Blog #30: More Nature Writing!

Even though my project for Media Saves the Beach and the book Into the Wild were nothing alike as in nature wise I think that they are still similar in how we got our information. In Into the Wild, the author Jon Krakauer is telling the story of a Chris McCandless and the life he lived, obviously he couldn't have gotten all of that information from Chris himself because Chris had died. So in order for Krakauer to tell Chris' story he had secondary sources or interviews with people who knew him and were either close to him or knew about him. Although most of the information or pictures/images for our MSB projects were primary sources the interviews that we did with other people and organizations were secondary sources. So even though our topics were not alike, the techniques we did to complete a final product were very similar.

Blog #29: Nature Writing

1. Do you feel, as one letter writer did, that there is “nothing positive at all about Chris McCandless’ lifestyle or wilderness doctrine …surviving a near death experience does not make you a better human it makes you damn lucky” (116); or do you see something admirable or noble in his struggles and adventures?


In Into the Wild the main character Chris McCandless's struggles to live another life. In some sorts the life he wanted to live was indeed admirable because he attempted to fulfill his dreams by wanting to live the life he wanted not the one that someone picked out for him. Although I think that his actions of leaving home and starting a new life and identity were admirable and understandable some of the actions and decisions he made were either out of stupidity or foolishness because he probably didn't realize or consider the people that he could be hurting.

I do not think that his decisions on going into the wild unprepared was the greatest idea, it was understandable but unneccessary. And the fact that he denied help for some people was an act of stupidity but again understandable in the sense that he wanted to prove that he can live and make it in this world on his own. Paragraph 2 of pg 6 states, "Galien offered to drive Alex all the way to Anchorage, buy him some decent gear, and then drive him back to wherever he wanted to go. 'no thanks anyway,' Alex replied, 'ill be fine with what I've got." This statement shows that he was determined to do what he wanted and live how he wanted and do it by himself without anyone's help.In my opinion Chris McCandless did many things that were admirable, he set out on a journey to pursue a dream of his.

I disagree with the statement that there was “nothing positive at all” about McCandless’ decision to brave the wilderness alone, because the experience that he went through just like many near death experiences are there to teach the person how to be better or live life a better way and appreciate things that they have or don't have, which is exactly the experience that Chris learned. He accomplished many things and it required much more than just good luck to survive a near death experience.It is possible to take a near death experience as a way to understand that you would need to get life back on track and feel better about your life. It's sort of like people who go through near death experience are realize to do things because they don't know when their next "near death experience" could be reality and not be a near death but a death experience. The same way for Chris in chapter sixteen,"Maybe he was prepared to forgive their imperfections; maybe he was even prepared to forgive some of his own." He wanted to go back home and make ammends with his family because the near death experience he went through had opened his eyes to the reality that "I could not be there tomorrow and I could die without making ammends with the people I love and care about."

So although McCandless did not make smart choices he still gained something very important for his experience in the wild. McCandless gained the knowledge of how to find happiness and he had lived the adventure that he had always dreamed of. The fact that he lived out his dream and did what he wanted to do is what ispires not only me but others as well to go after your dreams and don't give up until you've accomplished them.

Blog #28: Nature Writing Essay Draft

Mccandless learned that being in the wild isn't as easy as he thought. Hunting food was hard, but preserving it was easy as well. He was ready, mentally, to kill other animals, and he felt guilty and heart broken when he needed to kill the moose just ot survive. He didn't know the basics of preserving food. So he pretty much learned he didn't have the 'hunter's' mindset, and killing wasn't for him.
He read two books by men that had spent their time in the wild, and realized their passion and happiness was in the stability of life, and helping of others. McCandless understood this and decided that he was ready to go home. He had been out in the wild long enough and it finally dawned on him that, yes, being independent and self reliant is fun, but stability and consistency is also good.

Blog #27: Nature Writing

MSB Photo Essay Ctitique

GAS STATION

During a rainstorm runoff can cause most of the pollution that winds up at our beaches. A prime factor of the pollution is gas and oil which is contributed by the gas stations and oil leaks from cars and accidents. The oil and gas when it is fresh combines with the rain and flows into the sewage drains that lead to the beach.

