Poetry Project
For this project, we were tasked to analyze and write our own poetry to perform at exhibition. I chose to have my poem performed in the style of a song because when you think about it, songs are just poetry set to music. Below is my poem and a video of the performance at the exhibition along with my "Growth as a Poet" reflection.
Verse:
Sunday
In a park off Main Street
A young man sits in the shade
People
Often stop and listen
to the rhythm his guitar makes
Quarters
and Dimes fall to him
He doesn't know what lies ahead
An old man
drops him a hundred
What follows is what he plead
Chorus:
Play me an old sad song
The kind that brings tears to your eyes
play something slow
put on a show
help me to hold on tight
Verse:
Whispers
through trees filled silence
The young man starred up in awe
The words
spoke by this stranger
had cut him just like a saw
Songs
rushed through his thought stream
Trying to find the right song
Then finally
after minutes of silence
the perfect song came along
Chorus:
So he played him an old sad song
The tears welled up in his eyes
the music played slow
he put on a show
and made him feel young again
Bridge:
Thank you
thanks for the memories
you've brightened this old man's day
They stood up
shook hands and fair well
the old man went on his way
Nothing
could prepare the young man
for the news he heard that next day
The old man
had passed last evening
just hours after their meet
His last words
spoke to the doctor
Please find that boy from the street
Tell him
that music is precious
and to never give up guitar
Music
is the language of people
and can cut far deeper then scars
My last hours
have been filled with memories
and happiness sprung from that song
But now
the light of Heaven
beckons me to say so long
Chorus:
It started with an old sad song
the kind that brings tears to your eyes
a song that was slow
and put on a show
and helped save an old man's life
Sunday
In a park off Main Street
A young man sits in the shade
People
Often stop and listen
to the rhythm his guitar makes
Quarters
and Dimes fall to him
He doesn't know what lies ahead
An old man
drops him a hundred
What follows is what he plead
Chorus:
Play me an old sad song
The kind that brings tears to your eyes
play something slow
put on a show
help me to hold on tight
Verse:
Whispers
through trees filled silence
The young man starred up in awe
The words
spoke by this stranger
had cut him just like a saw
Songs
rushed through his thought stream
Trying to find the right song
Then finally
after minutes of silence
the perfect song came along
Chorus:
So he played him an old sad song
The tears welled up in his eyes
the music played slow
he put on a show
and made him feel young again
Bridge:
Thank you
thanks for the memories
you've brightened this old man's day
They stood up
shook hands and fair well
the old man went on his way
Nothing
could prepare the young man
for the news he heard that next day
The old man
had passed last evening
just hours after their meet
His last words
spoke to the doctor
Please find that boy from the street
Tell him
that music is precious
and to never give up guitar
Music
is the language of people
and can cut far deeper then scars
My last hours
have been filled with memories
and happiness sprung from that song
But now
the light of Heaven
beckons me to say so long
Chorus:
It started with an old sad song
the kind that brings tears to your eyes
a song that was slow
and put on a show
and helped save an old man's life
Op-Ed and Political Cartoon Project
1. During this project we got to learn lots of things all surrounding globalization. During this project I took a deeper look at the moving of any jobs overseas or otherwise known as outsourcing. During the beginning of the project we got to do in depth research around the topic. Then we began writing our papers based around the topic we chose and the point of view or opinion we are trying to convince our reader of. The opinion was developed in our own heads, meaning that we had to draw our own conclusions. We also created cartoons to give the viewer a visual image that we to prove our points to aid the Op-Ed. Overall we all wrote concise Op-Ed and cartoons that really got the point of what we were trying to prove to our audience.
2. At the beginning of this project, I knew little to nothing about globalization. However, during the first few weeks of this project, I learned many things about globalization and what goes into it. I now understand the complexity of globalization and the impacts that it has on the world. I understand the problems that it has created and I understand what can be done to improve whole system.
3. During this project we got the opportunity to do political drawings and learn what it takes to get a point that the viewer would understand. When I started drawing political cartoons, I really wanted to convey the point to the viewer. However, I couldn't do it with the principals that I knew previously. So when I was taught about the different techniques that I could use, I began to develop better cartoons that really showed what I was trying to tell. I learned a lot from my first draft such as the use of exaggeration to really show the severity of the problem. In the end I was able to learn many different ways of showing what my topic was about.
4. Our Op-Eds were unlike anything that I had written before. This was a completely different style of writing. I was having a really hard time grasping the concept. Instead of long paragraphs with your evidence and analysis, otherwise known as a TEA paragraph, it involved short paragraph that were concise. Word choice was really crucial in this style of writing. But after understanding how to write it made a lot of sense. The writing styles that I learned from this though will be very helpful in the future when I write other essays and when I need to get a point across very well. Overall the new style will be very helpful in the future.
2. At the beginning of this project, I knew little to nothing about globalization. However, during the first few weeks of this project, I learned many things about globalization and what goes into it. I now understand the complexity of globalization and the impacts that it has on the world. I understand the problems that it has created and I understand what can be done to improve whole system.
3. During this project we got the opportunity to do political drawings and learn what it takes to get a point that the viewer would understand. When I started drawing political cartoons, I really wanted to convey the point to the viewer. However, I couldn't do it with the principals that I knew previously. So when I was taught about the different techniques that I could use, I began to develop better cartoons that really showed what I was trying to tell. I learned a lot from my first draft such as the use of exaggeration to really show the severity of the problem. In the end I was able to learn many different ways of showing what my topic was about.
4. Our Op-Eds were unlike anything that I had written before. This was a completely different style of writing. I was having a really hard time grasping the concept. Instead of long paragraphs with your evidence and analysis, otherwise known as a TEA paragraph, it involved short paragraph that were concise. Word choice was really crucial in this style of writing. But after understanding how to write it made a lot of sense. The writing styles that I learned from this though will be very helpful in the future when I write other essays and when I need to get a point across very well. Overall the new style will be very helpful in the future.
Vietnam Project
For the last part of the semester, we studied the Vietnam war, and then did a project where we were asked to make an art piece in response to our feelings about the Vietnam war and the 1960's in general. I chose to write a song. I did this because I learn best by listening to music and writing songs about things to retain the knowledge of them and interpret them in my own way. Below are the lyrics to my song. At one point in time, there was a video, but the video got deleted off of the SD card that it was on.
Short Story Project
In this project, we were tasked to write a short story (5-7 pages) that attempts to convey the truth of war through which we had gathered through previous projects. I wrote my story concerning my truth of war which is the fact that war effect everyone, not just those fighting it. My story is about a a young boy of 15, who works as the fireman of a switching locomotive on the New York Central Railroad out of Albany, New York. The year is 1941, The main character's older brother is stationed in Pearl Harbor during the time of the fateful attack. The premise of the story talks about how the main character experiences and observes changes in the country around him.