VG, Gazebo Floor, March 2017

Welles vs Goodman
-The gazebo and surrounding area 68.75% larger than Goodman's 4000 square foot Albert theatre
-The lobby of Goodman is only 4025 square feet, significantly smaller than the rest of Welles Park (which of course can easily act as a lobby) which is approximately 818,250 square feet large
-The gazebo features about 9 openings or windows that are not for entrances/exits, whilst Goodman only has 6 main windows that stretch across the lobby (each section of the lobby having its own borders for the window panes)

Now just below you can view the actual playbook, in PDF format.

GCE's Lunch - A SWOT Analysis

For the final Action Project of the STEAM course Systems & Models, we were to utilize a SWOT analysis. What's that? Well out 3rd introduce a lot of different concepts, but SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. I've made a presentation analyzing everything I could about GCE's lunch, the provided food, the off campus,  and even the smaller details. It was challenging to align everything with what we learned during class but I was actually surprised to see how quickly everything else came together. Originally, I was given the freedom to create this entire project out of memes, you know, those immature internet jokes? But I was rather unsatisfied with the result, it looked too rushed and the inaccurate illustrations didn't present the information the way I wanted to. Whilst given that option was an actual opportunity I appreciated, after going over it again, I thought translating it all into a simple slideshow would be much better. With that, I hope you enjoy my SWOT Analysis just below.

#BotLivesMatter

The hybrid course Equality has assigned us students our second Action Project. This time, we head a bit into the future to teach a lesson about equality that relates to race, class, or gender. The goal is to write a news article from 100 years in the future. This unit, named "Herstory" (in contrast to the first unit, which was named history), focused on how equality should be executed. A challenge that initially faced me was the actual inception of what to write about, as nothing seemed to resonate with me and I wanted to do something unique considering it was from the future after all.

Chapter 17: Trayvon Martin

In the STEM course called Equality, we've been served a very unique dish, one that only made us hungry for more. In this Unit named History, we've studied just everything that true equality can impact and whether or not it's here. The Action Project for this unit has us creating our own chapter in a history text book. There were many challenges I personally faced, such as finding an appropriate subject matter that I felt relate to the class, however in the end, I've managed to choose something I  could expand upon greatly, especially considering the impact this event has made to our modern society. Just below you can read though this mock text book, enjoy.

A Report Of Reflections

The second Action Project for Systems and Models has come, the STEAM course revolving around how we solve problems or ways to think of solutions. Here in Unit 2, our project is to make our own science lab project. Run an experiment and test it. It was actually a very free subject choice, so much so that I was able to relate mine to art, which is something I obviously have an affinity towards. Since we reviewed social experiments earlier in the class, I thought of something that I could easily complete with fair accessibility. I felt interest in an idea of seeing how people respond when they have a stylized drawing (known as a caricature) of them. There a few challenges such as connecting it directly with the lab report to have a substantial claim, but in the end, I'm proud of the product.

An Artist's Assessment

 We roll up into the Winter Term here at GCE and in the Math and Science course "Systems & Models" a new Action Project has dawned upon us students. We were to create a self-portrait of sorts that represents us, and create an identity which also aligns with the assessment of our personalities according to several tests, including Myers Briggs, Enneagram, DISC, and a few others. The first Unit had a heavy focus on understanding what makes us tick. How we work, and why we work like that, or at the very least, what to expect from those of us who cat like that. There were different levels that scaled just how much we can associate with these strong personality types, whether we associate with 2 at once or just a single type completely overshadowing all other traits. I was definitely proud of the statement I was able to pull from my self-portrait as I drew first and then assumed how it correlates. I didn't want an unnatural flow of my creativity, which is why I actually don't emphasize any particular traits or personality types. I wanted to keep it generalized initially, making sure that I wasn't stressing over conveying a specific message when talking about me, since I never did like focusing on myself. There were certain challenges in finding how to show every point, such as how my drawing relates in a big picture to my test results, but I was able to overcome some challenges by looking beyond the lines, and entering my own psyche to determine the exact message this neutral image is conveying. Just below you can find the artist's statement as well as my hand drawn image, and I hope you actually find yourself encouraged to find out more about yourself.

VG "V" 2017, Chicago

"V"

No. 2/HB Pencil(s) and standard ball point pen

Sketching paper 11.5" x 8.5"

I slowly veer off to my right, with subtle signs of interest. I don't show to much emotion because I wouldn't want to find myself in a situation that would grow into a struggle or conflict. Yet simultaneously, if I can be of use by assisting others then I will search for said opportunity. This piece is very practical and literal, but with hints of fictional elements, as while I'm down to earth, I must imagine scenarios around me in a sense that intrigues me, and anything that can make me thing is something I enjoy, thus revolving around a perpetual lust for satisfaction. The empty background follows my many concerns for my own safety, or rather my reluctancy to ever leave familiar zones that I know I at least feel safe in. There's a specific lack of exaggeration in my expression to (ironically) express my fondness for my neutral relations with many, as I find myself to be lacking in bias whilst also maintaining a great sense of personal justice and equality. When I drew myself looking into 2 mirrors, I wanted to draw attention to everything and nothing, hence my simpler art style with clean, open negative spaces, but the inclusion of shading draws the eyes around the image

Click to enlarge

These notes directly correlate with the rather accurate personality assessment tests. One of them being the Enneagram Test, (The Enneagram Institute, accessed Jan, 2017) which assesses your personality type based on numbers 1-9, with each number representing drastically different kinds of people, yet sharing slight characteristics which act as wings to the personality. In this case, my results ended up being a major 9 with a 2 just barely underneath. I personally strong associate with personality type 2 as it's main descriptions are to have sense of value with your own life by being helpful and caring, and with some though, 9 is also an excellent fit, as it's to be patient and calm. To be peace with one's self to survive. The full list of results is honestly something I can say I identify with, after understanding what each type is in its simplest of forms. Reflected in my art with a calm look that has peaked interest over to the side.