SEWAGE THAT GETS DUMPED INTO THE OCEAN

Particles from trash cans and from people who litter get caught in the runoff during a rainstorm and flow to these sewer drains and what most people don't understand is that their trash that they throw on the ground and leave everywhere ends up on the beaches and then pollutes the waters and in turns hurts the animals and people that go into the water.


OCEAN PICTURE


The oil and the trash that gets caught in the runoff and flows into the sewage winds up here in beaches like La Jolla Children's Pool. The water at the La Jolla Children's Pool is contaminated not only because of the runoff and the trash that gets left everywhere but also because of its location. People are not allowed to swim here because of the contamination but yet the seals are still allowed to stay there because they keep coming back and are already contaminated. Beach-goers and concerned by-standers try to make it so that people do not enter the water or bother the seals.





Animals that can possibly get hurt by the sewage dump

The trash and oil that gets caught in the runoff and flows to the sewage and gets dumped onto the beaches in turn hurts these animals as well as the seals. The pollution that winds up in beaches like the la Jolla Children's Pool contaminate the seals and the fish in the water. Then the seagulls and other birds eat those fishes or take them somewhere else where people are exposed the contaminated bird or fish.



Ways that it can be reduced

The ways that we can reduce the effects of pollution in the water and help those animals who are getting contaminated is to pick up after ourselves. We can get people to do beach clean up, not to litter, and to make sure that particles get caught in the runoff and flow into the sewers are picked up before it even happens. If more people knew the effects of the things they do (like littering) is hurting the water and the animals and people who swim in there, they would probably understand and want to help to do something to help.

Blog #26: Professional Exhibition? Contest?

Blog #24: More current events

Blog #9:
-http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/2009/04/03/reporters-notes-sewag-spills-increaing.
-The issue is how millions of gallons of sewage water gets dumped into California's water's and how the number of dumpage is increasing.
-"More than 20 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into California waterways last year, according to the state Department of Water Resources Control Board. That's not counting the partially treated sweage that makes its way into our water from overflows and sewer systerm malfunctions."

Blog #23

-Fishermen have reported seeing endangered flatback turtles covered in oil.There have also been claims that fish and sea-snakes have been poisoned

Mariyah's Blog
Wal-marts Illegal Run off

Wal-mart's storm run-off has been affecting the nearby waters and now have to pay a $3.1 billion law suit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Storm water laws have been placed, and Wal-Mart is now liable for the storm water pollution. All the Wal-Mart companies (wal mart superstore, sam's club, and wal-mart markets). The government is making sure superstores and big companies follow that storm run-off implementations to the 't'.

New Story #1
Toxic oil spill likely to affect thousands
-Up to fifteen species of whale and dolphin, over thirty species of seabird and five species of turtle are the potential victims of the Montara Field oil spill
-It continues to leak an estimated 400 barrels of oil each day.

New Story #2
-Ship Channel Reopens After Oil Spill
-About 10,500 gallons of oil spilled when a 458-foot tank vessel Chemical Supplier struck a barge close to Brady's Island near the 610 bridge as it attempted to turn around.
-"We actually had one dog, which is a yard dog with one of the local facilities; it was oiled and it was rehabilitated. It was actually cleaned. There was one snapping turtle that was found that was also rehabilitated," said Richard Arnhart of the Texas Land Office.

Blog #25 The Great Gatsby

The last line in The Great Gatsby, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” is significant because it represents the ongoing concept of how Jay Gatsby struggles to live in the past and make his dream of being with Daisy, like they were back then, come true. Most of the book, The Great Gatsby was focused mainly on Gatsby's desire and love for Daisy Buchanan. To Gatsby, Daisy is the love that he lost, and can’t get back, when he went to war but now she is married. Throughout the book everything that Gatsby does is to try and capture the attention of Daisy in hopes that he could get her back. “He revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.” This quote proves that his house, everything he buys, and the parties he holds are ways that Gatsby uses to impress Daisy, which doesn't seem logical being she is rich too and she can just do the same things and get what ever she wants without Gatsby.

