The Homeless Documentary

 For my One World Week (OWW) I decided to stay in San Diego and do something that can help people that are in need of it. In this OWW we went around Rosecrans and interviewed some people who were dealing with homelessness. Once we had filmed an interview with them we had to cut the unnecessary parts out and we had to put subtitles because the audio was very rough due to the fact that we were shooting on the street. After we had done this Chris put all the interviews together and made it into a short 30 minute documentary. This OWW was, obviously, a week long so we filmed the first three days and then the last two days of the week we left them for editing.

 I learned a lot of cool things about video editing during this OWW. I learned how to put subtitles onto movies, the different rules when filming interviews and I also learned that there are a lot of homeless people in San Diego. One of the biggest challenges the whole OWW group had was the fact that the audio was really bad and it was difficult to subtitle some of the interviews. But in the end we found out of a way in which we could mute out some of that traffic noise and make the audio a little better. This will help me because in some classes we may be required to create interviews or just videos and knowing these tips and tricks will be a huge help.

Here is one of the clips from our movie.

The Pipe Xylophone

 For the PROMISE project we had to build either a string instrument (guitar, ukelele, or electric guitar) or a percussion instrument (xylophone, piano). We had to create a prototype made of cardboard so that we would know the exact dimensions of our instrument. Another thing we had to make was a concept poster which described our instrument and the many things we had to learn in order to build it.

 As I said above, I had to first create a cardboard prototype of my xylophone. I had look up xylophone designs first in order to make it. When I had a good design I changed it to make it my own and to also work for my kind of xylophone, which is made of copper pipes instead of bars made of wood. I had to make the pipes and for that I just curled a piece of cardboard around a pipe I found in the classroom and taped it together so that it would hold the circular shape.

 Once the prototype was finished we had to wait until Mele bought the materials to build the instruments. When we had all the materials Mele taught us the formula to figure out the length of the pipe. We had to do the equation 8 times for each different note. Then while I was figuring the lengths and cutting the pipe my partner was building the frame for the xylophone. After we had everything cut and ready we assembled the xylophone with wood glue because it would dry fast and it would make a really strong bond. We put foam beneath where the pipes were sitting to make the sound resonate.

 I learned a lot of things in this project, I learned how waves travel, the different kinds of waves, how to build a xylophone, a lot of really good things that could help me out later in life. A real world connection I made between something I learned, the Doppler Effect, and my life is that now I actually pay attention to when a Doppler Effect happens, and I also know how it happens and why.

 A huge challenge me and my partner faced was that the pipes from our xylophone kept sliding off the resonating foam which meant we couldn't play it. The way we fixed this was that we had to make little bars out of popsicle sticks to make supports so that it wouldn't fall off anymore. We did this very last minute so it wasn't as good as we would've hoped. Something I would do different would be to paint the popsicle sticks so that everything would like nice and clean and even. But aside from that, I'd do everything the same. I think this will really help me later in life because I want to be a physicist and learning all of this physics early on will save me some time later on.

This I Believe

 For the This I Believe project we had to write a personal essay about something that we believed in. To get our inspiration Charlotte made us write a list of 30 things that we believed in. This is what really got me thinking about stuff that I believed in and also gave me the idea for writing something that I can really write about with passion. Charlotte also showed us three essays from www.thisibelieve.org everyday to get us inspired.

 We had to make a frame and write the essay and then put those on a frame which we could arrange in anyway we wanted to. The way I wrote my essay is that first I wrote the list of 30 things I believed in and then crossed off twenty things that I knew I wouldn't be able to write about. After this I went back and looked at the list and narrowed it down to three and then from there I just chose one of the three that I really applied in my life and had a lot of exampled about. Here is my final essay.

 Another thing we had to make was the frame. For this we had to bring in a frame from home or 10 dollars for Charlotte so that she could go buy us a frame. Once we all had frames we had to take a picture of our profile and cut it out to make a template. After we had our template we got the option of having different colored papers to cut our profile. I decided to stick with basic white. When I cut my profile I wanted to give it something original and innovative, something that would describe me and make me stand out. The way I made this happen is by cutting out my glasses from my profile picture and putting them on my frame so that you could also see the silhouette of my glasses, which I feel defines me. We put a basic white, black or blue backing onto our frames and we then glued our essays and profiles onto there and that's how we created our frame.

