Finding Meaning in 12 Hours

In this unit I was able to bring my mission and vision to life through art. Although this AP was very challenging for me, it proved that I have strength, creativity, and the drive to chase after what I really want. I was given only 12 hours to work towards a mission that I have. The main mission that I’ve been thinking about since this term started is exploring home, life, and love through random objects and concepts. Every hour that goes by brings me closer to my mission. I learned that the mission and vision are two different things. A mission is a road you travel on to get to your vision. You may hit some speed bumps or get a flat tire, but you ultimately want to reach the end of the road. At the end of the road is your vision. Your vision is the tressure and rainbow waiting for you.

This course taught me that I can have several missions and visions, as long as I work towards it with hard work and effort. For 12 hours, I looked for used objects around my neighborhood that I could paint or collage. While I’m also exploring the theme of youth in my work, I thought it would be cool to paint a baby rocking chair that I found in an alleyway. The idea is that I can find some kind of sanctuary in these items even if they’ve been used thousands of times. I can make an object something of my own. At the end of the 12 hours I had a beautiful baby blue chair filled with images of my favorite movies, comics, etc. As I was working on this chair, I built a strong connection with it. I connected this to the relationship Laura Dekker had with her boat. Laura Dekker is the youngest person to sail across the world. When we watched her documentary in class, I was very inspired because it not only showed me that I can find peace in non-living things, but it showed me that I can literally do anything I put my mind to even if it sounds crazy to other people.

Since my video can not be put here due to technical difficulties, below are photos I took throughout my 12 hours to document the evolution of my chair.

Finding it for the first time

First attempt at painting it

After Spraypainting and Priming it

Added Collage

Final Piece

I Remember The Day I Was Born: Endurance

Endurance is the power our bodies, minds, and souls have to get through difficult situations without giving up. Through this course, I am facing my own challenges that I have endured throughout my life. I am also learning about important figures throughout history who have endured traumatic experiences themselves. Their stories have inspired me to write about my life and what I have endured both physically and mentally. Through this action project, I learned a lot about how my challenges can shape my future and mission as an artist. It made me think, what do I really want to do with my life and why? I have encountered memories I haven't thought about in a while and that pushed me to finish the first chapter of my biography.

In class, we've been reading Night by Elie Wiesel. Elie Wiesel's biography uncovers the horrors he has seen and dealt with while being in a concentration camp with his father. Throughout the book, he overcomes several hardships. Reading this book has made me realize that everyone has a goal in life, and everyone struggles just to reach that goal.

On the front cover of my biography is a photo of me as a little kid and a photo of my mother. My mother is supposed to be the grown-up me. She has also been through a lot but has pushed through it all. Her story inspired me to make up my own and think about my future.

FP- How can you rewrite history?

I'm representing my Equality class taught by Sharon Holmes for Final Presentations. In Equality, we've discussed rewriting history and how that's different for all of us. Rewriting history is different for different people because of we all of different backgrounds and events in our life that have impacted who we are today. This can relate to your class, gender, and race making you who you are in the eyes of society.


I wanted to create a screenplay that shows the conversation between a teacher teaching social studies to a predominately white class, and how that is effecting a black student's education and family. This is just a draft, I'm planning to have the students or the black student create their own assignment that connects to their own history and background more.

 I AM rewriting history by writing this screenplay because I created a story of experiences that I've gone through in my life, and the characters look like me and represent who I am. Andrea is a character marking her own history and background. She discovers ways to communicate that through this project her teacher gave her. In a way, she rebels from what is expected of her.

Time Capsule: Medication To Cure Trauma

Equality is a class where students can speak about their own experiences with race, gender, and class. We've talked about black history to first, second, and third-class feminism. Throughout this class, I've found it easier and easier to connect the history I've learned in class to my own. Most of what we study has to do with my personal identity and it has made me see what equality really is and what it stands for. In the first term, we discussed the differences between "fake news" and "real news". That lesson reminds me of the AP that I completed for this term because I made up my own news story which is neither real or fake, but a race and class story on a new medical drug. In this AP, I was able to create something I believe in and speak about it as if it was real. I like that the news article we write about has to take place in 100 years because I was more imaginative of what the future may look like, especially with new medications and laws. The Time Capsule is supposed to show what will happen in the future through four different artifacts. My artifacts are the newspaper itself, a book written by someone who took the medication, the pill bottle, and a protest sign.