I think that "so we beat on", can be represented like how someone just moves on in life and look towards the future. The boats would represent Gatsby in that he keeps looking back in the past and doesn't look in the present or towards the future but just the past and the time he had with Daisy. The current, mentioned in the last line of the book, represents how a current has an endless flow and only goes in one direction, Gatsby is also going in one direction, the past, he doesn't try to go a different direction, the present and the future, but just keeps going in the same direction he wants to, the past. "borne back ceaselessly into the past" this represents how Gatsby is focused on keeping everything the same as they were in the past and ceaselessly could represent how he wished that time would just stay in that period of time in the past when Daisy was his so she could always be his and he never would have lost her. Ceaselessly we try to move forwards in our minds but it is the exact opposite for Gatsby he wants to move forward but in the past meaning that he wants to move forward with Daisy and have everything be the way it was in the past when it was just the two of them.

The last line is not only referring to Jay Gatsby but society as a whole because it states "So we beat on, boats against the current" where we represents more than one person. So if it were referring to society as a whole the boat would symbolize all of the character and each of their journey’s throughout the book, the wave would represent the problems and there materialist mind that the characters faced throughout the book. But seeing how Gatsby instead of just living in the moment and getting on with his life he tries to live as if he was still in the past in that one time where he was with his love. He wanted to stay in the past so that he could keep working on getting back the love of his life and so that they could be together again and he wanted it to be where he could marry her like he wanted to before he left for war. So therefore the last line in the book is mainly referring to Jay Gatsby and how he is stuck in the past and his life with Daisy.

Jay Gatsby was actually a fictional ideal character created by James Gatz. Gatsby had changed his name and started portraying the role of the person he wanted to be except for the fact that he doesn't stop acting he just continues to play the role he made up when he was younger for the rest of his life. Even though he is acting like someone who clearly isn't really him yet he still continues to do it because he tries to maintain the past idea or image of himself.

Blog #23: Environmental Current Events

-oil slick caused by an accident on a rig in the Timor Sea is threatening wildlife in Australian waters.
-An emergency rig has arrived from Singapore to repair the damage and aircraft and boats have been dousing the slick with dispersants
-what they are doing to help the animals that are covered in oil

Blog #21: Gatsby! Ch 1-4

In the beginning chapters of "The Great Gatsby" we meet our narrator Nick Carraway and he tells the reader that he is a man who doesn't judge others . As we seem him he seems like a good guy because he doesn't drink, do or like anything bad. While with Tom & Myrtle at their party and at Gatsby's party is where he seems like he is detached from his surrounding. The reason why I said Tom & Myrtle's party was because they excessively drank and smoked, Nick even stated that he wanted to leave many times but was always somehow brought back in and never left. When he was at Gatsby's place they way he told the reader felt like he was a loner or felt out-of place because he didn't really fit in or talk to anyone until he found Jordan Baker.

But Gatsby seems to be having the same problem but in a different way. Instead of being one of the people attending a party they weren't invited to, he is the one that is throwing them. But, Gatsby never participates in anything at his parties, instead he watches everyone else enjoy themselves. Most of his guests don't even know him or know where he is during his party, most of them don't even care. Gatsby shares his past on the way to the lunch in with Nick, he describes a past that doesn't connect with what is going on in his life now. He doesn't seem like the person who would throw the ridiculous parties for no reason.

Blog #20: Beginning The Great Gatsby

1. The narrator is Nick Carraway,and his perspective, biases, character traits us that he is not judgemental and doesn't critisize other people because they did not have the same things that he had, in other words he's telling the reader that you can trust me.

2.I think that Ditgerald chose Nick to be the narrator because he is not biased to one side, and the way we read it as if we were Nick flows and if it was through some other person it could be confusing and we are getting a clear and specific view from Nick's point of view.

Blog #19: Critique a professional example

1. the most successful element of this work sample is when the narrator is talking the video matches what he is saying.