Now the TKI (Thomas-Kilmann Instrument) test I also have somewhat of a agreement with. As I stated early, despite the fact I was merely drawing based off of impulsive instinct alone, I managed to create a piece that represents me well, not focused on what's in front, but also not in, or doing any, major action. It show's off my observant nature, but the raised eye brow also displays some slight concern, which easily relates to how I have a strong desire to help others when they need assistance, and that's why my eyes quirk in that direction with such interest.

The process of creating the image was honestly just to draw from the heart. I made what I saw fit as comfortably as possible, and that's why this image resonates with me so much. It's how I see myself during a specific action that I do the most, observe my surroundings.

My set up had 2 small mirrors near each other at such an angle in which I was able to actually see myself looking at the one mirror with would give me the unique angle and eye focus. I felt that it was critical to make this realistic in my own sense, which is why I used a pen outline but utilized pencil shading, since it gives off a smoother feel for the already bright room that I was drawing in, effectively replicating the lighting that was present in that room at the time. It was bringing reality into my world of illustrations and that is why I decided to draw from life rather than a captured image of myself. As my good friend, "double A", put it, "when you're making yourself, you're not drawing what other people think they see, you're drawing what you want to see", and that definitely influenced my decision on sticking to my anime-esque art style, with the cartoonish eyes and such.

A face that doesn't speak out many stories but clearly takes several in. That it my self-portrait.

A Role-Playing Board Game Adventure

The second Action Project for Game Changers has arrived, and this one dives much further into game design. You see, earlier, this term, within the first two weeks we actually designed and prototyped our own board game

So imagine you're in a world that's filled with knights and dragons, but there's one dark lord who rules with an iron fist, terrorizing kingdoms with his monster army... Now imagine everything being set in the future, with multiple planets at stake and such. That is the game of Rizzuto, and in order to win this RPG Board Game, you must deliver the killing blow the the one and only boss, Rizzuto. Choose a class and travel across the board, leveling up, gathering items, and completing side quests, with twists that can change for better or worse by merely tossing a die. Have your fate change and experience something new every play through. Work together, or against one another, to put an end to Rizzuto's horrifying reign.

And here just below we have brief video that give and example of how it plays, live. Making this game was quite fun at first, but since there was a deadline, I found myself scrapping many concepts, and other such features. Honestly, in comparison to the final product I envisioned, this is comparable to an alpha build. However through play testing sessions, I will say that there were definitely aspects that were improved. An example would include the stats, as before, SR (strength) was based on numbers and enemy health, but that's a lot to keep track of for what's supposed to be a simplified role-playing oriented board game, so I changed it to a similar system that everything else is based on "every +5 points in this attribute increases it by a specific chunk/usage".

Despite the fact that I feel like I can develop this much more in the near future, this execution got the main functions across, having each space activate something different when you land on it, along with having the singular 6 sided die determine what happens next.

Fun Fiction

The first Action Project for a brand new term has arrived. Here, in the course named Game Changers, we've looked at all kind of games and their multiple aspects and functions. What kind of games? Tabletop games, like Scrabble, Uno, and in general, any game you may play on a "family night" of sorts. During this class, we've learned about what makes a game, whether it's how you win, how you move, how you stay relevant in the game, just about anything and everything you could think about from a design point of view. Some other things we learned revolved around skill vs probability, and which works best for what kind of game. A regular 6 sided die is called a d6 whilst other may be called a d4 or a d12. Sometimes, a game should only have strategy elements and other times, randomness adds to the fun. The project itself was to find a situation where we compare 2 titles and see which one is more optimal for a specific situation. Initially, as a (video) gamer, there are likenesses in all games that I am interested in, as all games have the desire to be fun. Some challenging aspects about this project include finding the right games that would suffice the situation, but luckily, I found an exact match for what I was thinking of.

My situation was a book club wanting to draw people in by showing them that reading can be fun, and what's more fun than a game? As it's a simple club, the ideal pricing would be set for lower budget and for an ambiguous amount of in simultaneous play. So the book club has a couple of options on how they can show others the fun of fiction and stories through a game that accommodates any amount of people for about 5 minutes per round of gameplay.

Between all the word and story based games out there, 2 came across as very fitting for this scenario. One game is the famous Mad Libs, and the other is the one and only Bring Your Own Book. This is a reference sheet in presentation format so you know what each game is all about, as well as my general thoughts about them.

