Anakin Reese Conn Assignment 20

I didn't check if anyone else has written a "how to" on this or not, but I doubt it matters, as what I plan on explaining hasn't been mentioned by anyone other than my conscious in recent memory, yet I have used this technique a couple of times in the last week.  This will be a possibly short guide on how to recognize thing present in nearly all forms of animated media that I can't find a name for on Google myself.  The thing that will be discussed can be described as an object or asset in an animation that will be interacted with or move at some point, possibly unexpectedly.  This concept will be referred to as an "outline".  The farther you go back in time with animation, the more easily recognizable the outlines become, such as in Tom and Jerry or Ed Edd n Eddy, where if a fence is in sight, one plank or portion of the fence may be discolored, or be more crudely drawn than the other portions of the fence.  This is an outline, and it is important because it tells you ahead of time that it will be interacted with, or some unexpected event will occur because of its presence.  In some movies where environments, characters, or anything at all are made "present" with CGI in any form, you can tell whether or not they will be interacted with.  Usually the object has "anti-aliasing" issues, meaning that it appears to be less "there" than everything else that's there, or it possesses an outline by faintly standing out among others of its kind.  This can be observed in most Marvel movies, as in one scene of the first Thor movie Thor himself walks by a table in a dining room in that fictional realm I forgot the name of, then picks up a cup and puts it back down.  Out all these cups, this one if of a different shade than the others, and its reflective surface is duller than others of its kind.  Maybe it just a dirty cup, or maybe it was an object meant to be interacted with that possessed an outline.  Most recent outlines aren't noticeable at first, but can be realized after paying attention to which object is interacted with, then re-watching the scene and paying attention to that object.  On a passing note, video games are especially vulnerable to outlines, as certain doors or other objects have noticeable outlines, or exhibit weird lighting as a result of their asset being dynamic.  A very useless skill to have, but now you're aware of the presence of outlines in media too.

Anakin Reese Conn Assignment 21

Although the prompt asks that I come up with something that could be going on in the universe, meaning that I could liken "the Universe" to a physical representation of (insert that weird thing you found once), but instead I choose to squander this opportunity to talk about concept of what the earth really is.  You can blame the brain tumors for this post, but what if the world was a giant hypothetical cadbury egg, as in the center of the egg is the entire universe, and the chocolate shell is the material at the center of the earth, and everything gets bigger as you get closer to the center.  What if the moon and sun are rolling around the interior of the egg, where on the surface of the dark side of earth the sun wouldn't be linearly visible because you would have to peer through the entirety of the universe to see it.  Before discussing this next concept, be aware that the night sky without light polution was black space in it because there is an end to the universe out there somewhere, and that without an end, we would see an all white night sky.  What if there is some weird property of the vacuum that prevents light from travelling a certain distance, and the universe really is infinite, and that there is a version of this universe that contained an entity that destroyed every other universe, and what about the universes where there aren't an infinite amount of universes?  If you could visit another universe, doesn't that mean you created two new universes by linking your universe to another while creating separate universe where you never intermingled?  Maybe you never created another universe, but instead every universe has an infinite number of copies behind itself in an all-encompassing vending machine.  On a smaller scale, who says that you haven't died 5 times reading this far into the posts, seeing as though your body replaces cells, maybe the old you died and you remember being alive, so you assume that you have been alive the entire time?  What if after you die, you relive the death of everything you ever killed, or the energy linking the consciousness to the body stays behind after death on the atomic level, leaving you to feel every action committed to every molecule that compromised your cadaver.  Imagine the feeling of diatoms slowly scraping at one of your fingernails in the ocean, the feeling of your blood being regurgitated around inside of an anthill, all the while you are constantly suffocating, stuck inside of a void where you feel everything, yet perceive nothing, knowing that there wasn't a purpose to any of your actions, and that every living thing falls victim to the promise given by birth; death.  Maybe this is why we bury our dead.  Back to a larger scale, what if the very center of the cadbury egg is the entirety of the unknown outside of our observable universe, yet it acts as the smallest part, the center-most mantle piece of a weird English thing with orange stuff in the center.  Maybe the great nothing is another "big bang" waiting to happen, as in as the universe expands, the center grows smaller and smaller, until it explodes.  I'm done writing nonsense now.