2. The message of the work is how dolphins are being slaughtered in Japan, and the Japanese people not even caring or paying attention to what is going on. I know this because the government isn't even doing anything to stop this and in the video the narrator talks about how the school kids just walk on by as the dolphins are getting slaughtered.

3. The audience could be anyone who cares about dolphins ranging from teens (like actress Hayden Panettiere who tried to help the dolphins) to old people (like director of "The Cove" Louie Psihoyos, the film is about the dolphin slaughterings in Japan). I know this because many people love dolphins and who would want to see them get hurt and people young and old are trying everything they can to save the dolphins.

4. They show really sad and grafic images of the dolphins being taken away to get slaughtered while the narrator says how the mother and baby dolphins cry out to each other while being carried away, it just makes it sad.

5. they used alot of images and information to capture the audience's attention

6. I chose this piece of work because it delievers a good message and gets people interested in the topic and makes people want to learn how they can help (which was what I did 5 years ago, and now i am a member of the Save the Whales Again! a campaign of The Whaleman Foundation.)

Blog #18: Newspapers & MSB

I learned how to make my work more professional and what things can be used to make it look more professional. I also learned how to not do all the work at the last minute because you should always be time consuming and make sure that you get your work in on time. I also am going to take how to make the pictures and things that are used for this project and make it original.

Blog #17: MSB people, groups & orgs!

Organizations:
1. San Diego Coast Keepers- I picked San Diego Coast Keepers because they plan to protect the region’s bays, beaches, watersheds and ocean for the people and wildlife that depend on them. We balance community outreach, education, and advocacy to promote stewardship of clean water and a healthy coastal ecosystem.
2. Surf Riders- I picked them because their initiative is to protect and restore coastal water quality from the ridges, through our watersheds and out to the near shore ocean where we surf, swim and recreate.
3. La Jolla Friends of the Seals- I picked them because they plan to preserve the La Jolla Harbor Seal Colony for ecological, educational, scientific, historic and scenic opportunities


People:
Donna Frye she could help to let the people of San Diego understand what and how we are affecting the waters.

President Barack Obama he could let the entire country know about the waters and have them find ways to help out the cause.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger he could have the entire state of California help out and raise awareness for the cause so more people can understand about it.

Blog #16: MSB comments, ideas, plans, critiques and more!

Vaughn's blog, I like her ideas because they revolve around the effect of pollution is on the wildlife, because it makes you think how your animals or animals in the sea/on land are affected by the things in the water. Im going to think more on how the animals are affected or affected by and i'll focus on which animals are greatly affected.


Audrey's blog, I liked how interesting her questions are, because I never really took note that there were organisms are helpful. We have mostly been focusing on the bad parts like bacteria organisms in the water. I am going to think more on how we can pay attention to the organisms in the waters that also help us.

Janae's blog, I like how she is going to use her lyrics to speak to the fans and how it would be letting them know the importance and how she is going to put a meaning behind her lyrics unlike other artists. I am going to think more about how to get people interested in helping to get and keep our waters clean.

Blog #15- possible MSB products

1. A documentary video that addresses the question "Are or can marine animals get diseases/illnesses from people polluying the waters waters"?
2.
3.- to go undercover and see how some industries hurt the animals.
-to film animals who are deeply affected by the things in the water.
- how if we eat those animals we can get sick or ill too.


1. A documentary video that addresses the question "What can San Diegans do to help lessen the amount of pollution in our waters?"
2.
3. -help to spred the word about pollution in our waters
- how we can help
-how we can get sick from the pollution in the water.

Blog #14

1.Are or can marine animals get diseases/illnesses from California waters?
2. how is it that we hear about humans getting diseases from the pollution and not the animals?
does the diseases/illnesses get transferred into the marine amimals bodies and when we eat them gets it transferred to our bodies?
don't marine animals or animals in general have the same immune system as humans so how is it different?
3.- "World Oceans Day Statement on Plastic Pollution"
"The Cove"- "high levels of mercury in dolphin meat and seafood, the cruelty in capturing dolphins for entertainment, and the depletion of our oceans fisheries by worldwide seafood consumption."
Water Pollution - "The main problem caused by water pollution is that it kills life that inhabits water-based ecosystems. Dead fish, birds, dolphins, and many other animals often wind up on beaches, killed by pollutants in their habitat"
4. the way we handle our trash and plastic is consumed by the animals in the oceans which in turn hurt not only them but us.

