Assignment 23: Katie Chen

Perfect Playlist for Dancing Alone in Your Room

1)Stole the Show- Kygo

2)No Good- Kaleo

3)Parachute- Otto Knows

4)Nemesis- Benjamin Clementine

5)That's Life- Frank Sinatra

6)Cleopatra- The Lumineers

7)Bye Bye Bye- NSYNC

1) it's easy to get lost in the words with this one, and it's just really fun to dance and sing along to dramatically

2) THIS IS SUCH A GOOD SONG, I find myself humming the guitar part at least once a day

3) this song just really gets you pumped up and on your feet, has a huge 80's vibe to it

4) fantastic melody and rhythm, and I could listen Benjamin Clementine's voice all day

5) who doesn't love some classic Frank Sinatra? 

6) the story told by the lyrics is beautiful and it instantly puts me in a better mood when it comes on

7) this song is so full of energy and fun that it's almost impossible to not dance to it

PSA: don't dance too violently or else you might hit your knee on a table and have a very large and very painful bruise

Assignment Twenty-two – Jessica Ewing

There's been a stigma around mental illness for about as long as humans have existed. Records go as far back as ancient Egypt depicting mental illness as some sort of disease that had to be treated and cured through medicinal procedures. That same sort of stigma has carried itself throughout history, and only just over the last 20 years or so have we even started to see this stigma finally wither and die. In many households, mental illness is still an ill-spoken subject. Even though over 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression alone, it's a taboo subject that tends to make many people uncomfortable when it's brought up in conversation.

So when I mention to anyone that I have clinical depression and have had it for my entire life, the general reaction is one of awkward silence, followed by a quick, unnecessary apology about how I "shouldn't have to deal with that."

In reality, it doesn't matter if I should or should not have to deal with my depression, as it's never been something I could control. Depression is primarily caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters (such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine) in your brain, which is something I have absolutely no control over. I have very little control over when my depressive episodes occur, which can prove particularly annoying if I have a test that same day or if I'm in the middle of a homework assignment. One second I'm doing alright; the next, nothing else seems to matter.

I never started receiving treatment for my depression until fall of my sophomore year, when my mother couldn't stop ignoring the clear signs I continued to show. I began therapy mid-September of 2016 and have been going ever since. I'm doing a lot better today than I had been a year and a half ago, and there are still days and weeks where I particularly struggle, but it's nowhere near as bad as it once was.

My experience with depression taught me to always look at the people around me differently. Everyone could be dealing with something that you are unable to see on the surface. It taught me compassion and it taught me mercy, because those were shown to me on days where I wasn't doing well and I ended up snapping at people when I shouldn't have. I can now display those traits more effectively, knowing where compassion and mercy come from and why it's important to value those in my relationships with others.

I also became fascinated with the inner workings of mental illness. Psychology is now a love of mine, and my experiences have opened a doorway into becoming a therapist myself so that I may help other adolescents who are dealing with mental illness. I always strive to help others in any way that I can, and my own experiences with mental illness gives me a further understanding into that world for others.

Assignment Twenty-one – Jessica Ewing

A personal failure of mine was when I decided to drop out of theater. As a young child (and to an extent, to this day) I required validity as a motivator for me to keep trying in a certain subject area. If I received feedback that I wasn't good at something, I'd keep trying, but if the criticism continued, I'd simply stop.

This happened to me at the beginning of middle school with theater in particular. I had participated in nearly every theater-related thing I could growing up, be it at church or at school. I was Alice in our elementary school's production of Alice in Wonderland my fifth grade year, and our middle school didn't have a proper theater program, so I decided I wanted to branch out into community theater.

I had also grown up attending shows at the Lexington Children's Theater. I had friends involved there and I loved the productions they put on. I auditioned for two of their productions early on in middle school: Charlotte's Web and Madeleine. I never even received callbacks for either one. It was even further disheartening when I discovered that the LCT is incredibly elitist with their casting; if you don't have an in with the director, you'll never get cast in one of their shows.

I was so demotivated by it that I decided to quit theater entirely. It wasn't until spring of my sophomore year, almost 4 years later, that I decided I would try theater again. I'd heard about the amount of fun had by the casts in the previous shows that year and in The Jungle Book my freshman year, so I was willing to try. I was going to experiment, just dip my toe back into the water, and participate in the tech crew for Beauty and the Beast. I saw the production come together so well, I knew I wanted to be involved in theater again.

When I auditioned for Witness for the Prosecution the fall of this year, I wasn't sure what I was going to expect. Part of me was terrified that I was going to be shooed away because I didn't know the theater community well enough. But I ended up getting cast, and as a significant character, no less, Inspector Hearne. That production showed me that the world of theater isn't always a competitive, elitist place. It's a lesson I never would've learned had I not gotten back up onto my feet and motivated myself to try again.

Assignment 21- Doug Vaughan

It was just last January I had just gotten home from school and my parents told me to get in the car as we were looking at a potential home to buy. This shook me, I knew my parents wanted to move but I thought it was going to be a few years, after I leave for college. The whole time I was viewing this new house I kept spotting out  and focusing on little things like marked up walls, the wired smell, and the annoyance of so many more stairs. What bothered me most of all was my new room, my first impression when I walked in the room I was overwhelmed by the excess of ugly purple and green paint and the fact that no furniture made the room seem smaller than that of my old house. After we visited that house I was confident with the many faults I saw the house had that my parents would never consider buying it, but to my surprise they bought it. I was then furious with them as this meant I was leaving my home for as long i could remember. My prejudices continued until on morning mom drove me over there one morning, handed me a paint brush and a can of paint, and told me to paint my room. It took about 14 hours to paint but when i finished i had a whole new perspective on the house. My room went from drab green and purple to fab bright blue and white, and i also realized that my room was slightly bigger. A week later we moved in to the new house and as I am writing this blog we have been living here for a week and a half and its not as bad as i thought. Overall this experience has taught me that i should embrace change not run from it.