Both of these word oriented games can attract all kinds of audiences, even if they don't read books as a hobby, or anything of the sort, often. It's rather self-explanatory, but Mad Libs is all about creating and making a story, and then to read such a narrative brings you the excitement that an author would get when reviewing their own works. And Bring Your Own Book shows off what these stories have. One is the process, the other is exposure.

Initially, Bring Your Own Book is far more appropriate for a book club considering that a book club would be about exposure to different stories so they may be discussed upon rather than an encouragement of writing your own stories. While Mad Libs may be a bit more fun to the non-reader, I'm sure the challenge of using someone else's book to find randomized phrases would bring further joy to the participants as it's an actual exercise of skill. That's why Bring Your Own Book would be the best low budget, quick, multiplayer for a book club looking for more members.

Intelligent Investments

The second and final Action Project for my Economics class, appropriate named as such, has us making a business plan. This includes setting at least 3 SMART goals for yourself, which span across different set time periods. A goal you can reach in a single year is one of them, which would be the easiest to access but you would have to put more effort in since you only have a dozen months to reach that goal. Some goal that may take 5 years is the next level. And the final goal would be a 25 year one, which can take the most and least money over time. The initial money we have for investments is $49,128.87 and with that we are to explain our reasoning for choosing these companies. For me, a great challenge was finalizing which companies to actually invest in considering that all of them have exponential growth, but they are already expensive, so you'd have to go with where you'll make the most money rather than just go with the most expensive stocks. For this, you'd have to analyze patterns that match your set times for your SMART goals. If a company always has exponential growth seeming every 5 years or so, then that's a good choice to have a medium term investment in. With that, I'll elaborate on my process, actual goals, and even my investment philosophy.

So I suppose to start things off, I actually will go on about my specific goals that correlate with those set time frames. My first goal is to achieve a stable job, so for the sake of simplicity, I'll say that I'll be spending $11,000 on transportation costs from gas money coming to and from that job per year. The 5 year goal would be to own a house or rather live in an apartment, only worrying about food and a heating bill, which will cost me about $22,000 per year. Then the long term 25 year goal will be to own a franchise of animated characters that stemmed from my comics, which will be extremely costly in comparison, ranging from $2 million to $4 million depending on how the television series is scheduled.

Now my philosophy for investing is to be efficient but to not put all your eggs in a single basket. Choice what brings the biggest results and the safest risk. Speaking of risks, an online test gave out a quick assessment for my tolerance of risk. This quiz have me a score of 22/47 which just barely puts me at a below average tolerance for risk, which makes sense considering how I can doubt my own actions if I'm not brimming with confidence in that choice, causing me to rethink my decisions.

Risk Tolerance Test

So what companies do I have confidence in?

Well my first thought that Procter & Gamble would be magnificent due to how gargantuan they are, as a goods manufacturing company that has a name brand in every household tool, from Tide laundry detergent, Gillette shaving blades, Old Spice deodorant, Crest toothpaste, and even Bounty paper towels; this conclusion came to me because of just how many large brand names they actually own. They're a great choice with an economic moat of, well monopolization really. A P/E ratio of 24.57, a dividend yield of 3.08%, they are truly set for growth. That's why I'll be investing in them throughout the years, all the way through a quarter of a century. Just by looking at their stock growth, it's like every decade where they severely drop, they come back quite a percentage more valuable, so this pattern is optimal for long term investments. What also helps is how much the company cares for their reputation, so initially, growth is almost guaranteed to ensue over time. With an ROI (return of interest) of 9% that will stack up over the years providing a greater growth than already anticipated, so I wouldn't need to focus too much on dumping all of my cash in purchasing their stocks.

P&G Stock

The other company I have great trust in is Disney. Their entertainment and recent leap in value leads me to believe all it takes is a series of movies that they clearly went out of their way to make good, and considering how production for long awaited films such as Incredibles 2 has already been announced, you can tell that the effort will be great in that film. Due to that, there will be a great rise in popularity, thus increasing the value of the company. Over shorter periods of time, Disney as always quickly risen up above any drop in share value they've come across. Their economic moat would be consisting of pulling in a dedicated crowd, and it's that loyalty that ensures their safety throughout their years. They have P/E ratio of 16.84 and a dividend yield of 1.51% with an ROI of 12.5% and with a higher percentage than P&G, I'd feel more confident doing short time investments with Disney.

Disney Stock

My initial plan is to invest in Disney for 5 years and overlapping said investments with Procter & Gamble for 25 years. Since Disney will be my investment for a much shorter amount of time, I'll focus more on them up until the 5 years are done.

So now I have to worry about now how much I'll invest for how long. That's when a time horizon comes in, which is basically just a plan for your future. Taking into account that the 25 year goal would definitely be the biggest focus for money. I found myself putting $4,020.87 in for the first year, splitting it so a quarter of that goes to PG while the other 75% goes to DIS, which means that I can buy 32 shares of DIS stock and 11 shares of PG stock.

Combining their ROIs with what percentage of the money I dedicate to those stocks, then adding those 2 answers together, gives me the total ROI from both companies. Since that percentage is adding on the original number, you'll see that when the percentage is converted to a decimal, I added 1 or a 100% because that's how much money I already put in, so with the percentage increase, that (when multiplied with the initial input money itself: about $4,020) will give me my total earnings increase based on ROI alone.