Time Capsule 2020

Business Plan: Thrift-A-Truck

Social Entrepreneurship has shown me how to create my own business and how I would present my ideas to investors. Throughout the class, we have discussed what makes a great business. A great business has a plan, a mission, and a vision along with highlighting the target audiences and budgets. The main kind of businesses that we talked about in class were non-profits who use their gains for the greater good. There are also companies that use their business to make money and to improve their own business. Here, I am focusing on a social business called Thrift-A-Truck that works towards helping low-income families and people around the Chicagoland area. It's basically a thrift store on wheels that travels through different Chicago neighborhoods. I chose to create this business because since I was a kid, I've always loved antique shops and consignment stores. I live a little outside Chicago so I'm not as close to the stores I'd like to shop at. Thrift-A-Truck is really made to benefit people who are tired of traveling long distances just to shop at resale stores. I want to make thrifting fun and easy for my community.

I found this Action Project really challenging because I had to think outside the box, and I've never thought of making my own business. It took a lot of work to research evidence that can back up my claims. I really liked that I'm able to make a change through fashion and this is a head start if I actually wanted to pitch this to investors, which is exciting to me.

VIA @NicoleMclaughlin on Instagram, Patagonia Skirt.
Nicole is a designer who reuses clothes to design new clothes.
She has made a suitcase of sneakers, bras out of Nike socks,
shoes out of tennis balls, and so much more.

To see my calculations in detail: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14XcL-UKYgh_44HJIeR6OI-5wd2s-SutUejnYdpx0lww/edit?usp=sharing

Citations:

“Industry Market Research, Reports, and Statistics.” IBISWorld, www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/thrift-stores-industry/.

“The Largest Online Consignment & Thrift Store®.” ThredUP, www.thredup.com/.

Write Your Business Plan, www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/write-your-business-plan.

Retelling History: Black LGBTQ Community

Retelling History
I am retelling history by speaking about Black history through the perspective of a queer person. In my Equality class, I've interviewed two of my classmates about LGBTQ culture in the African community. Below, I wrote my own history chapter, highlighting important queer events throughout history. I've also studied the ways feminism has evolved throughout history, which inspired me to write about the ways gay culture has evolved within the black community. I enjoyed this project because I felt like I could connect with my history and learn something new about my roots.

Cave paintings of the San people near Guruve in Zimbabwe of evidence suggesting same sex sexual relations dating back to the time of Bushmen. [Source: Diura, T. (2017). 13 Reasons why homosexuality is not un-African. African Curators: History, November 2. Retrieved September 18, 2019, from http://africancurators.com/2017/11/02/13-reasons-why-homosexuality-is-not-un-african/].

MY ESSAY:
https://issuu.com/asterling-ccscfiles/docs/ap_report

Citations:

Harlem World Magazine, and Harlem World Magazine. “The Rockland Palace Dance Hall, Harlem NY 1920.” Harlem World Magazine, 27 Oct. 2015, www.harlemworldmagazine.com/the-rockland-palace-dance-hall-harlem-ny-1920/.

Reid-Smith, Tris. “This Prehistoric Rock Art Celebrates Gay Cavemen.” Gay Star News, 2 Oct. 2017, www.gaystarnews.com/article/prehistoric-rock-art-celebrates-gay-cavemen/.

Ryan, Hugh. “In Case You Haven't Heard, Ancient Egypt Was Totally Queer.” Them., Them., 22 Feb. 2018, www.them.us/story/themstory-ancient-egypt. 

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

Harlem World Magazine, and Harlem World Magazine. “The Rockland Palace Dance Hall, Harlem NY 1920.” Harlem World Magazine, 27 Oct. 2015, www.harlemworldmagazine.com/the-rockland-palace-dance-hall-harlem-ny-1920/.

Reid-Smith, Tris. “This Prehistoric Rock Art Celebrates Gay Cavemen.” Gay Star News, 2 Oct. 2017, www.gaystarnews.com/article/prehistoric-rock-art-celebrates-gay-cavemen/.