Assignment 22: Megan Meadors

                I don’t know what circumstances in my life has affected me more than being a triplet. I know that puts me in a unique situation, so I guess I’ll try to explain it as best I can.

                Imagine this. For your entire life you have two other people who are the same age as you, have the same classes, the same teachers, and if you like it or not, you’re connected for life. Sounds pretty fun, I guess. Maybe not to you, but I think it’s pretty cool.

                Even better, I’ve gained several skills that some other people don’t have. First of all, I know how to share. That might seem trivial, but I’ve gotten to high school and people DON’T KNOW HOW TO SHARE. This is infuriating because I’ve always had to share with two other people. From playing with toys to watching TV, I had had to share just about everything in my life and I kind of just expect other people to have done the same. Let me just say that if I get to college and have a roommate who doesn’t know how to share things then we’re gonna have issues.

                On that same note, I’ve shared a room for me entire life. That’s going to help me in college because I’m used to sharing my space with another person so that’s not going to be weird for me when I get to college. So hopefully my roommate will have been the same way or at least be okay with sharing the room because otherwise, things aren’t going to end well.

                I like to think I’m a fairly good person to get along with so hopefully I don’t seem like I’m just going to hate anyone I’m rooming with. I just hope that they have these two skills, because I certainly have them and I hope they do too.

Assignment 21: Megan Meadors

                 During my sophomore year, I auditioned for the school play and didn’t get cast. Now, this in itself would probably seem like a major obstacle to overcome but honestly I’m really happy I didn’t get cast. The challenge lied in what came next. I became the stage manager for the play. Now, most people don’t know what a stage manager for a play would do. And to be honest, I’ve been the stage manager for three shows now, and I have absolutely no idea.

                So, for my first play, And Then There Were None, I didn’t become the stage manager until probably around three weeks before opening night. I didn’t really do much as the stage manager, but I mostly worked with the crew and helped prepare the set, prepared props before every show (as my original job as the props manager required), and during the actual shows I was in charge of the lights. This was extremely different from what I do as the stage manager now, but let me tell you, even though I had no idea what I was actually supposed to be doing, I loved my job.

                By the time the second play, The Canterbury Tales, started I was still just as clueless. All I knew what this show was on a much smaller scale, we were going to travel to middle schools to perform, and I was the only crew member. This was a daunting task to say the least (partially because I was also the lead in the musical which had singing rehearsals at the same time as rehearsals for this show) but I was ready for the challenge. Besides the fact that the cast completely changed parts of the script, making it nearly impossible to help them if they called for a line after they were supposed to be off book, I was actually in charge of leading some rehearsals alone without the directors being there. I basically went by the “fake it until you make it” and hoped that I was helping… I have no idea if I actually did help though.

                Then we get to the third play that I’ve stage managed, which was the winter show this year, The Underpants. I lot more responsibilities with this show from helping with casting, to leading half of the rehearsals completely alone while the director, Shuler, worked with the other cast at the same time. I would also work with one cast every other day so it was interesting to see what had been changed between days I worked with them. I’ll be completely honest that I had even less of an idea what I was doing for this show. I was giving the cast notes, giving them blocking, changing how they delivered their lines, and they actually listened to everything I told them (okay, maybe not everything but you get the idea). The show ended up being really good so I suppose I did well, but this was definitely a challenge.

                So as for how to solve the “how do I stage manage” question, I’ll just say to fake it until you make it. It’s worked so far for me and now I am looking forward to Co-Directing for the fall and winter shows next year. Though that is a really unspecific answer, trust me, it works. That’s all I’ve done so far and I’ve been told that I’ve done a good job, so as they say, don’t fix something if it isn’t broke.

Assignment 20: Megan Meadors

How to do an audition

Step 1: Find a show or a play that you want to audition for

Step 2: Research that show and decide which character(s) you want to audition for

Step 3: Find a monologue that fits the character(s) you are auditioning for. This often has to fit certain requirements such as meeting a character of a close age and background to you so research others plays or shows that fits these requirements

Step 4: If the audition requires it, find and prepare a song that fits the show and the character. Make sure this song is within your vocal range and reflects the themes of the show you are auditioning for.

Step 5: Practice and refine the monologue and song in the weeks leading up to the audition

Step 6: The night before the audition make sure you stay hydrated and get plenty of rest

Step 7: The day of the audition make sure you continue to stay hydrated

Step 8: Show up to the audition at least twenty minutes early and fill out any necessary paperwork

Step 9: Go into your audition, answer any questions, and perform your prepared monologue and/or song

Assignment 22- Doug Vaughan

All my life I've found joy in making people happy. I know it sound cheesy but it makes me feel so good when i see some one smile because of me. I don't remember how long I've been like that but my oldest memory of me doing something to make another happy was when I was about nine. It was a nice summer afternoon there was a trail of ants going down my down my driveway. Me and my friend were smashing the ants as they returned home to their colony, for are amusement. Unfortunately an incident occurred resulting in my friend smashing my hand. At first I was furious with him and wouldn't talk to him at all. After some advice and self reflection I decided to go talk to him. He was devastated about what he did to cheer him up I cracked some jokes and made him cookies. I dont know why but this made me feel good as I did something nice when I really didn't have to do. Before this experience I remembered I didnt really value others as much as I should have, but after that I changed and always tried (most of the time) to make people happy. This still applies to this day as I prepare to take on the responsibility and opportunities of adulthood

Assignment 22- Andrew Rogers

I have grown up all my life as a Christian in the church so that characteristic of me is paralleled in the college I want to attend. Freed-Hardeman University is a Christian-based college in Tennessee. It's a small campus and has a small intimate community where a lot of people know each other. At Henry Clay, I've not been able to make a large number of new friends due to its massive size. Having a much smaller school size would allow me to make more intimate and long-lasting friends. Having a support system around me will help me be accountable for school work, or help me with personal issues if they may arise. Being in a Christian environment for a large portion of time would be great for that part of my character and would help build and create a stronger character for myself.