We repeat this process for the 5 year investment plan, but I thought since this is when I'll stop investing in DIS, I'd put more a little more money into it. So now I'm putting 80% of this $15,035.88 into DIS and the other fifth to PG. With 128 shares from DIS, 34 shares from PG, and a total ROI of 11.8 percent, we bring that to the power of 5 because of the five years going us a 74.7% increase. This ultimate total becomes 1.747 multiplied by the investment amount ($15,035.88) becomes $26,267.68.

And finally, for the rest of those year, tallying up to the 25 year goal, I have fun 100% investments to PG with $30,072.12 (which buys me 346 shares) on an ROI of 9% for that quarter century. In other words, 30072.12 [1x((9÷100))]^25 which amounts to $259,311!

The Math

If you ask me, these 2 companies simply have the most beneficial patterns based on growth in the past for what I'm looking for. DIS works all throughout mass media entertainment, while PG works in the fields of every home item necessary for basic life, everything from diapers to vapor rub. The diversity Choosing these 2 will give me an advantage as the only things left out of the equation are food and educational programs as well. But there are some assumptions made when calculating all of this. These include assuming the value of these companies will follow a set pattern, and that Disney only have success in some form from their future films.

Sources:

- CSI Market, Procter & Gamble Co's ROI per Quarter, Accessed: Oct. 2016, http://csimarket.com/stocks/PG-Return-on-Investment-ROI.html

- CSI Market, Walt Disney Co's ROI per Quarter, Accessed Oct. 2016, http://csimarket.com/stocks/DIS-Return-on-Investment-ROI.html

- Google Finance, Yahoo Finance, MSN Money

- Procter & Gamble, Investors| P&G, Accessed Oct. 2016, http://www.pginvestor.com

The Power of a Smile

The second Action Project for my Journalism class has come around the corner, and it's requiring us to create our own podcast like recording, ranging from 3-5 minutes in length. Initially, we choice an iconic voice from the 1900s (the 20th century) and expand upon certain ideas of why we think they're so popular. My decision was to show just how influential Robin Williams can be, and his rise to fame as well as moments in fame were most prevalent in the 20th Century. However it was difficulty isolating which audio clips would be most effective, since he works very well with visuals alongside his acting, but initially, I'm proud of the outcome of this little podcast. You can have a listen for yourself, and just underneath the SoundCloud is its transcript. Thanks for reading!

Transcript

[Robin Willaims as Genie from Aladdin] [VG] [Robin Williams narrating a commercial for Apple’s iPad Air] [VG] [Williams] [(Zelda) Willaims] [Robin] [Zelda] [Robin] [Zelda] [Robin] [VG] [RD narrating] THE END

•So tell me, when your life passed in front of your eyes, did you go “I’m not that interesting”?... I would’ve done mouth to mouth but I don’t find you that attractive. -I bet that made you laugh a little bit, didn’t it? And if you were angry at something before, you’re probably not as mad now, right? That’s the power of a smile. *sentimental music kicks in* -See, the thing is, a smile works wonders. Especially when you make someone smile. Robin Williams was a person who knew that well; he tried so hard to spread joy because he understood what miseries could come to an individual when they’re down and really felt like they just got hit hard. He actually dealt with many problems himself, so he knows from experience the kind of suffereing one can go through. His passion for only being an entertainer goes so far as turning down most opprotuinties to advertise something. As a matter of fact, when Disney used his voice to sell Aladdin merchandise, he was furious, stating, “I don’t want to sell stuff. It’s the one thing I won’t do.” And as an apology, Disney sent him a Picasso painting estimated to be around $1 million. Yet ironically, he has participated in 3 advertisements, one for the Apple iPad Air, where he goes on about unity, clearly spreading a well intented message, and here’s part of it. He never advertised something if he didn’t believe in the positivity or potential for a product. *music fades* •We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. -And the only other 2 times, in a more relatable situation, he advertised his absolutely favorite video game series on 2 occasions alongside his daughter, who he has named after the series. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure had a special deal online and the commercial featured a multiplayer session featuring Willaims and his daughter, should he loose, he shaves the beard, which was sold as unexpected based on Zelda Willaims’ reaction. The next heartwarming advertisement boasts of the games ingenuity, but rather it refers to any hardships and challenges as a personal experience that Robin goes through for his very own royal destiny. •The first time I saw you, I knew we’d be Linked forever. For you I’d travel to the four corners of the world, I faced adversity. I became a hero. °Dad. •I even saved your kingdom-- °Dad. •Yes, Zelda? °Are you mixing me up with The Princess again?... •...Hard to say, you’re both pretty magical. *a slow calming piano tune is played* -Robin always wanted to make people laugh, and feel good. And for the most part, his roles in movies exemplified that, like in Patch Adams, or Mrs. Doubtfire. Willaims truly was an entertainer, whether it was utilizing stand up comedy or merely improvising in the recording studios or on set. *the piano fades* -And Robin wasn’t just loved by his audience, but the people he worked with too. His power to make people smile brings energy to any set he comes to, and many praise his uplifting nature that invites all to be at least a friend to him. But even so, you didn’t need to be right next to him for him to have an impact on your life… This story is one of a simple viewer’s, whose life was essentially saved by Robin’s impressively hilarious antics found. This is Suzanne’s story. ∆Growing up as an only child, in a very poor and severely abusive household –in the 70s and 80s– the only laughter and joy I experienced was when I was allowed to escape by watching my favorite television show: Mork & Mindy. I was particularly captivated and mesmorized by the then young actor potraying Mork, Robin Willaims. Whenever I watched his on-screen antics, I was able to forget my pain and fear and escape into each 30-minute comedic journey. Afterwards, I would gaze outside my bedroom window, wishing and hoping aliens really exsisted and ould some day whisk my away from my painful and lonely existence. I continued to seek solace, strength, and laughter through his numerous roles in what I consider to be the best feel-good movies of all time. Through his comedy, Robin taught me how to laugh and smile, chasing away the hurt, hopelessness, and helplessness I felt every day. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was saved by this comedic genius, and his death has left me feeling as if I lost my own chlidhood therapist and hero. Thank you Robin Williams, for being so instrumental and helping me to grow into the strong happy and sucessful woman I am today, and for bringing so much joy and laughter to the world. There will never be another, rest in peace, o’ captain, my captain. -A smile has a lot of power, and Robin Willaims was one of the many sources in the world. But he was the only few who wanted others to smile more than him. His passing is unfortunate, but a legend lives on in all of our hearts.