Assignment 22: Fictional Character, Fictional Life

Out of all of the books, all of the movies, and all of the television shows you have watched, consider your favorite characters. Then, answer the following:

If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, March 12th at 11:59 pm

March 26th is the last day to make up blogs 20-22

Assignment 19- Angelica Malkowski

I always find this question difficult to answer. Sure, I've received advice in my life, but I usually don't remember any of it. Maybe that just means I haven't received any life changing advice yet. Or maybe I just don't have the best memory for this sort of thing. Either way, figuring out what advice to talk about is always difficult, but here goes.
When I was in 8th grade, I knew I wanted to continue band in high school. I of course had no idea band would have such a monumental affect on my life, but I knew I liked it and wanted to continue it. But I was unsure about marching band. I wasn't worried about the physical aspect (sports had always been a part of my life in some way). But I knew I would need to learn a new instrument, since you can't march oboe, and I was worried about the heavy involvement marching band entails, and how that would impact my studies. School was - and is - very important to me, and if being in marching band meant maintaining straight A's would be too difficult, I wouldn't do marching band. So at a new member orientation, I talked to some high school students about the difficulty of balancing school and marching band, and specifically asked some kids in the academy. Some of what I heard wasn't very promising. One girl said she received her first C due to the stress of marching band and the academy. I was not going to let that happen. Then there was the issue of a new instrument. Having already tried - and failed- at flute in 7th grade, I decided if I marched, I would march clarinet because it was still a woodwind, and I sort of liked it. But I still wasn't sure. So I talked to my mom about it. While she was never in marching band, she was in band and orchestra, and therefore understand the wonderfulness of music. She told me to try out marching band my freshman year, and if I didn't like it, I could always not do it again. But if I didn't join my freshman year, and then decided to do it later and discover I enjoyed it, I would regret not doing it that first year. Really freshman year is the best year to do marching band because your school load is (theoretically) the lightest it'll be all four years, and being part of such a large group and having all that support before school even starts your freshman year is super helpful.
So, needless to say, I went with my mom's advice and joined marching band. Not only was I able to keep my record of straight A's like I hoped, but I also fell completely in love with marching band. It honestly changed my life. I am so, so glad I'm in marching band, and my mom was right: I definitely would've regretted not doing marching band my freshman year.

Assignment 19: Sabrina Lozada

One thing that my mom has always told me is that I have to respect and listen to others no matter how stupid they may sound. If you want to get far in life you can't just decide someone is stupid and be disrespectful. In the real world if you have a boss that just blabs ridiculous things you can't just  insult them. First off, you would probably get fired. Second, this isn't going to be the only time you will encounter this situation so you will get stuck in a cycle that you can't escape. By following this advice you will also become a more mature person. If you can't deal with people that differ in their views, how different are you from a child? You're not. While you might not literally cover your ears and run in circles, you are technically doing the same thing, shutting out the other person.

Assignment 18: Sabrina Lozada

High School: 

• Try something new such as something out of my "specialty"  
• Pick up a new language while m brain will still allow me 
• Get accepted a good college* 
• Go abroad 
• Go with a friend on a road trip  
• Get good grades 

I believe that it is perfectly reasonable to say that getting into a good college is important. It's the beginning of your adult life and you want to start off on the right foot. 

College: 

• Study abroad- specifically Japan in the spring to see the cherry blossoms 
• Visit another country and drag someone with me* 
• Try to pick up another language 
• Join a random club 

Visiting another country is something I would really like to do and I don't mean a country like England, instead I want to visit a third world country. I believe that it is easy, especially in the young adult life, to forget that not everyone is privileged like us. Things that we take for granted and not give a second thought are things that other people don't have access to and I think that witnessing it in person is so important for a person to truly mature and become a better person. P.S. there is nothing wrong with England 

Life: 

• Do something productive 
• Be more aware and open-minded* 
• Extend my bucket list 

I think that what  a lot of people forget about having on their "to do" list is to become more aware. I think that it is our job to become more globally aware if there is one thing I hate is when people are naïve and refuse to listen to others. 

Assignment 19 - Jackson Leach

Throughout my life I have been around so many wise people including my grandparents and family friends, and so much of their knowledge and wisdom has rubbed off on me. In particular, I do a lot of yard work and home improvement projects with my grandfather during the summer, and he spent his entire life working as a landscaper so he has a lot of knowledge to pass on, and I always learn something useful when I work with him. Once when we were setting stone blocks into place to make a temporary walkway, a block wouldn't fit right and was wedged against another block. With proper force applied the two blocks would push each other flush with the ground, but I couldn't push them hard enough by kicking or pushing them. Then my grandfather, who after years of beer and burgers probably weighs double my size, stepped on the blocks, and immediately the blocks pushed into place. He then said "Sometimes you've just gotta have a little ass in your pants" This was such a simple lesson but ended up being applicable to a wide array of situations.