Assignment 22- Eli Wrinn

The mindset I often take to reflection on my uniqueness, especially when it relates to competition-based areas such as the college application process is that when it comes to the things that really matter to the college, I'm probably not very unique. Colleges have probably seen many students who play basketball, baseball, and an instrument in band and who get good grades and (hopefully) good test scores. Perhaps I'm the only one of the said group who is aware of this, however, that probably isn't true either. I believe uniqueness only matters to the person choosing which college they prefer. For example, I am a die hard Baltimore Orioles fan, which is partly why I am considering Johns Hopkins. They probably don't care about my favorite MLB team, they either want me based on my resume or transcript (or, possibly, baseball ability) or not. Other things about me that affect my college preference include my parents' background. They are both from the northeast of America, and my goal is to attend a northern school in a large city. I also desire a college like this because I feel cities are the places where knowledgeable and enlightened people most commonly appear. I also feel living in a city would present a challenge, one I am willing to accept. Being from an Episcopalian family, I believe religion holds an important role in society, however, I do not believe this is in education. Actually, I believe in modern, rational society, the idea of religious schools is counter intuitive This is very ironic given that my dad is the director of the University Press of Notre Dame.. I do understand that religious bodies provide many educational opportunities and they simply want to spread their influence through them. Despite this, a religious school would have to make a very impressive pitch to me for me to consider attending. I also wouldn't mind a large school because, as I'm sure you can see, I embrace the huge competition of modern society and I believe to attend a small school is to deny and shield one's self from the competition. I have not made very much progress in my college choices yet, so these are the main filters I have at this point.

Assignment 21- Eli Wrinn

My favorite story of a challenge I have overcome is my failure in middle school basketball leading to success in high school. I did not play for the Morton Basketball Team even after trying out in 7th and 8th Grade. This really served as a wake up call to me that I would need to work incredibly hard if I wanted my career to continue. This is when I discovered the Bernard Johnson Athletic Center on the Campus of UK. This was the gym my mom attended as a member of the staff. I wasn't allowed in until I was 14 years old, and when I did, I ran right to the basketball gym and tried to get in a game. This is the gym where all basketball crazed UK students play, many of them former high school players themselves. And sometimes, if you are lucky, you can go there when a UK Basketball player is playing. For example, I have played in a game with Tyler Ulis, Willie-Cauley Stein, and Trey Lyles: all current NBA players. At first, there were some growing pains trying to get my game to the level of the other college students. I was a rather large 8th grader, so some people would play with me with out noticing anything amiss. But, many other players would approach me saying, "Dude, do you go here?" My response to them usually depended on how I was playing. If I had played well, I would respond with the truth, "8th grade." Which would usually draw a "woah" from them and sometimes I would receive some subtle recruiting from the students such as, "well UK is a great place to go." They clearly weren't aware that I am nowhere near that level. When I hadn't played particularly well, I would respond with, "not yet" or "nah I'm still in high school." This was to avoid judgment from the other players who would then know that an 8th Grader who wasn't very good was trying to play with them. Anyway, I went there 3 or 4 times a week during 8th Grade, which was the main way I developed my game I have today. I proceeded to attend every single workout for Henry Clay Basketball the following summer and make the freshman team. I am now a varsity player and I owe it all to my time in the Johnson Center.

Assignment 20- Eli Wrinn

I always consider myself to be a person with many talents, however they are talents that aren't necessarily unique so this blog is rather challenging. For example, I could probably give a good tutorial on how to shoot a basketball or throw a baseball however there are a few Academy baseball players and Harris Hawkins plays basketball as well. (Although I'm a better shooter than him any day) I guess a relatively unique talent I have is I'm a very strong ping pong player. I have a table in my house right next to my TV, the room in which I by far spend the most time. (While I'm awake) The steps to developing a strong game probably starts with the grip of the paddle. I would recommend holding the paddle as if you are giving a peace sign (or bunny ears) so as to create maximum control and minimize interference on the backhand. The shot I would work on is the backhand as well. With this as your primary shot, it is impossible to get jammed and reacting to a shot on the forehand side is easier than vice versa. It isn't absolutely necessary to have a skill for crushing winning groundstrokes and still compete at a relatively high level, this skill will mainly develop over time. In fact, when the opponent leaves room for a slam, I often hit it much less hard than expected, which almost always effectively wins the point, as it is a great change of pace. The most effective approach to winning points is hitting deep backhands to alternating sides, these points will usually end in a weak shot or an error from your opponent. While these aren't necessarily pretty, they are the quickest way for you to be "that guy who is really good at ping pong."

Assignment 20- Doug Vaughan

How to make pizza.

One of my most favorite things to make and eat is pizza. I usually eat delivery or frozen pizza but occasionally I like to make home made pizza.

First, you make the dough. Get bowl and pour 3/4 cup of warm water. Then add 2 table spoons of sugar, stir, and a dried yeast but don't stir and let it get foamy. After 10 min it should be foamy and add a teaspoon of salt, one table spoon of extra virgin olive oil, and plop on down 2 cups of flower. Mix it with the mixer or a spoon until its all mixed but not to much (have some flower still not mixed in the dough blob).Spray non-stick spray to the dough and but it back in the bowl with a towel over it. Now set the bowl aside in a warm place for it to kneed for about an hour, pass the time by making the sauce.