Citations: Music use • First track, "Wind Waker - Title Theme", Koji Kondo, Nintendo, 2002-2003 • Second track, "Ocarina of Time - Title Theme", Koji Kondo, Nintendo, 1998

Photojournalism

This new Senior year in GCE Lab School also means that of course the students experience new courses. This Journalism course is self-explanatory, as it revolves around journalism (the act of bringing news to the people through media of some sort). That being said, our first Action Project in this class revolved around writing out about 1000 words going off an interview with someone about the meaning of life, which is complimented by an image of them. Initially, the project gave me a bit of difficulties when coming up with questions, because I know that if I was asked one question, I would just go on and on explain as many points as I could, rather than allow for a question to ask for details. Of course I did manage to overcome this and provide you all with an article I wrote out here showing you what one my colleague's thoughts on what the meaning of life is. I hope you enjoy!

What is life? Or more specifically, what is the meaning of life? That’s quite the question, isn’t it? We can infer this in a multitude of ways; what is our purpose in life? Well that’s the question I asked to my good friends and cohort NVA. And after some time, and a lot of thought, he managed to think about an answer that satisfied him. So after taking an image inside of GCE, we went off to enjoy lunch at a nearby Mariano's. That’s where we conversed.

The way he went on about it was unique, the opposite of those who have existential crises. As my fellow senior classmate, our conversation was quite casual and relaxed. That is why I shall paraphrase much of it, but of I won’t distract from the main meaning of his sentences. He’s an only child who was actually adopted from Bulgaria, which is partially why I wanted to interview him specifically. Growing up –and still young– he’s had a much more unique experience than most others I know. His outlook on life would vastly differ from mine, for sure.

NVA's Cam Time, VG, 2016

The image (just above) as you can see is a picture of him fiddling with that there camera, which I found ironic considering the photojournalism taking place soon after. The image aligns with his affiliation to possibly work in either film or create street art (something that can only really be captured by a camera). The image itself was adjusted with the camera on my phone (the Galaxy J7) with a higher aperture (duration of the shutter staying open) so the image would appear brighter with less shadows. Having a clear picture that displays my interviewee as if they were simply standing there really brings out the more down to Earth thought process that doesn’t overcomplicate things, yet still deeply contemplates solutions and paths for the future. I didn’t ask him to pose or anything; he actually didn’t notice me taking a picture in the moment, and for me, that’s far better than staging or posing for a picture. To be yourself when a picture is taken of you is to be natural, organic even.

So that was the first question I asked. “What is the meaning of life?” and in a swift response, he answers, “Well, I think it’s to capture the good moments and enjoy it while it lasts.”

To me this was a more unexpected response considering his initial personality. I would’ve expected a more unsure reply, so I asked him to elaborate; he explains that “life is limited, so you have to at least enjoy yourself as you go on through it. It would be pointless to make yourself feel bad, so in a way, everyone’s purpose is to make themselves feel good. That’s basically the meaning of life.”

This response incidentally went great with the image I took before the interview, as he’s holding a camera, which can easily represent that photographers (and with him desiring to go into the film industry) capture and immortalize the best of moments in life. The main idea I got from that one answer is that you only have one life, so don’t worry and don’t waste it; make the most of what you have.

As the inquisition continued, I asked him whether or not that’s been his constant definition of life, as in whether or not it has changed over time. His initial reply went along the lines of “Well I guess before I used to think think it was much simpler, just don’t do bad stuff, like hurt anyone or lie. It sort of did evolve I guess.” The commotion at Mariano's provided a relaxed atmosphere as we ate lunch. I continued with a couple more questions, next asking “Well, how do you find purpose in life?” & this one proved a bit more difficult to answer. He addressed the question as being a bit redundant, but went on with answering claiming that “A purpose is never really defined, it’s only what your goals are aimed to be.” By this, I understood that he was claiming that purpose is an individualistic motivation that varies upon people. For example, someone’s purpose in life could be to eat the great food from the hot bar, or perhaps even to care for someone endearing.