Assignment 19- Taylor Hodges

The best piece of advice I've ever been given has been said to me since I was a baby. "Whatever you do, make sure it makes you happy." This has always stuck with me and it's what I have based my life around. With friends, school, or whatever I do, I do what makes me happy. This really hit me when I started thinking about colleges and plannned my schedule for next year. This year, my schedule is hell. I don't like a single class that I'm taking (no offense), but I'm just trying to fill requirement this year. Next year should be fun, hopefully. I chose the classes that won't make me hate my life so it should be good. College is so hard to choose what makes me happy. So many different colleges have great qualities and I can't choose all of them which makes me mad. But I know that the college I choose will be the one that makes me the most happy, which will probably be the one closest to home

Assignment 18 - Jackson Leach

Before I kick the bucket i have several things i want to do.
Before I graduate High School I want to have hiked at least a fourth of the Appalachian Trail, which would take a lot of time ultimately. The entire trail takes about 6 months elapsed time so it would have to be split up over a set of weeks.
Before I graduate college I want to have gone on a road trip with my friends in an RV. This would be really fun and we could go to a lot of different scenic destinations throughout the country.
Before I have a kid I want to have been to every country I want to visit on my bucket list, which include: Norway, Great Britain, New Zealand, Germany, and Canada. In each of these countries I want to have gone on a substantial backpacking excursion and also do a lot of rock climbing. Alaska is also a place I would want to add to this list.

Assignment 17- Jackson Leach

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rogue_one_a_star_wars_story/

Rogue One blended together every element of Star Wars from the past and the future to create a movie both entertaining and emotionally stiring. Continuing with the common theme of rehashing of old franchises, Rogue One goes a step further in serving as a spin off movie set in the old movies themselves. This sounds like a recipe for disaster, but director Gareth Edwards beautifully captures the magic of old and new star wars into one fantastic movie. Beyond that, the cinematography, cast, soundtrack, and special effects were beyond superb. Particularly well discussed is the use of cgi for the faces of two deceased actors, which was done in a brilliant and unbelievable fashion, beckoning in a new era of cgi. To me at least, this use of unprecedented cgi was like magic to observe the first time, and I was left in disbelief walking out of the theatre. The writing for the script was also good, having a nice blend of comedy and drama that we expect from the classic Star Wars movies. The biggest achievement of all that Rogue One accomplished however was filing up the ancient plot hole exposed in A New Hope, and doing it in a way that leaves the original story not only untouched but refurbished and strengthened.

Assignment 17: Sabrina Lozada

Going for option two, I chose to watch Sinister and The Ring. Cargill, writer of Sinister, was inspired after apparently watching The Ring, which I found interesting so I watched them both.  

In Sinister the protagonist becomes obsessed with a series of deaths and is determined to find the killer. With the help of a local deputy he pieces the clues the clues to solve the horrendous truths of the deaths, but it wouldn't have been done without the Super 8 films that appeared, one for each family murder.  

The Ring is about a cursed video where the viewer will die within seven days. Rachel, the aunt of a cursed victim, is asked to further investigate the death. Over time Rachel, with the help of Noah discovers the story and ,in a way, the solution. 

Both, are related to videos that are tied to the mystery of deaths, so one thing that the director's would focus on was the emphasis on the videos and the images they revealed. In doing so, both utilized same techniques. As they shot the footage they didn't add cheesy horror music, instead they used more "natural sounds". The viewing of the super 8 footage only has the slight hum of the machine operating, making it more realistic as if it were the viewer watching it. The video in The Ring had a static sound as the background that alone makes a chill run down the reader's spine.  

Another thing they had in common was in that the director's wouldn't rely on adding gruesome cuts to make it a "horror" film. In Sinister, the opportunity arose for a gory shot multiple times especially with the "family time" super 8 films. In the "BBQ of 79" the director focused on the family especially with the kids to reveal similarities in the families targeted and when it came to the part where they were burned alive it only showed the outside of the car in flames. One of the bigger opportunities was in the super 8 film where the family is run over by a lawn mower but instead of showing the blood the director focused on the protagonist's reaction which was enough to reveal the horror that was documented in the "home movie," The Ring also opted out and relied on other ways such as sound to create fear in the viewer.