Now the sauce is a bit tricky because too much sauce is unhealthy and takes away from the flavor of the cheese and the crust. I like to start making my sauce with 6 oz. of tomato paste in a small pot above a medium heat stove top. Then add 3/4 cup of water, along with one teaspoon of basel, one teaspoon of onion powder, half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of regano, and half a teaspoon of garlic powder. Then whisk it until it looks like pizza sauce sprinkling in shredded parmasian every once in a while.

Now you competed the sauce and the dough is still kneading preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Then get out a 16 inch pizza pan and lightly spread over the pan about a table spoon of cornmeal. Then gently throw down the dough (if its done kneading) and start making it look like pizza by flattening and spreading it like fragile play dough. Leave a small thick lip on the edge for the crust. Then start spreading the sauce with the back of the spoon from the center to almost the edge leaving room for the crust. Then sprinkle shredded cheese across the sause followed by any topping you want. Then its ready to bake. I usually bake it till its nice gold-crispy color which is about 7 minuets. Let it cool and congratulations, you just created some Vaughan family pizza a recipe created by me 5 years ago. Enjoy

Assignment 22- Sam Underwood

How am I unique? 

I'll be honest, on paper I'm pretty boring. 

I come from a middle class, christian family. I do well in school. 

But I feel like there is something to be said for what I am passionate about. 

I love theater. I live for the thrill of standing on stage and putting all of myself into performing. One would think that this would mean I've always been extroverted and loving of the spotlight. Wrong. I was terribly shy as a kid. You couldn't pay me to get my nose out of a book. Whenever I was asked to present in front of the class as a kid, I would panic. Hands shaking, voice cracking, the whole bit. I saw this weakness in public speaking as a challenge. I started volunteering to present and pushing myself to speak more and more in front of others. From doing so, I fostered a passion. Now, as a Junior in high school, I'm on my school's speech and debate team and cast in my eighth production in our theater production. I feel that what make's me unique is my ability to grow, to push myself past weakness. 

Assignment 21- Sam Underwood

A problem I'd like to solve? Sexual Harassment.
Really, Rape Culture as a whole.
I'm tired of hearing inappropriate comments made about myself and the women around me.
I'm a seventeen year old girl. Old enough to drive, have my own job, and stay out late exploring the world. I've grown accustomed to catcalling as I walk down the street or feeling concerned for my safety at gas stations. Walking to my car I hold my keys between my knuckles in fear of what may happen and what has happened to so many other women. It disgusts me. It disgusts me that I live in a world that we teach young girls how to avoid rape rather than teach young boys not to rape. I wish for a world where my friends and I could say that we weren't afraid. I wish for a world where I can walk to my car in peace.

Assignment 20- Andrew Rogers

How to Lead Songs Acapella

I've been Song leading for about 5-6 years now in the main worship service at my congregation. Song leading acapella is one of those actions that is much easier said than done, relatively speaking. It depends mostly on three things some of which overarch with many other types of musical expression. Tempo, pitch, and knowledge of the song. First, is the most important part, your own knowledge of the song. If you can't sing the song yourself there is no way that you can lead other people in the same song. Second, once you have your song picked out, pitching the song is the next step.  Pitching a song is crucial to good song leading. It is recommended to pitch the song on key but you can vary the starting note by a half-step to a full step, for instance lowering a G to an F sharp or F. Tempo is third. You are in a constant battle with the rest of the congregation, fighting them from slowing down.  You have to constantly adjust to make sure time stays steady. These three things are the basis of song leading properly, however, it takes time and practice to become more skilled in this task.

Assignment 20- Sam Underwood

How to have a good day
A Guide by Sam Underwood

Step 1: Wake up early. I enjoy starting the day relatively early so that I can feel accomplished.
Step 2: Have a healthy breakfast. On the weekends I usually eat some eggs and fruit to fuel my busy day.
Step 3: Read. I love to read. It's both relaxing and entertaining and gets my mind away from the stress of school and work.
Step 4: Get some homework done. As annoying as it might be, being productive can be calming
Step 5: Clean your room. I love working and relaxing in a clean and organized environment.
Step 6: Make plans with friends....need I say more?
Step 7: Get home and curl up watching Netflix. Let yourself bingewatch, you deserve it.
Step 8: Online shop a little. In moderation, Online shopping can be a fun activity.
Step 9: Go to bed early. Getting a full night's rest and feeling ready for the next day is the best feeling.

Assignment 22: Elizabeth Piper

Ever since I started middle school there has never been any like me in my classes. I started the accelerated cluster and there are mostly white people and Asians. There has only ever been about one African American person in my classes. Even then, I still don't fit in. Since I am mixed, I don't fit into a box. All white people consider me to be black and all black people think I'm white. I don't fit in anywhere.
I think this sense of not belonging has made me shy and has made me keep to myself. I hope to go to college where it doesn't matter if I "act too white" or I'm too dark to be smart. I think this is why I want to go to the University of Pennsylvania. Everyone who goes there has to be super smart and everyone knows it. It doesn't matter what your skin tone is.

Assignment 21: Elizabeth Piper

When I was around  ten years old, my mom decided to remarry. I was excited at first before I fully realized what that would mean.
It meant I was no longer the center of attention for my mom. It meant I had to share my house and I had to learn to accept an entirely new person into my home. At first, it was terrible. All I could see were the problems. Every morning I woke up to the horrid smell of coffee, I had to share a bathroom, my food was getting eaten.
One day when I had went into the kitchen and all of my chips were gone I had the realization that he was here to stay and there was nothing I could do about it. It was so hard for me to be friendly and accept him into my life. I learned that I just had to live with it. Nothing was going to change so the best I could do was be cordial and only look at the bright side.
I am still living with this challenge, but it has gotten much better. From this I have learned to just look on the positive side of things and take everything with a grain of salt. Nothing good will come of being negative all of the time.