Asking next about his beliefs, I asked if he found all life to be equal, and he swiftly gave and answer, stating that a life must be tainted in order to lose value. Next I asked of his morals, or more specifically, whether or not they’ve changed; as he thought, he soon replied saying that the only things that have really changed are his ideals about honesty, since the world can benefit from a small white lie every now and again. I followed up with asking if there was anyone in particular that influenced him –in other words, who/what would have been the thing to change said morals– and his response merely denied this possibility, stating that nobody specifically changed him, his mind merely evolved as he grew.

The next question I asked was “How have you solidified a purpose in your life; when was it that you came to an epiphany of such?” And so he went “I honestly grew over time, there was maybe a certain day or 2 where I realized that life wasn’t so simple and easy, but it was a very long process. I didn’t really see too much of my potential until I thought about entertaining others, which is why I’m doing my art with graffiti and potentially diving into film studies. I kind of just looked at what I was good at and said that it would be a great thing to focus on for my future.”

As the time for lunch came closer to ending, I prepared my last 2 questions for some exercise, as we started to walk back to the school. One of said questions asked about how he came up with that initial view of life, not necessarily the process, but the moments that helped him realize it. The reply was once again something more indirect, saying that not a singular thing was noteworthy enough to consider it commendable for influencing him. I actually can admire that about his outlook on life, because I always prefer to look at things from a neutral perspective myself, and for him to essentially say that life simple moves and you learn as you stride forward says, to me, that he doesn’t exaggerate or see only a black and white side to every situation, but that’s merely my interpretation.

True Cost Of College

So rolling into my Senior year of high school, here at GCE Lab School, one of my first projects to complete is one that revolves around my future. The assignment was to create a slideshow that depicts your future decisions for a career and college, displaying how much of your salary would be dedicated to paying off your tuition, etc. For me, the biggest challenge in making this was trying to find solid information I could base this off of, because as an artist, your job earnings are completely unstable and interchangeable... However the actual productivity of doing this Action Project was very useful as a reference for the near future. Attending my first college of choice would leave me poverty stricken for the next 18 years, but if you want to know more about that, there's a 60 second SoundCloud recording followed by a detailed slideshow just below. I hope you enjoy.

The Study of Spanish

So this final term of my Junior year at GCE actually had me (or rather, I chose) a Spanish class. Throughout the term, we learned a multitude of verbs and how certain words change based on pronouns. Certain challenges for me definitely revolved around how I speak, as my slight accent gives me a rough time with thick "R" sounds, so of course, there were some words the were just plain hard to say. Another thing that, without a doubt got me mixed up, is the fact that I've studied Italian before also here at GCE. Add that with my basic Portuguese knowledge (since my parents are Brazilian), and I had a jumble of different words butting heads as all three of those Latin based languages have many similarities. The Action Project for the class though had us create some sort of writing essay with a visual, and 20 sentences of Spanish, so trying my best and using past notes, I decided to choose a topic on Spanglish since that was already something studied during class, and it's more common than you think in poetry. Just below you can see the product, and I hope you enjoy!

Was the Bay of Pigs Invasion Justified?

Hello everyone once again, with another Action Project for the class called Policy. In the second project for this history and literature course, we've been tasked to refer to a war/conflict that the US has participated in and then broadcast our stand on whether or not we believe it was justified or not. The second unit itself revolved around the Executive branch of the government and how certain policies affected wars that the US may or may not have justly participated in. It was a challenge to single out a single conflict as the topic of war is very negative from my standpoint, but to only look at one side is without a doubt singling out a lot I can truly criticize. Anyway, without further ado, just below the picture you will find a written essay of my views regarding the Bay of Pigs Invasion, which happened in Cuba.

JFK picture; presidential library museum, 1962

1961, Cuba. 1500 exiles opposed the infamous Fidel Castro with an invasion that was supported via financial support from the U.S. government. However it was a few years before the incident occurred that is truly noteworthy, as Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista's reign of dictatorship. As of that start of 1959, relations between Cuba and the United States began to become a trifling matter. With Castro in charge, he claimed as much private property as possible, and much of that territory was owned by North American interests. Castro provided many hostile comments and claims such as the U.S. attempting to sabotage the newly establish government and time went on. It was a conflict from the start. President, serving the term of 1956-1960, Dwight Eisenhower was allowed to commit acts of retaliation as legislation passed such laws as of June in 1960. As America was cutting off purchases of sugar, soon following up with an embargo, only allowing the export of food and medicine to Cuban soil. As of January 1961, one of Eisenhower's final acts was to cut diplomatic ties with Cuba. There was great hostility between the 2 countries.