Assignment 17- Ben Lambert

As I sat down on the couch on this very fine Sunday morning, I strolled through the TV channels, looking for something to glue my face to, effectively wasting a few hours of my life. As I searched the guide half asleep, I came across a film I hadn't seen before, one that seemed a bit childish for me- The Lego Movie. Within minutes, I found myself cracking up at the cheesy jokes that flooded the movie, meant for children at first glance, but beneath the surface satirically highlighting the problems in our society. The writing was absolutely brilliant, and though there was little actual acting, the voices behind the Legos were spot-on. The plot was engaging, never knowing what would happen next in their Lego world. There was an important message throughout the film, pointing out the importance of creativity in our world, and how straying away from society's norms doesn't always prove to be harmful.
I was a big fan of this movie and would highly recommend to those interested.

Assignmen 19 - Christian Lauritzen

Now at first glance, the advice "make a difference" is definitely inane, however I have recently look it more to heart. The idea of actually making a difference.  Before I always assumed I would be fine with living my life like millions of others.  Graduating from High School, going to College, getting a job, having friends, retiring relatively wealthy, and dying a happy man.  But now I think differently.  I don't want to just live for happiness and then die.  I want to make a difference.  They say a person dies twice, first when their body dies, and second when someone says their name for the last time.  In the second respect, I want to be immortal.  I want to impact the world, make lives better in a big way, and have people speak my name as they speak of Julius Caesar or Shakespeare.  And this isn't selfish motivation.  I seek this to make the world better.  I want to permanently improve the world and its people in a way that will last for centuries after I die.  I am motivated by this drive to make a difference.  It is how I will pursue a career, spend my free time, and live my life.  I want to make a difference, for the better.

Assignment 18- Taylor Hodges

I've never sat down to actually make or think of a bucket list for high school or college. But I've always wanted to learn how to do a backflip, so I guess that would be up there on the list of things I want to accomplish before high school/college. The main thing for high school is trying to get good grades and to get into one of the colleges I want to. For college, I really want to study abroad. I want to go to Scotland or London and stay there for a while and learn about the culture. Scotland looks cooler because they have castles and the closest ive been to a castle is the one in Versailles, which isn't that cool. Before I die, I want to travel. Everywhere. I want to go all over the planet and see everything I can and live how others live. I don't wanna stay in the US the whole time I'm alive because that's lame. I also want to be happy. Yeah that's cliche, but it's what I want. Pure, genuine happiness in life.

Philip Allison Assignment 20

Today I am going to teach the audience how to walk. Walking has proven to be a difficult task in the past, especially at the beginning and the end of a life. Some would say that the elderly are too frail to walk, and babies to weak, but I disagree. It is all in the technique. I myself learned to walk at age one week. This has proven to be one of my most useful skills, as I can now walk wherever I want to, permitting that my stamina takes me there. So, the first step is to stretch. Touch your toes. Then swivel your torso, trying to look like you know what your doing but not knowing exactly what the torso-swivel does for you. You should be ready now. Move your right thigh up about one inch, leaning forward until the sole of your right foot hits the ground. Congratulations, your first step toward proper technique! Then move your left thigh up and forward, like the right, but make sure not to lean to far forward on this one, it's a doozy. Now for the arms. as your right leg is moving swiftly and soundly, your left arm should be at a 90 degree angle, and moving down. Then while you step with your right your left arm should do the same. Now just practice 10,000 steps a day and you'll be a technically perfect walker in no time! Sponsored by FitBit

Assignment 18 - Christian Lauritzen

1.  Before I leave high school, I would like to visit another country.  The time I have been out of the country was the summer of 8th grade when I went on a cruise in the Bahamas, and since I was on a boat the whole time, I didn't get to see much of the culture there, which is one of my biggest interests, so I am looking forward to actually immersing myself in another country in the next couple of years.

2.  Before I finish college, I want to go on a big trip somewhere with friends.  I have never been on a large scale trip doing things with just a bunch of friends and no one to tell us what to do.  In college, I hope to have this opportunity to forget life a little bit and just travel around doing stuff with people I enjoy being around.