Assignment 20: Elizabeth Piper

How to scramble an egg

1. The first step in scrambling an egg is to gather your ingredients. You will need an egg, salt and cooking spray.

2. Spray a frying pan with the cooking spray

3. Place the pan onto the stove and turn it on to medium heat

4. Crack your egg into a bowl and sprinkle a pinch of salt

5.With a fork, mix the egg and the salt until the yolk is fully incorporated into the white part of the egg

6. Pour the mixture into your heated pan and continue to cook till your eggs are solid and no longer runny, stirring with a spatula occasionally.

7. Serve, and enjoy!

Assignment 22- Luke Taylor

I'm weird. I know that without a doubt. Where ever I've went to school I have stood out. Finding people like me at school has always been difficult because in most of my classes I'm the only African American. In elementary school I went to LCA where there was a grand total of two African Americans in the entire school. Then in middle school, I was separated from most of the school because I was in the accelerated cluster program, and once again there was only two of us. I used to feel insecure about the fact that there are no people like me in my classes, but now I've accepted it and embraced it. I prefer it now to have people with different cultural backgrounds around me because I get to experience different types of cultures on the daily. It's easier now for me to open myself up to and converse with people who are nothing like me.

Assignment 21- Luke Taylor

Time is one of the most annoying things in life, and something that increases its annoyance is the fact that you only have a certain amount of it. I am a person that can get caught up in something and lose track of time and through off the rest of my day. I get to caught up in my sleep and miss the bus causing me to miss school. Me missing school leads to me missing a Physics test which forces me to stay after school to take a test causing me to lose more time. Weeks flash by in an instant, and sometimes it feels like I haven't accomplished anything of importance. There are several solutions to this problem but the best comes to mind is to hire some one as my person clock. The clock will follow me around all day and keep on track with a specific schedule ensuring that I do everything that I need to in the day. The clock will standby and wake me up when I sleep preventing me from missing the school ever again. A personal clock would be paid handsomely because he would make me an excellent student, causing me to do all of my homework at home and thwarting any chance of procrastination. The personal clock would be the greatest advancement to human society in all of history.

Assignment 20 - Luke Taylor

A lot of people say they can't draw, and being able to draw well is a God given talent that only a .0001% of the population is blessed with; I disagree. Drawing can be taught and there are some basic steps you can follow to get to the point to where you can draw well enough to where people complement your artwork.

1. Practice everyday drawing basic things 

most people don't get past the first step because get impatient and give up too soon. Drawing every day is imperative to becoming a good artist and I,right now, am experiencing the backlash of going out of practice. Drawing everyday helps build your hand eye coordination, which is handy down the line in your art career

2. Learn how to draw what's in front of you

One of the best ways to enhance you skill is to just sit in front of a plant, or building, or car, and just draw everything you see. It helps you get a sense of how the world works and realism can be applied to what type of art you try to do later on 

3. Developing you style

I think the best way to develop a style that you want to is to look for artist that you admire and study how they do what they do. Just don't glance at a picture, try to recreate it yourself. When you do this you teaching yourself how the artist does his work. Doing several studies of different artists will eventually turn into you developing your own style.

after these three steps you there's still plenty you can do to become a better artist, it just depends on what you want to do. If you are going to be drawing a lot of people, learning human anatomy would be beneficial. But to see any real progress, you must practice every day.

Assignment 21- Andrew Rogers

Earlier this year I participated in a Walk for Water, helping raise money for wells in Haiti. The program, Walk for Water, goes into the country and builds wells in villages who do not have clean water. Before I participated in this event I had general idea of the lack of access to clean water in third world countries, but it really came to my attention after the event. I realized that millions of people around the world had no access to clean water. If I could fix one problem, it would be the water crisis. Water is the lifeblood of human life, it facilitates agriculture and sustains life. If the water crisis was solved, at least in some part, children will have the time to return to school, adults will be able to spend more time providing financially for their families due to the dramaticly reduced illness levels, and families are able to successfully grow food year round.

Assignment 23: Olivia Klee

Top 8 songs for walking to your car after a long day:
1.) Is This Love- Bob Marley
2.) No Good- Kaleo
3.) Alaska- Maggie Rogers
4.) Right As Rain- Adele
5.) When I Come Around- Green Day
6.) Elastic Heart- Sia
7.) Cheers To the Fall- Adra Day
8.) Lion the Beast and the Beat- Grace Potter and the Nocturnals


1.) Because Bob Marley always puts me in a better mood.
2.) This song reminds me that people are still making good music, you just have to find it. Who would have thought some guys from Iceland could come out with this stuff?
3.) Kind of hard to describe--folk/alt voice overlapping a dance beat--you just have to listen for yourself.
4.) Early Adele + fantastic harmonies.
5.) Teenage angst wrapped up in a 90's alternative rock song.
6.) You need good quality earbuds to truly appreciate Sia's genius. There's so much going on in this song and the way it all fits together blows my mind.
7.) Catchy, warm voice, thick harmonies. Why is this not on the radio?
8.) My favorite modern day female rock singer.


If you have to walk for more than 8 songs you're probably lost.

Assignment 22: Katie Chen

The circumstances that developed my character aren't really that unusual for a child of immigrants. However, it might be categorized as "unusual" for anyone else at our predominately white school.

So my childhood was probably pretty different than most people's. 

I never learned how to properly eat with a fork and knife until I was 14 because I primarily used chopsticks at home. 

Chinese New Year was a better holiday than Christmas for me because of the fireworks and red packets (with cash inside them). 

I started going to preschool at age 2 so I could learn English as I was primarily speaking Chinese at home and my parents didn't know how to teach me English.

My favorite childhood cartoons were a mix of what was on Disney Channel and whatever my mom had on VHS tapes.

My hard work in school to get better grades was often dismissed. People said it didn't matter that I worked hard, I "was Asian, it should come naturally to me."