While the handling of E. coli problems at the Lake of the Ozarks has generated statewide attention, other lakes also have been affected by similar problems as contaminated water from sewage spills and runoff carrying animal waste flows into them.

The basic facts is that due to rain the runoff has drastically affected the lakes in Missouri.

The information missing from the story is what and how the state plans on doing so that human and animal health isn't affected by the contaminated waters.

Do more research and find out how contaminated the waters are and raise awarness to the other citizens in the state so that they understand what is going on in their lakes and let them know how they are affected and how they can help to reduce the problem.

Optional Assignment

Chicano Park
who: Mexican Americans
what: there was a controversy between the Mexican Americans and the city over the park.
where: Barrio Logan; community park
when: 1967-1970
why: the Mexican Americans believed they had been deceived by city and state officials regarding the development of their park.

The restoration project of Chicano Park murals, we should know about this because most of the beautiful murals that were painted there represented something good and important and they got destroyed.

"..Individual artists continued to repair damaged murals, with most of the costs from their own pockets." -The Restoration Project of Chicano Park Murals
link: http://www.chicanoparksandiego.com/history/page3.html

Blog #11: Media Saves the Beach questions

1. Are or can marine animals get diseases/illnesses from California waters?
-if people can get sick from the bacteria in the waters can the animals too, since they have immune systems like ours.
2. What can San Diegans do to help lessen the amount of pollution in our waters?
-so we can get people aware so they can help out to get and keep the California waters clean.
3. Is there a chemical solution that would help lessen the pollution in our waters?
-it would be an alternative way of trying to get the bacterial things out of the oceans but also out of the air and our homes.

Civil War Prompt #1

The pain will never end

One of the many concepts of “Dying for Dixie” circulates around the death of Michael David Westerman, a 19-year-old young man who was shot and killed around the boarder of Kentucky and Tennessee. Many people believe Westerman’s death was based on the Rebel Confederate flag flying from the bed of his pickup truck, and the fact that it stood for slavery and the fact that it was during Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday week. It seems as thought the little town of Guthrie, (where most of this controversy was) wasn’t big enough for both blacks and whites. The reason why the war is still going on in some parts of the south is because of racism between blacks and whites, and racist groups like the KKK, the White League, and the Red Shirts, with the same belief that there is one superior race.


After Westerman’s death more people started flying the Confederate flags, and some even started wearing racial shirts in “honor” of Westerman. The town even started having a Miss. Confederacy pageant where the contestants were asked questions like “What will you do while holding the title to promote and defend Southern heritage?” A man in a confederate uniform then escorted the winner to the Washington Memorial (pg 101). The local high school where Michael Westerman and the four black boys accused of killing him attended wasn’t always racist. In fact there were many black athletes and cheerleaders that had the Rebel team uniform (which had represented the confederate side of the civil war) they had also purchased class rings that had “rebel” on it, they even bought the “Rebel” yearbook, a black girl was even won (amongst all black and white girls) homecoming queen. But after Westerman’s death the racial tensions between blacks and whites hit an all time high in Southern States. The black cheerleaders stopped holding the school flag, there was even a school board meeting that was held to decide on whether or not the school mascot and flag were to be changed.

Off the topic of “Dying for Dixie” and the story and controversy in this little town, it was not the only reason why the war still seemed to go on in the Southern states. The main reason was because of paramilitary groups, groups that have the same ideas that have expanded and made different groups with different names but with the same purpose. Such group formed after the time of the civil war were the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), the White League, and the Red Shirts. The KKK was formed almost right after the war by former confederate soliders who sought to kill black people. Some people then broke off in other states to form a smaller group called the White League that would later overthrow the Lousiana Legislature, but instead of just targeting blacks the group also targeted blacks that were against slavery and those who stood up for blacks. Then an other people broke off into even smaller groups known as the Red Shirts that were in various states, but all groups (except for the main group, the KKK) had worked for the democratic party. So, obviously the war and tension between blacks and whites in different parts of the U.S. hasn't finished and probably will still go on for ever, even though the civil war and the war for slavery has been over for years, until ravists give up their beliefs and treat everyone equally it won't end. The entire reason why the war is still going on in the U.S is because of racism, and if people does stop looking on what a person's skin color is nothing would be solved and war between races would continue on forever.

