Lit. Review: Human Pressures and Ecosystems

In the course Frontiers, I pushed myself to think of innovative strategies that could change the future of oceans. Through this last unit, our class discussed the ways ecosystems function, what happens when parts of an ecosystem are disrupted, and climate change and its effects on marine life. I learned about the many factors of climate change as well and the impact it can have on the ocean. Rising sea levels is one issue that I studied with two other peers in my class. Before taking this class, I was very ignorant about rising sea levels and its consequences. The most important lesson that guided me through this course is that all solutions have both positive and negative effects. For example; there are systems that we could create to reduce pollution in the oceans but at what cost, and could it be practical? These are questions that I thought about when writing my paper on the future of oceans through human pressures and ecosystems. I really enjoy the psychological side of science because studying the behaviors in both animals and humans can tell you a lot about the environmental challenges that we are facing today. It felt good to acknowledge that taking care of the environment is taking care of my future and the future of others.


In conclusion, this was a project I was struggling with a lot at first because it was difficult to break down the information that I was consuming. Once I read more articles, I felt a lot better because I actually enjoyed what I was learning about, like how we’re so interconnected with marine life but don’t really talk about that. This Action Project made me think more about my actions and how I respond to different challenges.

""SWEET TOOTH"", THE ZINE.

I created a zine for my independent study called Sweet Tooth. A zine is basically a mini-magazine or booklet that is mostly produced and printed independently and then distributed. Since my junior year, I've been compiling different work that I've made like collages, photography, sketches, etc. and trying to make a book out of them. In the future, I plan on being a working artist so the question that I tried to answer while completing this zine is, how can I produce, print, and promote my own work independently? When I started this independent study, I started off by scanning photos that I took along with the art that was in my sketchbooks. I then organized different pieces into five different chapters. Each chapter represents the feeling of youthfulness in the city and the beautiful experiences that come with it. I named it Sweet Tooth because eating candy reminds me of being a kid. I wanted to connect the sweet moments to the bitter ones that we face as teenagers. My photography in my zine also represents freedom, love, and power.

One of my favorite chapters is "Teens in Quarantine" because I captured all of the photos over Facetime and Google Hangouts but you can barely tell.

The Policing Project

I attended the Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice Training on the West Side of Chicago. Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice is a national network of crime survivors working together to create healing communities and shape public policy. The training was on safety and justice policy and addressed the needs of survivors. We learned about the incident of murder per state and how gun violence in particular shapes either policies for good, or is an example of how lack of policies cause more deaths. Survivors shared stories and engaged in action for change.At the end of the training, I received a certificate of completion. The picture is attached. 

The Policing Project at NYU School of Law has a pilot project in Chicago in the 25th, 15th, 9th, 10th and 11th Districts. The pilot has two initiatives. The Neighborhood Policing Initiative, where Districts are broken into 3-4 sections and special officers called District Coordinating Officers (DCOs) stay in that geographic area and do not leave. They are charged with not focusing on enforcement but instead focusing on problem solving. DCOs also engage with the community and attend community events. The other Initiative, the Community Engagement Initiative focuses on developing a group of community members called “Community Ambassadors” who work with DCOs to help identify and solve problems. On at least 5 occasions I attended the Community Ambassador meetings and assisted by helping with food prep and distribution and cleanup. I took attendance and handed out agendas. On 3 of the occasions I too “B-role” video of the meeting to be used in a short film about the project at a later date.

Health + Wellness- Quigong and Taichi as meditation

When everyone had to go in quarantine, my mental health worsened along with my physical health. I was sitting in bed all day even when I had to wake up for remote learning. It drained me and I'd have no energy throughout the day. I decided that mediation and practicing and self-awareness may help me deal with some of my feelings. For about 5 days, I practiced meditating through movement. I would focus on a positive thought or emotion and focus all of my energy on it. After a while, my problems would drift away and my body would get lighter. I discovered that Taichi and qigong are also good things to practice for meditation and movement. While I mostly learned about a few taichi stances and positions, I enjoyed qigong the most. Qigong is a meditation used for spirituality, mental and physical health, and martial arts training. When I'd feel tired and unmotivated in the beginning of the day, I practiced a 20-minute qigong routine I found on Youtube almost every day. I also began watching other videos to help with my mood and energy like Qidong Mood Lifter and Quigong for Flow for Brain Optimization. 

A video of me practicing Eight Pieces of Silk Brocade Qidong exercise 

Other videos I watched during my quarantine:

-  Qigong to Purge and Tonify: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GtFp6sz5zM

- Daily Qigong Routine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmmNWj9YtAw

- Quigong full 20-minute daily routine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwlvTcWR3Gs

Film+Community Service

In October 2019 I volunteered at the Chicago Film Festival. In order to become a volunteer I attended a training session at Columbia College that discussed the different volunteer roles there are and what you do in one. One of the roles that I had there was counting each person that came into the theater with this little clicker they gave me. I can't lie, it was kind of fun. I also occasionally took tickets and voting sheets from viewers of each film. In my second shift, I was in charge of lighting and greeting each person who walked into the theater. I also helped with seating people and telling them where to go.

The best part about volunteering at the Chicago Film Festival was the fact that we got to watch the movies when there was nothing to do for a couple of hours. We also got free popcorn and movie tickets to some movies playing at the festival. I would definitely do community service like this again because I really like movies, and it was pretty flexible and easy-going.

Around the end of November, I also got a P.I.E (Professional Immersion Experience) at the Gene Siskel FIlm center. While I was there I helped with some media marketing and busy office work like filling envelopes, making phone calls, and data entry work. I would also post movie events and dates on the Gene Siskel Facebook page. Later that winter, I asked if I could come back to get some volunteer hours and it was approved by my supervisor Lori. When I was volunteering there I basically had the same responsibilities as I did when I was an intern. It felt really good to be back because I enjoyed the work environment at the film center along with the people who worked there. Everyone was kind and had really good energy.

The Making of @CTAfits_:Finding Home and Community in Chicago

BlackHawk Park

Photographing youth at Blackhawk Park in Chicago is one of my favorite community service experiences because I got to take photos for their website. Blackhawk Park has several different afterschool activities for kids. While I was there I photographed the karate class, the sports club where kids chose to play soccer as their game of the day, and the gymnastics club. I loved photographing the gymnastics class the most because the little girls were so cute. They were also very fascinated by the fact that I had a cool camera, just snapping photos of them tumbling. Many of them couldn't wait for me to take their picture so I could show them.

The kids in the gym were playing an intense game of soccer that was really fun to watch. It was hard to capture good shots of them running around, but I got a few that looked really energetic.

A few weeks later, I was asked by one of the members of the board to come back and film there earth day event. Although it was very rainy that day I thought it was a great way to celebrate earth day. The community decided to plant trees outside of the center and I had to document them. I brought my camera and took videos of them planting trees and moving soil around.