3.  Now, this is a stretch, but before I die, I want to go to every country.  Of course this is extremely long term, but I want to spend my life traveling and seeing places, even if only for a couple of days.  I want to see the world and its people, I want to see history and culture and all of the secrets this world has to offer.  I'm hoping with new technology this will be more feasible, but seeing every country on Earth would be incredible.

Assignment 17 - Christian Lauritzen

Magnificent CGI, gripping plot, astounding acting prowess, multi-level story, top dollar production, and the greatest minds in film.  What do all of these things have in common?  They are completely and utterly non-existent in this movie.  Birdemic: Shock and Terror, a movie claimed to have been inspired by titles such as An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore, Apocalypse Now, and of course Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (even down to the petty disagreements with actors), this movie is plagued with two dimensional acting, certifiably terrible sound engineering, and a story so painful, meandering, and boring to bear with that I had to stop watching and resume later.  The main character, who's name I can't even remember, speaks as if his larynx was surgically removed and replaced with Siri who they subsequently couldn't afford to pay and then had to hire a bootleg copy Cortana with a somehow even more robotic male voice, and then that one got bored too.  In a spectacle that proves to be a poor experience for everyone, the film somehow manages to make you simultaneously hate global warming activists and sympathize with the birds, because the director couldn't even bother to make their bodies made out of anything more than low quality sprites.  I gained nothing from this movie, and neither will you.  It proved not to be a waste of my time for no other reason to give me a movie that I see as worse than all others.  If you make the unwise and poorly reasoned decision to watch this godforsaken pile of flaming garbage, may God have mercy on your soul.

(I didn't know how to access the review on Rotten Tomato once I posted it)

Assignment 19: Naylan James

The best advice i have ever been given was given two years too late, by my college planner. Freshman and sophomore year I never put much effort into school and finished 10th grade with a strong 3.23 GPA. Luckily, I decided to get a college planner because I have no clue how any of that works and he told me something that I should've been told in 8th grade, "You really need to try in school." Because at this point, after having a reckless 9th and 10th grade, My GPA is barely able to get over a 3.5. Luckily I was given this advice before the start of 11th grade and have gotten my GPA up to a 3.4 and can probably get it a little higher before I graduate. This is one thing that I will always emphasize if I ever have children, as grades are a lot more important than I ever realized.

Assignment 18: Naylan James

Before I leave high school for the final time in May of 2018, i would like to go to Europe. I have only been out of the country twice, for a combined 13 days and would love to go to Europe and visit various countries, namely England, Spain, and France.

By the time I finish college my goal is to be able to dunk. Being a short white kid it has always been a dream of mine to dunk. I don't expect to grow much more between now and whenever I finish college, so I'll give myself 5 years to work on increasing my vertical so I can dunk on people.

Before I die I would like to go skydiving. As of now, being a 17 year old boy, there isn't much meaningful stuff I am thinking about. So I really really can't wait to be old enough to go skydiving without my parents. It seems so exciting and I really want to experience the feeling of falling to your death without dying.

Assignment 20: Dylan Ruddy

How to save a life
Adult and Child single person CPR
1. Check the scene and make sure it is safe to approach
2. Put on gloves if you have them
3. Make sure the person is actually unconscious, Tap their shoulder and shout to make sure they're not just asleep. (if they are not conscious get someone to call for help)
4. Tilt their head back to open their airways, then look as their chest, put your ear next to their mouth to listen for breathing, and feel for a pulse in their neck
5. If no pulse and no breathing, begin 30 chest compressions on their sternum in the middle of their chest. Lay both hands open on top of the chest, the bottom one open, the top one with fingers interlocking between the knuckles of the ones on the bottom. For a child do not go any deeper than 2 in. for an adult go at least 2 in. but no deeper than 2.4 in. (you will hear cracking and that is okay, you are breaking the cartilage and some ribs in order to pump the heart)
6. Then tilt the head back and give two ventilation making sure the chest clearly rises. You can use a breathing barrier, towel, or even a shirt to help prevent the spread of any diseases when you are giving mouth to mouth.
7. Only stop if they have signs of life, the scene becomes unsafe, an AED arrives, someone more experienced arrives, or you are about to keel over from exhaustion.

P.S. I did not just copy this from the internet, I am actually certified to teach this.