Reconstruction refers to the policies when the nation was focused on winning the Civil War, abolishing slavery, defeating the Confederacy, and reconstructing the United States. Reconstruction addressed how secessionist states would regain self-government and be reseated in Congress, the civil status of the former leaders of the Confederacy, and the Constitutional and legal status of freedman especially their civil rights and whether they should be given the right to vote.Reconstruction had made some progress in providing Freedmen with equal rights under the law, and they were voting and taking political office. However, there was a rise in white paramilitary organizations, such as the White League and Red Shirts, whose political aim was to drive out the Republicans. They also disrupted organizing and terrorized blacks to bar them from the polls. Reconstuction in the sense of small groups like the KKK, White League, and Red shirts is relevant to today being the war in Afghansitan and Iraq. If the government would have tried hard enough to control those groups many people wouldn't have lost their lives. But since our government is practically all over the wars over seas the people in the groups over there are most likely to disinegrate into nothing anymore. (the source is THE NEWS!!!)

Media saves the beach in the news

"More than 20 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into California waterways last year, according to the state Department of Water Resources Control Board. That's not counting the partially treated sweage that makes its way into our water from overflows and sewer systerm malfunctions." The issue is how millions of gallons of sewage water gets dumped into California's water's and how the number of dumpage is increasing. One can get more information from is from the website http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/2009/04/03/reporters-notes-sewag-spills-increaing. It ties into biology because we learn about the differnt kinds of bacteria that comes from sewage dumping and for humanities we can write the observations and it ties into Media saves the beach with us testing the water and doing projects on our observations.

An idea that I had for this project was how littering and leaving stuff on the beach, not only harms land creatures but also sea creatures that surround those waters. I feel that if people just looked at what their trash is doing to marine and land animals that they would stop; for example that picture of the turtle with the can holders around its shell is really sad because it shows how that animal was affected by what it left and thrown on the beaches.

The thing that I am most looking forward to is actually seeing the animal life and how they are at our beaches here in San Diego. Another thing that I am looking forward to doing is testing the water to see how polluted or even if our waters are as polluted as everone thinks it is. A project that I might create is a website like the one shown to use today in class, but it focus' on not only the animal outside the waters but inside as well and what it does to us in general too.

American Icons Final Product

Since I was a little girl I have always been fascinated with the military especially since I grew and expanded with it. The first time I really took an interest in the military was when I was 8 years old and I was going to my dad's commisioning ceremony, it was the first time I had ever been on an aircraft carrier. I had never given much thought to what goes on in some of those aircraft carriers and what they actually do in the military. When I first walked out onto that flight deck I was amazed at what I saw, it was a F/A-18 Hornet about to take off and I wanted to learn more about what certain ones do and how they are used during war.



My dad was one of many who inspired me to want to know more and join the military. There are many reasons why my dad inspired me, one being that he loves and enjoys doing what he does. My dad also encourage me to do the very best that I can in school as well as my JROTC class because both would give me an edge over everyone else if I did choose to go into the military. My JROTC teacher also inspired the aviation side of me, because of all the stories that he told us about his days flying and all the experiences he had as an aviator. Those moments of his stories took me back to the first time I looked onto that flight deck and how I was so amazed by all of those jets and how much I really wanted to jump in one and fly away for the thrill of a lifetime.



The reason why I love the military so much is because it expresses bravery, strength, and the love one has for their country; and even though I lack 1 of those qualities I believe that I can achieve what I set out to do and join the line of brave military women. I plan to follow exactly in my dad's footsteps and be the first women in our family, just as he was the first in his family, to join the military.Obe day I hope to be in the Navy working as an aviatore on an aircraft carrier and traveling the world. But before I do that I plan on going to school and taking some aviation classes. I hope that one day I can become a great aviator.