Ryan, Hugh. “In Case You Haven't Heard, Ancient Egypt Was Totally Queer.” Them., Them., 22 Feb. 2018, www.them.us/story/themstory-ancient-egypt.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

Harlem World Magazine, and Harlem World Magazine. “The Rockland Palace Dance Hall, Harlem NY 1920.” Harlem World Magazine, 27 Oct. 2015, www.harlemworldmagazine.com/the-rockland-palace-dance-hall-harlem-ny-1920/.

Reid-Smith, Tris. “This Prehistoric Rock Art Celebrates Gay Cavemen.” Gay Star News, 2 Oct. 2017, www.gaystarnews.com/article/prehistoric-rock-art-celebrates-gay-cavemen/.

Ryan, Hugh. “In Case You Haven't Heard, Ancient Egypt Was Totally Queer.” Them., Them., 22 Feb. 2018, www.them.us/story/themstory-ancient-egypt.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

Harlem World Magazine, and Harlem World Magazine. “The Rockland Palace Dance Hall, Harlem NY 1920.” Harlem World Magazine, 27 Oct. 2015, www.harlemworldmagazine.com/the-rockland-palace-dance-hall-harlem-ny-1920/.

Reid-Smith, Tris. “This Prehistoric Rock Art Celebrates Gay Cavemen.” Gay Star News, 2 Oct. 2017, www.gaystarnews.com/article/prehistoric-rock-art-celebrates-gay-cavemen/.

Ryan, Hugh. “In Case You Haven't Heard, Ancient Egypt Was Totally Queer.” Them., Them., 22 Feb. 2018, www.them.us/story/themstory-ancient-egypt.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.Harlem World Magazine, and Harlem World Magazine. “The Rockland Palace Dance Hall, Harlem NY 1920.” Harlem World Magazine, 27 Oct. 2015, www.harlemworldmagazine.com/the-rockland-palace-dance-hall-harlem-ny-1920/.

Reid-Smith, Tris. “This Prehistoric Rock Art Celebrates Gay Cavemen.” Gay Star News, 2 Oct. 2017, www.gaystarnews.com/article/prehistoric-rock-art-celebrates-gay-cavemen/.

Ryan, Hugh. “In Case You Haven't Heard, Ancient Egypt Was Totally Queer.” Them., Them., 22 Feb. 2018, www.them.us/story/themstory-ancient-egypt.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

Harlem World Magazine, and Harlem World Magazine. “The Rockland Palace Dance Hall, Harlem NY 1920.” Harlem World Magazine, 27 Oct. 2015, www.harlemworldmagazine.com/the-rockland-palace-dance-hall-harlem-ny-1920/.

Reid-Smith, Tris. “This Prehistoric Rock Art Celebrates Gay Cavemen.” Gay Star News, 2 Oct. 2017, www.gaystarnews.com/article/prehistoric-rock-art-celebrates-gay-cavemen/.

Ryan, Hugh. “In Case You Haven't Heard, Ancient Egypt Was Totally Queer.” Them., Them., 22 Feb. 2018, www.them.us/story/themstory-ancient-egypt.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

Villarosa, Linda. “The Gay Harlem Renaissance.” The Root, The Root, 12 Jan. 2017, www.theroot.com/the-gay-harlem-renaissance-1790864926.

The Man with the Plan: GCE's AP System

Social Entrepreneurship and You is a sociology class I'm taking this year that's very similar to Economics, except it explores the ways humans behave from a physiological view. This term, we've taken several different personality tests to determine who we really are as people, and how our personalities contribute to the school and its environment. After taking these tests, our teacher asked us to share what our personality type came out to be and allowed our classmates to determine if certain traits were accurate or not. The personality tests were also taken to show how jobs can use them to determine what different traits someone has. These tests can tell your future boss or supervisor how determined you are, motivated, introverted/extroverted, etc. as well as what your work ethic is like, and how you can apply your own life skills to your career.

My personality type is INFP-T (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving. The "T" stand for Turbulent. There are also INFP-A personality types, the "A" standing for assertiveness. So, what does this mean about my role as a student in GCE? How do my strengths and weaknesses impact my class environment at GCE?