Assignment 19: Dylan Ruddy

I have two pieces of advice that I like, one of them is " work ethic always wins," and the second is "The man that knows the rules and knows how to bend them is the man that ends up on top." Now these may seem to contradict each other and they do to a point, even if you work you hardest, someone can beat you by bending the the rules. However the reason I had to mention both of them is because I like how powerful they are when they are combined. If you are able to have a killer work ethic and bend the rules in your favor then you will end up on top. We saw this with Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt. Now I'm not saying I want to be like them, but I do have a huge amount of respect for them. They came from nothing which required the work ethic, and they bent the rules to put other out of business and make as much money as they could. Now they weren't Ghandi by any means but they were ingenious, powerful, and wealthy.

Assignment 18: Dylan Ruddy

High School Bucket List
-Get into a good college
-Have an interesting mentoring project
-Get into the top 10% of high school class
-Get to state in two individual events next year

When I enjoy something, and am truely interested I feel like I will go all in and won't mind spending days, weeks, or months making sure I am doing the absolute best that I can do. If I am able to do a interesting mentoring project then I feel like I will enjoy my senior year even more. This year I made state in one individual and relays but I would really like to start going to practice more and get to state in two individuals, I feel like this would set me up nicely for college if I wanted to do swimming. Top 10% would help me get into the colleges that I like which is where I will spent the next four years of my life so I would like it to be good.

College
- Have a Job lined up before I get out
- Study engineering or medicine
- Be more social
- Maintain stress well

The most important thing on this list is to be more social because I feel like if I am then it can help with the other goals. I can have more connections for a job, more friends for a study group, and more friends for a support group.

Life
- Be happy
- Live Comfortably
- Have a family
- Be a good parent

The most important thing on this list is to be happy, and again I feel like the others will be able to just follow.

Assignment 17: Dylan Ruddy

The movie I watched over winter break was Passengers. I would give this movie a three out of five stars. Though it was an interesting plot it had many flaw that kept it away from being five stars. One of these was at the beginning as they are trying to show you how long he has been alone, they are not very effective at giving you the perception of time. This causes you to judge his actions much more harshly throughout the movie. The movie is also ineffective at showing the results of solitary, which would have helped the viewer to empathize with the main character much more. Also many aspects of the ship made little sense, why were the passengers supposed to wake up before they arrived at the destination, they wasted a ton of money on sending the luxury amenities up there to be used for three months. Also all the doors being locked made very little sense. If someone was awake they would need to be able to get to the crew and if everybody is asleep there is no threat to the crew. These greatly effected the movie for me and while the concept, acting, and plot was good, there is much to be desired.

Assignment 19- Chelsea Avery

I can't remember where I heard it first, I think it was in a photography book Shelby gave me or on some blog. "Don't ask for permission, ask for forgiveness." This is mostly applicable to street photographers trying to get candid shots. I keep this in mind when taking photos of strangers, to capture the true emotion and character of the subject. For example, at the travel ban protest, I photographed a lot of angry, shouting people. I didn't ask any of them to take their photo except for this one lady who came up and wanted to tell me her story, but none of them seemed to mind. After a while though, this quote began to stick with me. It's not about breaking rules so much as pushing boundaries. I just like to keep it in mind to live my life to the fullest. That sounds so cliche but it is just really stuck with me. This kind of ideology has allowed me to have a lot of fun experiences and take a lot of great candid photos.

Assignment 18- Chelsea Avery

High School Bucket List:
-Go to prom
-Road trip with my friends**
-Solo travel
-Do something with my photos... find somewhere to display it, sell prints or something
-break some rules
I want to go on a road trip with my friends because after high school, I don't know how often I'll see them. That's just the honest truth. And my friends are a shit ton of fun, so it'd be cool.

College Bucket List:
-find my people
-study abroad**
-slum it a little- live the "broke college kid" life
I want to study abroad because I feel like it allows you to grow and learn a lot about yourself. It forces you to talk to strangers and get outside of your comfort zone. When I say study abroad, I don't mean going to England or Ireland or whatnot. Not to hate on people who do want to go there-- I just want to really go somewhere new. Somewhere where they don't speak English, where the food is different, the culture is new.

Ultimate Bucket List (Abridged Version):
-Visit as many national parks as possible
-Visit as many countries as possible**
-Have a career I enjoy
-See the Northern Lights
-See a whale irl (Not SeaWorld)
-Continue photography in some way or another
-Make an impact on someone's life
-Skydive
This may sound like the most cliche thing ever, or maybe I only think its cliche because its what I think everyone wants to do. But I believe the most effective way of living your life to the fullest is to travel. Not just because of the sightseeing but because you meet new people, you experience new cultures. Or at least that's the kind of travelling I do/hope to do. You can take some awesome photos and eat some good ass food.