However every since May 1960, a great invasion was planned by the United State's CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and heavily debated with newly appointed president (at the time) John F. Kennedy. Eventually, succumbing to the proposition, the plan to invade was finally approved. 3 US-made airplanes bombed Cuban air bases, and then soon after, only a couple days, several Cubans trained by the US landed upon the "Bay of Pigs" on Cuba's South-Central coast. This series of events, albeit something Kennedy initially wished to condone against, forced him to issue out an "air-umbrella" as a plan of attack as Castro reacted with over 20,000 troops heading towards the beach, greatly overshadowing the 1100 men ordered out by the CIA's plans. Probably due to an altered time zone, the air umbrella attack plan arrives an hour late and is shot down... There were many prisoners, and plenty of casualties too.

The policy allowing the Invasion to happen was quite the large risk on Kennedy's part. With the CIA organizing such a hostile plan early on only made the act all the more questionable. However Castro was ready as his aggressive behavior did intimidate the United States, more specifically Eisenhower. This conflict really branched through 2 presidents, and Kennedy was truly thrown into the middle of things. Initially, I'd still personally say that for the size it grew into, the Bay of Pigs Invasion was far from justified. The United States went through a lot during that time, and Eisenhower essentially was making a new enemy hastily. JFK really seemed to have limited options, either wait for Castro's assault, or do what he can to prevent that by attacking first. The CIA's plan was disputed against several times, but Kennedy final saw no other option. If he were to be here today, there's no doubt that he too would say the conflict was unjustified. Now that's not to say Castro did nothing wrong, as confiscating the land was provoking a response from North America since it was privately owned as their's. Consequences of the Bay of Pigs Invasion resulted in hundreds of casualties, and the long term consequence was increased support for Castro, allowing him to continue what the CIA wished to stop.

Overall, the Bay of Pigs Invasion did not seem righteous in the slightest as the first issue was the seizing of already owned territory. Embargo and trade restrictions were made in response to Castro's actions, yet the escalation to violence the CIA decided upon was concerning even to Kennedy. It's possible that even Eisenhower had no clue of the CIA's intent. Honestly, it's even debatable as to whether or not the conception of such a plan was even legal for the CIA to create. The act of Castro taking land he didn't may have provoked the US, however regarding that issue, Eisenhower had an embargo set in place, so at that moment, it was still being taken care of. The act of violence was simply an escalation that did not seem to benefit the Untied States as much as it should have. It was as if America only had a hunch because there was known and obvious tension.

Citations:

• Bay of Pigs invasion, Encyclopedia Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, NA
• The Bay of Pigs, JFK Library, NA
• The Bay of Pigs Invasion, History Today, Micheal Dunne, NA
• Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Foreign Policy Journal, Karthik Gopalan, 2010

Electrifying Efficiency

The second Action Project arose for the class Urban Planning, and so after designing a bridge, we're going to revolutionize the electrical grid! Well... At least make a circuit. After studying current, voltage, ohms (resistance), types of circuits, and switches along with a multitude of other terminology and circuit design, our Action Project was to create a function parallel circuit (one where if one thing stops working, the electrons still have a path to flow through), featuring at least 5 resistors (light bulbs, motors, etc. Something that takes some electricity but allows some of it to flow), and 2 switches (one controlling everything, and the other cutting off only a single function). Initially, some challenges including creating a circuit that actually had flow to all resistors. Some circuit designs cut off flow from branches as there's not enough demand for the electrons to pass, thus taking the shorter path of wires instead. Overall, this challenge was overcome with the help of my partner in this project, where you can see her slideshow on the same build here. Without further ado, you may check out the full presentation just below.

Code of Wrongduct

Argument's second Action Project is just around the bend, as we are going to correct our school's code of conduct in some way shape or form. The initial goal of this project is to add, remove, or change something from the code of conduct in a way we see fit. This unit itself reviewed the basics of each of the 3 branches of the government, with a hardy focus on the Dread Scott case. If you aren't familiarized with it, just know that the Dread Scott case was back in 1847-1857 as a slave attempted to fight for his freedom as he was a citizen, and had no owner. This case actually rose up to the Supreme Court, but initially, the court decided that Scott had no place stating this claim in the first place, for he was a black man who shouldn't have even gotten that far in the first place, or at least, that was the mentality. Going back to the Action Project, I will definitely say that it was quite challenging to think of a topic because I'm honestly fine with just about everything that the code of conduct states, to me it all seems quite fair. All in all, I was able to decide what I could revise from GCE Lab School's Code of Conduct, and just below, you can read all about it.

So initially, the Code of Conduct has a section labelled for levels of Disciplinary Action, and one of these 5 levels is contacting a parent. To be more specific, there's an early level that seems rather hasty for its early inclusion;
"How: Disciplinary Action Levels

The following summarizes the levels of disciplinary action which shall be enforced by the Disciplinary Council and appropriate school personnel with students who are in violation of the Code of Conduct. This hierarchy serves as a guideline for disciplinary action. Disciplinary action levels will be assessed on a case by case basis; this means that the spirit of the Code of Conduct is more important than the letter of it.

Level 1 ­ Verbal warning – School personnel that witness behavior will address the student verbally. Note: process of documents in Highrise student’s personal file (depending on severity and regularity of behavior). 

Level 2–Contact Parent/Guardian ­School personnel will contact parent/guardian when student is given more than 2 verbal warnings in a class period or a pattern of behaviour needs to be communicated to parents/guardians.