Putting my "unusual" childhood aside, I am grateful and extremely proud to be a daughter of immigrants. I've been able to travel to China multiple times, each time becoming more and more proud of my heritage. My parents started with the clothes on their back and some suitcases in the trunk of an old car. They had to work for everything, they couldn't take anything for granted, and they transferred those values to me. 

Assignment 21: Katie Chen

When I first started working at Cold Stone, I was immediately overwhelmed. With numerous tasks and skills needed for the job, I instantly felt under-qualified. However, it being my first ever job, I felt the need to be perfect. For the first few weeks, I did everything as perfectly as I could. I made sure all my ice cream sizes were consistent, I always jumped at the opportunity to clean something, and I did everything exactly by the employee handbook. Not to brag, but I was pretty close to perfection.
Well, except for milkshakes.
I could never make a milkshake that came out right. They either came up too short, too thick, or too runny. Everything that could've gone wrong with a milkshake went wrong for me. Once, after remaking a chocolate milkshake four times, I handed it to the customer and they-after watching me fail so many times- reluctantly took it, a grimace on their face. I continued to struggle with making milkshakes. I didn't know where I went wrong. Every single time, I followed the exact recipe posted on the wall: 3 ounces of milk, 5 scoops of ice cream, blender mode 1. After a month of not being able to successfully make a milkshake, I considered quitting my job.
While it might seem dramatic to quit a job over something as meaningless as a milkshake, but I was obsessed with being a perfectionist at Cold Stone. Gradually, as months passed, I learned that by adding slightly more milk led to the milkshakes being the perfect amount. However cliche, practice does make perfect.

Assignment 22: Anne Nombe

I've seen a lot of things. I've been a lot of places. I've felt a lot of emotions.

My circumstances that developed my character would probably be less unusual if it were stereotypical for a person of my background. To give you a key example of this, I have about twenty aunts and uncles and around fifty cousins. And I haven't met ninety percent of them, I'm telling you. That's because I live in America, and the majority of them in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

But that's not so unusual for a child of immigrants. I know of a lot of people who have the exact same story. The unusual thing is despite all the cultural influences around me, for a large part of my life, I rejected them. For me, growing up in America, I wanted nothing more than for people to think that that was where my heritage lied. I didn't like how Americans couldn't pronounce my last name and my relatives talked to me in loud Swahili over the phone. Why couldn't they be normal and speak English, I thought?

Then my grandpa died. I only met him once, when I was no more than two years old. I didn't remember him at all.

My relatives, instead of shouting with glee in Swahili, were now sobbing in Swahili. And I couldn't understand half of the things they were saying.

That was when I realized that my neglect for my culture and my rejection of my own heritage has caused me to be so much more disconnected from my twenty aunts and my fifty cousins that I had thought possible. That was why I started trying harder. I tried to understand, to empathize. That day, I learned the importance of diversity.

It's only a shame that it was too late for me to thank my babu (grandpa) in person.

Assignment 21: Anne Nombe

There's a lot of problems I'd like to solve. To give you an idea of how many, here's a list:

• Poverty world wide
• Power corruption in my parents' home country and across the entire continent of Africa
• The US justice system
• The Venezuelan economic crisis
• School shootings
• Should the death penalty be legal?
• Double standards when it comes to harassment
• How to stop terror groups like ISIS
• Treatment of criminals

As you can see, a lot of the problems I want to solve are beyond myself. Because I spend so much time reading the news, I also spend a lot of time thinking about how to address world-wide crises. Our world is not a perfect place, and it probably never will be, but that doesn't stop me from wondering how we can makes steps towards improvement. Sometimes, I wonder if the reason I can't overlook these problems means that my career "calling" (if you believe that semantic) is somewhere in the realm of policy. After all, if I became a politician or a lawyer I could begin making steps to combat a lot of the problems I've listed. In the end, though, I wonder how much help I'd be.

Assignment 22: Maggie Anderson

A while back I read an article about how well people know themselves and each other. The conclusion: your coworkers know you best. You are obviously biased, as people either think they can do no wrong or constantly second guess themselves. Your significant other and your friends are in a similar boat. They chose you, and so they want to look more favorably on you, as that proves they made the right choice. But your coworkers didn't choose you and while life's better if they like you, they don't have to. It even benefits them to know your shortcomings, as they are also hurt if you do badly.
I don't have the advantage of coworkers to ask who I am. My fellow students, though similarly attached to me through no fault of their own, either barely know me or are my friends. The decline in group projects means we aren't on the same team, and they don't benefit from knowing my weaknesses. Even if they do, they probably wouldn't tell me if I asked, in the name of politeness.
The point of this rather long digression (sorry) is that I really don't know myself. My circumstances, only child, good student, etc. aren't done forming me. And what I want both out of college and life, is something I am thinking about more and more as applications loom closer. But I find my wants more inconclusive every time I think about them. There's either nothing that fits what I want or I have too many options. The problem: I don't know what I want. It may take somebody else to figure it out for me.  

Assignment 21: Maggie Anderson

A problem I would like to solve is recycling in schools. You might assume from the recycling bins in almost every classroom that the problem is solved, that recycling thrives. But a brief study of human action belies this notion. So many students drop papers into a trashcan, right next to a recycling bin. They don't care. And if you ask them, I'll bet almost every one would voice support for recycling. One of the strongest examples of this is Physics. While the trash can sits in the middle of a central location, the recycling bin, by virtue of its size and shape, is half under a table a yard away, but still clearly visible. It kills me when I walk past it to put my paper in the recycling, seeing the trashcan filled with papers and watching my classmates throw more papers into it. I don't know whether they don't want to take the extra two steps or haven't bothered to notice, or actively look for, the blue bin. This class is the worst, but this happens to some degree in every class. Sustainability and stopping deforestation are very important to me and I know that schools by definition consume tons (literally) of paper every year. A while ago, people tried to solve this problem by putting recycling bins in schools. I'd like to solve it by putting recycling in schools.