Assignment 19- Usha Adhikari

Someone once told me, “you win some, you lose some. As long as outcome, is income.” This advice is very applicable to various aspect of life. You lost a best? You lose some. You did poorly on a test? You lose some. You won a bet? You win some. You aced a test? You win some. All that matters is that in the end you’re happy. This advice helps to put everything in perspective, and it says that not everything has to be a win. This helps to cope with loses and helps to see the big picture. Who cares if you fail that one quiz? It just means you’ll have to work harder on your next one and if you’re grades are still good, it won’t really effect anything. To be honest, I don’t really have any advice that’s stuck with me, but I like this one, mainly because it sorta kinda rhymes. 

Assignment 17- Chelsea Avery

A few weeks ago I went with a couple friends to see "La La Land" after a close friend raved about it. I wouldn't go as far as to say it is overrated but it is definitely not the most spectacular movie of 2017. I particularly enjoyed the costumes, sets and colors of the film but the overall story took too long to develop and was kind of boring at times-- I fell asleep at some point in the middle. The music was nice but the dancing was only so-so, I noticed at times they cut the actors' feet out of the shots because Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling just aren't that great at dancing. Perhaps it is just because I am not a big fan of romance films, but the only real part I appreciated was the end (no spoilers). Overall, I would recommend this film to a friend who enjoys musicals, if they don't, its more or less just a waste of time.

Assignment 19- Colton Warner

This is going to sound ridiculous because of Colton Warner's outward image (sometimes I feel like I project this image embodying the "System.") but one of the most important pieces of advice that I think about in life is about "the box." Colton... the "box"... are you a hippy or ski bum? No, but one piece of advice was actually a joke my cabin had at camp. This manager of the camp who was somewhat stuck up told a counselor to put up his long hair for arrival day or to cut it. He then responded to her "Don't put me in that box, Man." It was an iconic phrase for the cabin and we kind of rebelled against that management and didn't let ourselves be put in that box, that suppression of who we were.
I think about it now and how valuable it is to be myself in front of others and to not let other people or situations "put me in that box"- that constraint and powerlessness. There is always a choice, and this advice empowers me to be me and follow my gut. I shouldn't follow the masses controlled by the system. I know how ridiculously hippie this is sounding and I embrace this mantra in part because it is so foreign to how I often live. The advice- my lock screen- reminds me to do me and frigg the system when the system isn't right.

Assignment 19- Ben Lambert

My favorite piece of advice that I've received comes from my mom, and goes something like "it doesn't matter what you want to be, but whatever it is, you better be the best." This has always stuck with me on a deeper level and has often motivated me to strive for success. Something I have always feared is being average. Growing up, working in a cubicle for 40 years, having a couple kids, blah blah blah. If I'm working at a small company, I want to be owning it. If I'm a politician, I want to be the president. And if I'm a garbage man, I better be the best garbage man out there. This advice has always appealed to me and I greatly appreciate it. I also appreciate the freedom I have been given to be whatever it is I desire, knowing that I will be given full support from my parents.

Assignment 18- Colton Warner

High School:
1. Learn cool things and meet interesting people.
2. Get into good college that I am excited about going to.
3. Develop into an interesting person.
4. Learn how to solo backpack and do it.
5. Have a dank mentoring project that I actually enjoy.
I had learn cool things above get into a good college because I think it is kind of effed that High School can be seen as a place that is only for preparing for college. I have looked at high school as this random phase of my life before college, but I kind of want to give it more meaning, and get out of that college box that I can often put myself in.

College:
1. Meet awesome friends and learn awesome things for a career.
2. Set myself up for a cool career that either makes me a ton of money so I can retire and do something meaningful or a job that is meaningful and important.
3. Make a difference in a community different from mine.
4. Study abroad in some place that I am not comfortable with.
5. Travel more places.
Again, I don't really like thinking about college as a preparation for the workforce. Of course that's what its meant for, but I don't always want to be focusing on the next step, but rather think about now and live it up.