 What I learned in this project was how to write a personal essay. I think this is something I will use in the future because I like being able to express my beliefs and opinions in all of my essays. One big challenge I faced in this project was the fact that I couldn't find my frame the day that we were assembling, but in the end I found it with just enough time to finish it.  I think if I had to do this project again I would do everything the same except I would look for my frame in the back counter first, which is where it was hiding. This will definitely help me later because I hope to write a lot more of personal essays through the course of my high school years.

REM Project Reflection

This project was sort of like a continuation to our thoughts that were inspired by the book "My Ishmael." We were given a long list of things we could make for this project, these were called "Reading Enjoyment Maximizers (REMs)." There were very different options like creating a playlist to go with the book, writing and directing a play about the book, painting something inspired by the book and so on. We could even mix two REMs to make a big hybrid REM. I chose to make a comic strip based on the story of "The Prince and The Horse" because I really understood that last story.

The first thing that I did in order to get to my final product was that I roughly sketched out what the storyline was going to be like. I didn't really worry about adding text in my rough draft, I was just creating the flow of the story. After I got it approved I drew it in Adobe Illustrator and then added hand-written dialogue. I got it reviewed once more and went back to make those few adjustments. I kept doing this until I felt that my comic was truly ready and done.

What I learned was the true meaning behind a lot of the stories because I read them all over again to find which one I could understand the best, and in reading them all at my own pace I understood them all a little bit better. A challenge that I encountered was that the way Adobe Illustrator colors in drawings is really complex so it took me a while to figure out how to add color to my comic. What I would do differently was that I'd give the story my own ending because in the book it just sort of cuts off at the end. Also I would make my drawings more detailed and not so cartoonish. I learned a lot about making comics in this project and I think it may come in handy in the future. 

Here is my final comic draft.

Artists Statement

In my art piece I tell the story of ‘The Prince and The Horse,’ which Nkemi tells Julie in the book ‘My Ishmael’ by Daniel Quinn. This is one of many of the passages that are told throughout Daniel Quinn’s book. I chose this story because I thought the point it made was something that easily related to myself.

In this story there is a Prince who is in court when a foreigner calls for him. He goes to see what this foreigner wants. The foreigner wants to return a black stallion with a gray star on its head. He asks if he can lodge this horse in the Prince’s stable. To this the Prince replies, “Why should I let you lodge this horse in my stable? How will this benefit me?” The foreigner then says, “I thought you understood that I am trying to return something that should not have left in the first place.”

Always Respect Your Parents

One thing I’ve learned in my fourteen years of life is that you should always have respect towards your parents.

I remember when I was ten years old I told my mother I hated her. I ran up to my room and slammed the door like the overly dramatic child I was. After having a long cry over the fact that my mother wouldn’t buy me a toy I really wanted, I felt this strange feeling in my stomach. Back then I thought it was just a stomachache, but now I realize it was guilt.

You should always respect no matter what your relationship with them is like. My dad and I don’t have the best relationship on Earth but I still give him the respect he deserves. He and my mother created me; I at least owe them some respect.

They deserve respect because they’ve been there through the rough times and the great times. They were there when you began to walk. They were there when you began to talk. They were there when you had a tantrum because they wouldn’t buy you a toy. They were there when you were staying up until 1 in the morning to finish your project. They were there when you were at your very lowest. They were there when you were at your highest. They were there when you were getting ready for your first day of school. They have always been there.

Respecting your parents will bring you one step closer to respecting others, because if you cannot respect the people that gave you life, then who can you respect? Respecting them brings you closer to your inner-self, it brings you a sense of clarity when you’re at peace with your parents and respecting them brings you closer to God. The first time I went to confession I broke out in tears when I told the priest all the horrible things I’ve told my parents. I think he was shocked too because he let out a small gasp when I told him. This made me realize that I really should be more respectful towards them.

I believe in respecting your parents because they’ll always be there for you. You may think that your best friend will be there forever but it will be your parents that are going to be the ones to bail you out when you get in trouble. They will always love you no matter what; they’re the ones that will get you through the tough times in life. They will always be there for you. 

Evelyn Glennie: Shows How To Listen

Something I will always remember about her performance is how she could play with 4 mallets at a time and be able to separate them to play two notes that harmonize with one another. I also liked how she was able to actually feel the vibrations because she was deaf.


When she was playing her music what the people heard was affected by where they were seated. If a person was sitting below the marimba, they would hear a lot better than say someone right on top of the marimba.


What she meant by everyone experiences music in their own way was that she experiences music via the vibrations whereas someone else can experience it via the ear because they can hear. Others may experience it if they have really good hearing they'd hear all the tones and the depth to the music.