Level 3- Referral out of class to Co­Curricular Coordinator, School Counselor and/or Director to conduct a conference with the student. The Co­Curricular Coordinator, Director, and School Counselor determine that due to the frequency and/or severity of the behavior a Parent/Guardian will be contacted and one or more of these interventions will be used."*


*The list goes on, leading up to suspension and then expulsion

Now as GCE is a school that focuses a little more on student independence, mainly focusing on autonomy and accountability, it seems almost hypocritical to have just the second level be contacting a parent or guardian. Independence can not branch off when a student constantly has the attention of their parents at the wrong time. Of course communicating with parents or guardians is actually vital, but as stated up above, only after 2 verbal warnings is the idea of contacting the legal guardian now imminent. Assuming that the offense to the code of conduct is a large one, then of course it seem only natural, but minor offenses, or even missing assignments is usually followed by a short email to the parents. Now is when the 2 sides to this argument really shine out, because on one end, if you're struggling in class and require assistance but haven't reached out to anyone, this is a good way to notify some hopefully reliable people in order to help out the student in need. However, on the opposing side, many of these notifications can easily be misunderstood, and furthermore, be sent at a time just when the issue is about to be resolved.

Premises 1: GCE endorses an independent style of learning and prefers to have a display of autonomy, responsibility, and accountability.

P2: As students face level 2 of disciplinary actions, an almost hypocritical experience is had.

P3: The hierarchy of Disciplinary Actions may be necessary to determine what's appropriate for the student to be punished by.

P4: Students that misbehave are first addressed by staff, first casually, then more seriously, and the next level is legal guardian contact.

Conclusion: The transition from staff being involved to parent being involved is very unnoticeable, which I find unexpected since I'd assume working staff could easily account for a level 2.

The main point I want to get across is how easily or quickly contacting a parent is. It's almost as if it's simply jumped to as the first option, which doesn't align with the independence and autonomy that GCE encourages. My revision with the code would be a change in the levels of discipline. I would either add a sub level to break up Level 2 from one so it isn't as earlier, or better yet, switch around the current level 2 & 3 with each other. This keeps a more business styled environment that GCE is preparing their students for. The values of GCE revolve around gratitude, respect, autonomy, accountability, and responsibility. 3 of these 5 guiding traits –that act as pillars for the foundation of the school– revolve around being independent. Of course it is necessary to establish a system where the worse you act the higher th level of discipline, but to have what I believe is a much more severe level as only the second tier of punishment is rather extravagant. If anything, any and all staff interacts should be dealt with first, essentially changing the order in which it's dealt with.

Difficulty Curve, "gabahulk" (2016)

I've even asked for what my older brother thinks of the idea of parental contact so early, and his response, "Well, yeah, it's just too early. If you go from 0 to 100 in half a second, that's way too much of a spike. It has to be evenly distributed so there's no large gap to make an impossible leap over, or else that system would be too harsh, in my opinion. Plus, like... you said that your school wants the students to be more independent, right? That can't happen if parents are almost immediately contacted." Then proceeding to sign a small paper identifying that he agrees with the concept of changing the Code of Conduct, making a more appropriate ordered Disciplinary Action Level, after giving me that answer.

With that being said, I'll close this off with one final thought, I would even ask you what your preference of discipline is; allow some time for repair/learning from the mistake over time, or make things evidently clear with how there was some poor behavior the first time around?


¶ 1: Introducing the project and reviewing the course.
¶ 2: Giving context before the syllogism.
¶ 3: Premises and Conclusion analysis.
¶ 4: Initial argument based on my point of view.
¶ 5: Those who agree with my feelings on the subject.
C: A public question to identify preference.

Shoe Box Shelf

Final Action Project in the RPG-2 course. What are we assigned? We're building something for the new space in GCE! While it was difficult to determine what exactly I could build in the new space, I decided that it would be best to build a shelf like structure. Then it was a simple matter of downscaling the size to something I could feasibly make. Hence, why I used shoeboxes.

Just right here you can go to the Intractable link that details how you can make it. In case you aren't familiar with intractable, it's essentially a site where you can share not only your creations, but instructions on how to make them too. The time lapsed video shown was 38 seconds, and that was at a 30fps rate. Since the time lapse takes 2 pictures every second, that means that we can do 38sec x 30fps to get double the original time (so dividing the answer by 2 gives the original time), which was 570 seconds total. I was slightly inspired by this Ikea hack as it had the same principle of box structures being together to create a shelf. Now as of the tools I used, leverage assisted my use the scissors as the bolt in scissors is like a fulcrum, even though only torque is applied (the twisting force).

If you want to know exactly everything I used to make it yourself here's a simple list:

• Cardboard boxes
• Scissors
• Tape (electrical or duct)
• wood working glue (Elmer's to be specific) 

On a side note, I felt that I had slight inspiration (design aside) from one of our Field Experiences to the Rebuilding Exchange. You can check out their site and it's good to note that during this FE, I found myself being captured by what our guide had to say about his life, "Surrounded by trash" claiming that living on the SouthSide of Chicago, the trash was practically following him, even after moving (as his new apartment was right next to a land fill). That inspired me to think, "What if we can make this trash useful?"

With that, I hope you enjoyed reading and may create this yourself!