Assignment 20: Maggie Anderson

How to Make Bread

How you make bread depends on the type of bread, any flavorings or filling, and many other variables. But the basics go like this:
1.Measure bread flour into a large bowl.
2. Add salt and yeast. There are two ways to do this but both involve separation. The first is to put the yeast on one side of the bowl and the salt on the other. Other recipes tell you to make a bowl in the center of the flour and put the yeast in that, placing the salt anywhere else.
3. Add warm water, too hot it kills the yeast, too cold the yeast won't activate. It should be body temperature, some people can tell by placing their wrist on the water. If you, like me, lack this talent, use a thermometer.
4. Mix the ingredients into a dough with you fingers, but be careful where you stick your hand it. Nothing feels worse than running your fingertips into a pile of wet salt.
5. When a dough has formed, turn it out onto a tabletop that has been dusted with flour, lots of flour, and knead until it becomes smooth.
6. Let it rise in a warm space, an oven works if it is off and your kitchen is cold, until it has doubled in size, about one hour.
7. Knead again, knocking out air. This is the time to work in any flavorings.
8. Shape the dough however it needs to be, or put it in its baking pan, then let rise for another hour, until doubled in size. NOT in the oven.
9. While it rises, preheat the oven.
10. Put the dough in the oven and bake for however long the recipe says.

Assignment 20: Anne Nombe

I'm not really exceptionally talented in anything, but I like to think I can make and give a good presentation, so I'll go with that. These are just going to be guidelines rather than a how-to.

• Everyone who took Seminar last year know about the whole "use a dark background and bright text" thing, but that doesn't restrict you to simply using black and white. Add in a pop of color to attract your audience's eye. Use browns and greys as backgrounds, and whites for regular text, using a complementary color for words you want to emphasize.
• Don't overload your slides with words. Imagine the mental groan everyone in the room would have if they saw your paragraphs on the screen. Instead, condense your paragraph to a main idea, and talk about the entire paragraph orally.
• If you're going to give a good presentation, you need to put in the work. This means practice is ESSENTIAL. Practice until your voice hurts. That's when you've done enough.
• You need to practice without looking at your laptop screen. Get up and stare elsewhere to make sure you actually have everything memorized.
• Bring no more than one note card. That way, all your important facts are on one card, you don't have to rely so much on your card for your speech, and you won't risk your cards being out of order or falling out of your hands.
• When you get up to speak, the worst thing is nerves. Some people shake. Some people stutter. Public speaking is hard. Something that helps me is to keep in mind that everyone is just as nervous as me when they present, and that they aren't judging me anymore than I judge them. No one will remember you stuttering on one word in your presentation forever. It's okay to make mistakes.

And there you go!

Assignment 22: Olivia Klee

Last week I took the infamous Myers-Briggs personality test. I tend to be skeptical of those online pyschology tests that tell you if you're a sociopath or give you the eye color of your soul mate, but this test blew me away with its accuracy.

It spit out the personality INTJ, commonly known as "The Architect." The letters stand for Introversion, iNtuition, Thinking, and Judging. So I read the profile.

"It’s lonely at the top, and being one of the rarest and most strategically capable personality types, INTJs know this all too well. INTJs form just two percent of the population, and women of this personality type are especially rare, forming just 0.8% of the population..."

And so I'm thinking "Okay, cool so it's pretty rare, let's see if this is legit."

About thirty minutes later, I realized I have read through the entire 10 page profile, learning about every aspect of myself from my work habits to how I will function as a parent, and I feel high. For the first time probably in my entire life, I started to understand why I act, feel, and learn the way I do. I wish whoever sponsors this online test was there to record my facial reactions when I read some of my strengths and weaknesses:

Strength:
"If something piques their interest, INTJs can be astonishingly dedicated to their work, putting in long hours and intense effort to see an idea through. INTJs are incredibly efficient, and if tasks meet the criteria of furthering a goal, they will find a way to consolidate and accomplish those tasks."

Weakness:
"A recurring theme with INTJs is their analytical prowess, but this strength can fall painfully short where logic doesn’t rule – such as with human relationships. When their critical minds and sometimes neurotic level of perfectionism...are applied to other people, all but the steadiest of friends will likely need to make some distance, too often permanently."

Mind=blown. Every part of the desciption fit me to a tee. Now that I've had a week or so to think about all of this new information, I have found this awareness extremely useful. As far as my decision for college, it has helped me realize that I need to pursue something that really interests me and that I will excel in an environment where I can bounce my ideas off of like-minded individuals, such as in an honors program. I think a large research university would be the best fit for me because there I will be able to study as hard as I want and also have lots of opportunities to meet people that share my passions.

Assignment 21: Olivia Klee

The other day I gave what I thought was a fascinating presentation on E Coli in my microbiology class, and to my dismay, when I turned to address any questions from the audience, almost a quarter of the class was sound asleep. There were no questions, of course, and as I scurried back to my seat, I even saw my teacher yawning.

I concluded that I am a horrible presenter.

However, I don't think it was just me causing this all-too-common scene in the American classroom. It seems like every time I ask my friends "Hey, how are you?" their response is "tired." People are falling asleep left and right--in class, on the job, and perhaps most frightening, at the wheel.

Sleep is the obstacle I would like to conquer, a question that when solved, could be the next massive milestone for the human race. Imagine the increase in productivity, job satisfaction, and overall health if everyone knew the secret to reliably getting a good night's sleep.

Assignment 23: The Perfect Playlist

A Blast From the Past

"High Fidelity" (2000) was a film that was remarkably ahead of its time. The film tells the story of Rob Gordon, a washed-up music junkie (played by the fantastic John Cusack) who spends his days creating perfect 5 song playlists. There's his playlist for his worst break up ever, his playlist of the top 5 soul tracks released between 1955 and 1965, and his playlist for his ex-girlfriend's dad's funeral.