Life:
1. Have a fulfilling job that lets me be creative and feel like I have a purpose
2. Find a purpose
3. I want to get invited into some random persons house in a foreign country and have an impromptu meal with their family
4. Raise a troop of my own clones that I can spread my nationalistic message with to eventually dominate the galaxy with.
5. Kidding, raise a family that can live a happy, meaningful life.
6. Open a b and b or small hotel that makes other people love a certain location or the outdoors.
For the hotel thing, I love showing people cool things I have found and sharing mutual excitement, so I think it would be fun to have a lodge in a really interesting place either naturally or culturally for visitors to truthfully understand, make home, and love.

Assignment 18- Ben Lambert

By the time I graduate high school, the main goal I wish to accomplish is to achieve fluency in Spanish. Having no experience with the language prior to high school, I think it would be cool to be bilingual by graduation. I plan to live abroad for a month this summer with hopes to drastically improve my skills. 

By the time I finish college, I want to have gone skydiving. Heights have always fascinated me, and I love few things more than the adrenaline rush I get from them. I hope to go with a couple of friends to ease the nerves, but I'm sure it will be terrifying nonetheless. 

Before I die, I want to travel all around the world. I'm not talking about the usual tourist hot spots, like Rome and Paris, but everywhere. I want to go to the little villages in Malaysia, the tiny towns of Amsterdam, and the safaris of Africa. I think the best thing to do in the world is to adventure, to travel, to explore. With this accomplished, I would be content with my life.

Caden Reynolds- Assignment 19

Ever since I was little, I have had a knack for losing things. It's always been sweatshirts, t-shirts or even phones. I would always be very sad and mad at myself because I would just be thinking of when I had the item. I would always tell myself that I should have appreciated it more when I had it. If you could have guessed, a very meaningful quote to me has been, "You don't know what you have until its gone." As an athlete, this applies to me in other ways as well. I get injured a lot and whether it is not being able to walk the same, limping, not being able to move a limb, or constantly icing parts of my body, I always reminisce of the time when I was perfectly healthy. Sometimes I try to be thankful when I am healthy. This doesn't apply to most of my life, but it just dawned on me right now because I have an injured shoulder and was thinking about when I could move it fine.

Assignment 17: Taylor Hodges

i haven't gone to see a movie in who knows how long, but the last movie I saw was Trolls and I gotta admit, it wasn't bad. I was babysitting my cousin and she was DYING to go see it, so I caved in and took her.
It had Justin Timberlake in it so I was pretty excited because who doesn't love JT? No one. At the beginning it was hard to get into because it was a little wierd. As it went on, it tugged at my heart strings, but also pissed me off. The movie was basically all about these little trolls that were trying to hide from the bergens. The trolls used to live happily in a tree but the bergens had a day dedicated to eating the trolls because that was the only way they could be happy. Which kinda freaked me out because this was a children's movie, but showed the trolls being eaten? I was disturbed. Overall it wasn't a bad movie. It was the basic animation movie story line: good vs evil, love at the end. I would recommend it. 10/10

Assignment 19 Connor Haney

As cliche as it sounds, the most influential piece of advice that I have ever receive has to be that "it's not the end of the world." Said as a joke by my mom, this line has stuck with me throughout my 16 years. As stupid as it sounds, this line always finds a way to calm me down. It helps me realize that not everything that happens is going to kill me and it ultimately doesn't matter in the long run. This proves to show that even when things get really rough, I know I can get through it and that I can become better from it. For example, in my 8th grade year of middle school (yes, I know, it was just middle school), our lacrosse team lost the city championship and I thought that was the peak of my lacrosse career. However, my mom and dad told me to suck it up and that it wasn't the end of the world and then I realized that everything was going to be okay. I kept getting better, and eventually I won a high school state championship with HC. This proves to show that even if things get down, you can always come back and most times even stronger than before.

Assignment 19- James Gooding

            The best advice I ever received was from my grandfather. It was something I already tended to follow, but he was able to put it into words that I could live by. He said, “Don’t get mad at something out of your power.” What he meant was that if something upsets you don’t sit there and complain, deal with it and work around it. Here are some examples of where I’ve found this useful.
            1. When your immature bandmates start yelling at you for playing in your cool new funk band and not playing with them anymore. While some would become furious at their profanities, the smart choice would be to act cool and ignore them. They’ll be on their knees in no time.
            2. When a teacher assigns you a really long essay to read and gives you one day to do it. Don’t text the group me about how much you hate the teacher, that only wastes time. Get straight to work and get it out of the way. You’ll get a break soon.