85% of turbulent mediators admit to being "lazy people" but the "lazy" doesn't exactly fit in with who turbulent mediators really are. According to 16 Personalities, "The poor self-evaluation of their work ethic is just as likely the result of their negative slant as it is a measurable reality". It's also easier for turbulent mediators to face day to day difficulties, which can steer us back in the right direction when we get too unmotivated. This is my second time taking the 16 Personalities test, and I can personally say that I have such big dreams and goals that it can be easy to get side tracked. But my personality also fits in to the goal of GCE. Global Citizenship Lab School is a hands on learning school that believes in self advocacy, individuality, culture, and using education to truly change the world. I've always been a visual and hands on learner, which made me have a passion for art. At GCE, I was able to actually be myself and dream as big as I wanted to. This motivated me to work hard and push others to work hard so we can take advantage of the opportunities GCE gives us. While I can be lazy sometimes, being at GCE helps me focus on my goals as an artist and gives me a real voice.

In Social Entrepreneurship and You, I learned what a "commons" is, as well as the tragedy of the commons. A commons has pros and cons. The pros are that everyone can share the same resource and land so they're all benefiting from it. A con is that someone can affect the community by taking too much of that resource. These resources don't have to be physical. They can simply be things that are needed like knowledge and time. When you're in school, you're sharing both knowledge and time with your peers, you can easily take away from their learning time, intentional or not. In my short documentary on the AP system in GCE, you can see that it was hard for some students to concentrate because of the way the space and time was structured. Students being offered more free time to work on projects caused many to lose focus on what they had to do. This caused students who were using the time and space productively to be distracted. Ultimately, students who had a different work ethic  found themselves taking away the time and knowledge from other students. The way we work in school, or how we react to things in the commons based on our different personality traits can affect the commons.

I also learned what SWOT is (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and identified my own SWOT goals. These goals included my strengths, weaknesses, and things I have the opportunity to work on. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs also helped me identify specifically what I need to improve on, and how I could grow from the strengths that I have. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a five-tier model of human needs depicted as hierarchal levels in a pyramid.

This is how the AP system at GCE falls into each of the levels on the pyramid.

1. Self Actualization Needs

Action projects allow students to share their voice with the world. Teachers giving students the freedom to express their ideas through any medium gives students an opportunity to talk about their passions. This motivates students to do what they love and to think outside the box and not just stick to a basic outline. Action projects not only challenge students, but allow and push them to grow through new experiences.

2. Esteem Needs

After interviewing different students in GCE, they expressed that the feeling of accomplishment makes them want to work harder, especially when they're working on an AP that is of their interest. Teachers begin to gain respect for student's independence by allowing them to work on their APs during class time. More time in class pushes students to get extra help they need from a teacher which can help them achieve what they need to for their AP.

3. Belongingness and Love needs

Since teachers allow independent work time in class for APs, students also receive more one on one time with teachers which makes them feel listened to and cared for, especially when receiving good feedback for an AP. APs are also a chance to use your voice and show people what you're made of. The fact that teachers give students a safe space to express themselves shows how students feel like they belong at GCE.

4. Safety Needs

Students can face judgment from teachers or peers based on their personal beliefs. If a student is working or prepping for an AP that mentions anything about their identity, personal experiences, beliefs, feelings, etc. then they can do so without feeling like they're in danger.

For example, I've talked about gay rights for an AP and I'm a queer person. I have that privilege of sharing that with my school and not feeling ashamed or being bullied because of who I am.

5. Physiological needs

Students can be offered extra time for APs as well as extra time in class if they have home issues, or feel that they're mental health is getting in the way of their learning.

For example, some students are so stressed out they lose sleep. When I get anxious during AP season I can't sleep or eat because my mind feels occupied. GCE gives students the resources they need for situations like these.

Man with the Plan

My plan to make the AP season less stressful and suitable for all students by connecting with different students I don’t have a close relationship with, or connecting with students who feel it’s hard to advocate for themselves and speak out about things. I can connect with students by reaching out to them if they seem like they need help with academics or are stressed about grades. I find it really helpful when I communicate with others in class. 

In conclusion, I liked that I made an AP about APs because it made me recognize what my own strengths and weaknesses are when I'm doing APs. I wanted to end the video with Erin's interview because she mentions some ways the AP system can be changed or improve. I think it's important to keep in mind that not all students have the same weaknesses and strengths. Some students need extra planning and resources when working on APs, and other students can be independent and work in their own space. This AP really made me aware of what different people can struggle with and how everyone should keep an open mind when people are prepping for Action Projects. AP season is usually a really stressful time and people can have limited time to get things done. I like how open minded GCE continues to be because it makes a lot of students feel supported and cared for.