Today, thanks to Spotify,  Limewire, iTunes, the "genius" Itunes feature, and Pandora, creating a "perfect" playlist has never been easier.

On the other hand, Rob probably would be appalled by the slapdash way some of us throw together any group of songs above a certain tempo before we head to the gym, or take all those below a certain tempo and thoughtlessly label it “chillaxxx.” As Rob forewarned, “The making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many do’s and don’ts. You’re using someone else’s poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing.”

So for this blog assignment, create a "perfect" playlist for something. It could be your perfect playlist to listen to at the gym (boring!), perfect playlist for a rainy day, perfect playlist for anything. . . be as creative as you can. Once you have chosen a topic, select 5-10 tracks for this playlist, noting the song and artist, and write a few sentences explaining why you chose this song, what this song adds to your playlist, why you put it where you did, and how it works with the other songs you selected to create a cohesive perfect playlist.

Then create that list in Spotify (if possible) and share the link.

In all honesty this is my way to crowd source interesting music so don't be a dolt and make a joke list please.

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, April 8th at 11:59 pm

May 6th is the last day to make up blogs 23-25

entry inspired by former Academy student John Cowgill

Assignment 20: Katie Chen

How to: Work at Cold Stone Creamery

So I've been working at Cold Stone for a little over a year now, and I like to think I'm pretty decent at what I do. Since there's a large variety of tasks involved with working at Cold Stone, it'd be nearly impossible to explain everything here in detail. So, here's a simplified version of the basics of Cold Stone: how to mix ice cream.

1. Decide what flavor you want.
At Cold Stone, you have two choices when it comes to what kind of ice cream you want. You can create your own, picking any flavor and choosing whatever mix in you want, OR you can choose from our Signature Creations menu. This menu provides a list of pre-decided flavors and mix-ins that go together for each of our most popular ice creams.

2. Decide what size you want.
There are three different sizes for ice cream: Like It (5 oz), Love It (8 oz), and Gotta Have It (12 oz). I usually opt for a Like It size, since it's pretty filling just on it's own.

3. Start pulling ice cream.
The signature "Cold Stone way" of getting ice cream isn't by using an ice cream scoop. Instead, we use spades. By using spades, it allows us to roll the ice cream into perfect balls that we can toss and do tricks with. Dig your two spades about 1/4 inch into the ice cream, starting from the end of the pan furthest away from you. Slowly start pulling ice cream towards you, while also using your spades to roll it into a ball as it comes towards to you-similar to rolling a large snowball.

4. Make sure you have the right size.
Before transferring the ball over to the stone for mixing, make sure you have the right amount of ice cream to fit into the cup. A Like It size ball should be a little bit smaller than your fist, a Love It size should just be slightly larger than a tennis ball, and a Gotta Have It size ball should be obscenely large.

5. Put your ice cream on the stone.
Before you start mixing toppings into the ice cream, put your ball onto the stone to make sure it stays cold and not melty. You can do fun tricks with it, such as tossing the ball in the air, throwing the ball from spade to another, etc. Scrape away any excess ice on the stone to make sure your ice cream stays put while you're mixing.

6. Add your mix ins
Flatten your ball so it creates a small divet as a place to put the mix ins. Depending on what toppings you got, there are thousands of combinations that could be mixed in. However, there is a general order of how mix ins should be placed on the ice cream. First, liquids (such as fudge or caramel), then dry toppings (chocolate chips, sprinkles, almonds), and finally chilled toppings (fruits, cookie dough, brownie pieces).

7. Put it in a cup (or waffle cone)
After mixing everything together, re-roll the ice cream into a ball and position it onto one spade. With your free hand, grab the appropriate cup size and place your ice cream inside it. Add whipped cream on top if necessary, and stick a spoon in it.

Voila, there's a general guideline as to how to make ice cream creations at Cold Stone.

Assignment 20: Olivia Klee

How to: Sing Harmony

A lot of my friends have been asking me lately "Can you teach me how to sing harmony?" And so I've tried, and either I'm not a very good teacher, or they are all terrible singers, but let me just tell you it wasn't pretty. It really boils down to practice, but here are some general rules to get you started.

1.) Pick a catchy, 4-chord song that you know really well. Most catchy songs are extremely repetitive, which means that once you won't have to remember so many different notes at first.

2.) Listen to the song once all the way through so you can get the key in your head.

3.) Hum the first note of the chorus.

4.) Hum one note higher.

5.) Hum one note higher. This is called a third. This note will sound nice with the first note of the chorus.

6.) Hum the second note of the chorus.

7.) Hum two notes higher.

8.) Keep working your way through the chorus until you have a feel for the third interval. You may need to use a piano/guitar/Garageband to keep track of the third intervals for every note, but eventually, you will be able to hear a note and immediately recall the third interval.

9.) Once you've worked through the chorus, trying singing the third on the bridge or the verse. It may work, it may not. It just depends on the song. But the more you practice, the more you will be able to tell what works and what doesn't.

10.) Play with other intervals such as the fifth and the third below. Develop your ear to pick out harmonies in any song.

Assignment 22: Your life isn’t boring. (College)

Another personal reflective question, yes I know.  This time I want you to focus on connecting your uniqueness directly applies to your college.  So you’re gonna have to be thinking about your top colleges and why you are the perfect fit for one another. 

Unusual circumstances in your life:  This may be something you feel is essential to a deeper understanding of you. Discuss the unusual circumstances that provide a better context to your life experience. Consider what this experience(s) reflects about your personal qualities, personality, and character. How do these circumstances influence your perspective and aspirations? How might this background make college a particularly good fit for you?

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, March 18th at 11:59 pm

March 25th is the last day to make up blogs 20-22