American Icons- Reflection

I discovered that I, when given information on how good writing is supposed to be, can show excellence through my writing and be great at it. One writing tip that I had used while working on my project was that I had went back into my writing and looked at all the words and found the ones that had -ings and went back and changed them to make them sound proper. Another one that I had used was punctuate with power and purpose, I had used that one to make sure that I did not overuse periods and to make sure that if i used certain punctuations that I use them in the correct way. They had effected my writing greatly because you could actually understand it and it wasn't confusing. If I had one more draft I would probably have more people peer edit it so that it could be even more great than it was. When I first walked out into that flight deck I was amazed at what I saw, it was an F/A-18 Hornet about to take off and I wanted to be in one of them flying from place to place. The reason why this sentence stood out to me was because I not only am I giving a past experience you can actually imagine that you are there and looking out on the flight deck.

this is my finished photo!!!! thanks jasmine and deanna for helping me with photoshop...I think that it came out really great..There was a problem with the stripes that are on my uniform but I still think that it looks cool...and yes that is my uniform not my dad's.

critiques

The feedback that I got from my partner was very helpful into detailing how I should go into depth with my past experience and explain certain things that I saw. She also told me that I should start off with a different intro so I don't confuse the reader. It helps the reader paint a picture so the relationship is deeper and they can experience what I experienced. The goals for my artist statement are to express my experiences better so they reader can get the feeling that I was feeling and also to make it understandable.

Since I was a little girl I have always been fascinated with the military especially since I grew and expanded with it. The first time I really took an interest in the military was when I was 8 years old and I was going to my dad's commisioning ceremony, it was the first time I had ever been on an aircraft carrier. I had never given much thought to what they actually do in the military and what actually goes on in some of those aircraft carriers until that day. When I first walked out onto that flight deck I was amazed at what I saw, it was a F/A-18 Hornet about to take off and I wanted to learn more about what certain ones do and how they are used during war.

My dad was one of many who inspired me to want to know more and join the military. There are many reasons why my dad inspired me one being that he loves it and he enjoys doing what he does. My dad also encouraged me to do the very best that I can in school as well as my JROTC class because both gave me an edge over everyone else if I did choose to go into the military. My JROTC teacher also inspired the aviator side of the military for because of all the storied that he told us about his days flying to different country’s and all the experiences he had being an aviator. Those moments of his stories took my back to the first time I looked onto the flight deck and how I was so amazed by all of those jets and how much I really wanted to jump in them and fly away. Both of my uncles also represent inspiring icons to me for their bravery to not only join the military at a young age but also because they have both been to war and fought many times.


The reason why I love the military so much is because it expresses bravery, strength, and love for one's country; even though I lack 1 of those qualities I believe that I can achieve what I set out to do and join the line of military women.I plan to follow in my dad’s footsteps and be the first woman in our family just as he was the first in his family to join the military. One day I hope to be in the Navy working as aviator on an aircraft carrier and traveling the world. But before I enlist in the military I plan to go to school and taking a ROTC course in college. I hope that any teacher or adult that has an extent in the military or specifically aviation would help me further with my dream of becoming an aviator and help me to learn more about what it takes to become a great aviator.

Photography techniques

I picked vignetting as one because I feel that the photo that I am going to take would look more sophisticated or professional when I have it especially since I am going to be wearing a uniform.

I picked posed portrait because the way I have my picture in my mind is me posing standing still while saluting an american flag.

Bokeh The reason why I picked Bokeh is because I have the same picture of my facing the American flag but only I am focused and the rest is not.

American Icons- Resources

Paul Crisostomo

Website:
http://www.thelavinagency.com/speaker-paula-crisostomo.html

This website talks about the events that was involved Paula in and how it sparked equality amoungst students in schools.

Video:
http://apps.carleton.edu/news/audio_video/?item_id=243909&av_file_id=241448

This is a link to a video that features a Chicana in college talking about how she relates to Paula's story, then Paula coming and talking about what her and her peers tried to acheive

Movie:
"Walkout"

This is a movie about all the events leading up to the protests and how it affected Paula and her friends and how they were put down and treated by their teacher's and school administators.

My dad and the military:

Website:
http://www.military.com/

This website basically describes things that you do or learn about the military and how to get more information about the types of jobs and things in the military.

Photo:

This photo to me describes the hardships that both police officers and people in the military face, but in a way they are both the same in trying to bring down the bad guys. Also that they both serve to protect this country and that do everthing they can do make us have a safe future.

American Icons

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a Mexican American tejano singer who was loved by all her fans for the love and kindness she showed them, and also for the beautiful music that she made. She felt that it was important to find time in her busy schedule to encourage young adults to stay in school and about the importance of getting a High School diploma and achieving your goals and she stretched the importance of staying away from drugs and alcohol. Since she lived in Texas she gave a free concert to those students who improved their grades drastically and often gave money to school programs. The reason why Selena was important to the world was because she really cared for people and that's why people cared so much for her. The reason why Selena is important to me is because she represents everything that a I think a person should be caring, full of energy, loving and she always had a positive attitude which showed when she was doing what she loved. She lived the dream of singing and having a clothing line but she never forgot where she was fun and inspired the lives of not only Latinos, and non-Latinos but most importantly the teens, through all the work she did with schools. Her death had touched many people around the nation and through her actions she showed everyone what really counts that is to have love and respect for everyone.

Paula Crisostomo was just a regular 17 year old senior in high school except for the fact that she led the largest high school student protest in this country's history. She and her peers fought for the Chicano struggle for equality in schools as well as the fight against racism, because during this time if you were to speak in another language such as Spanish you were called up to the front of the class and beaten with a paddle in front of the entire class. In March of 1968 Paula was one of many leaders that led students, Chicanos as well as non-Chicanos, out of their classes as a protest against the sub-standard quality of their education. About a week after their walk out more than 20,000 students had participated in the East LA walkouts and in sympathy walkouts at other high schools across the city. The actions that Paula and her peers did shaped equal education for all students of different races. Paula represents a leader who does what she believes for her voice to be heard and through the walkouts their voices of equality amongst races were heard. The hardships that Paula and her peers faced were made into a movie called "Walk out" that expressed their struggle for educational equality in the Chicano community and Paula's courage and leadership was documented in numerous books and a PBS documentary " Chicano!: Taking Back the Schools." The thing about Paula that inspired me the most was the fact that she was 17 and still a kid and her actions was a reminder that equal rights in America have often been advanced through the courage of ordinary individuals.

Edgar Vismar Tovar is a LTJG in the United States Navy who has inspired me greatly into believing that I can achieve my full potential if i just believe that I can and do my best to get to that point of achievement. He not only represents my dad but he also represents a strong and committed leader who is very dedicated to his work and also strives to do his best at what he does. He is a great role model in inspiring others to achieve their greatness and encouraging them to use their knowledge and skills to the best of their abilities in anything that they do. The reason why my dad is important to the American culture is because he is in the military and he risks his life for our country so that we may have a better future. My dad has always been important to me and one day when I'm older I hope to follow in his footsteps and become the first woman in our family to be in the military just as my dad was the first in his family to leave the city and follow his dreams and have a successful life. Although my dad did not do so well growing up he has changed his life completely around is now one of the most inspirational people in mine as well as his sailors minds.

Junior Year

The thing I hope to gain from my upcoming junior year is unique experiences with doing hands on activities and projects in and outside the classroom. I also hope to gain working experiences with the internships that we will be doing. My overall goals of this year is to get better grades and actually learn and apply the skills and knowledge that I get through the experiences this year. The thing that I hope to gain is more knowledge to add to that of what I know of US history and just everything there is to learn about the United States and its developed. The thing that I hope to learn is the events that shape American life and culture. The thing that I hope to develop throughout this experience in humanities is to get better skills in researching.