Promming

Think about it: The dresses, the hairdos, the photos, and all of the fancy experiences that go along with it. To high schoolers, it's basically your wedding day. Everything has to go perfect! All the months of planning that goes into it, from limousine reservations to after party plans, every minute of the day must go according to plan. The has been my life for the past two months. I took on the role of the group planner. So I was in charge of the limo rental, the dinner reservations, the picture location, and the after prom details. Now, as a high school student who has college decisions, daily homework, and drama at school, that is a lot of extra responsibility to bear. 

To be honest, prom became an obsession to me. Within a couple of weeks, I was unnecessarily concerned with how every little detail of my senior prom would play out. I communicated to my group the plans, but I rarely took advice from my friends about anything concerning my plans. I wanted to be a hero, a prom hero. I wanted to make sure that this prom was perfect! And it was going to be,,,,

Until it rains all day and night! Everything is ruined: The dresses get soaked, the make-up runs, the bow ties sag, and us young teenagers feel miserable. But it's all alright because I realized that no matter how hard I try, I cannot control everything. This rain was necessary to remind me that everyone's opinions matter and that Prom will be the most enjoyable when everyone is having fun, rather than just following my dictatorial plans.

Questions

Questions are limitless. They give researchers passion and influential speaker’s their power. Questions are often used in the business world to stimulate growth or encourage new ideas. But in high school, questions are largely suppressed. Asking too many questions can make it seem you don’t understand the concepts being taught or that you are attempting to pull the teacher off topic. Many times there just isn’t enough time in the school day to expand on and really question the concepts behind a topic. However, I’ve discovered to my excitement that asking the right questions and taking the initiative to then answer them can make a positive change in my own environment and impact the people around me.

Unfortunately, no amount of proactive thinking will answer all the questions that will fill my head. But that is the beauty of it! One answered question always leads to another question, another opportunity to create a solution that will benefit my community and my world. In life, we are all researchers, moving from question to question, using our prior knowledge in the challenges ahead of us. One of the tools that we have is brotherhood, the ability for a determined, passionate and driven group of peers to come together in their research and use each other. Clemson will be a place where I can pose my questions to like-minded students and formulate lasting solutions that will positively impact the college and the campus community. Together, we have the ability to make lasting change, and I’ve discovered that all it really starts with is asking the right questions. 

My Favorite Teacher

A favorite teacher is more than just an educator. He doesn't just sit at the back of class and complain about bad test scores or a lack of effort from students. A favorite teacher does not hand out busy work assignments because they do not feel like teaching their students that day. To be my favorite teacher, you must be more than that. 

My favorite teacher creates. My favorite teacher inspires. My favorite teacher fights for attention. He improvises, customizes and constructs. My favorite teacher goes far beyond the traditional blackboard bully that stares disappointingly at you through his glasses. He designs lessons that challenge his students while giving them hope to solve the problem. He helps his students correct their own mistakes without causing them to feel poorly about making those mistakes. He uses everyday objects, like a deck of cards or a pumpkin, to show students that class can be unpredictable and, dare I say it, enjoyable. 

Day after day, My favorite teacher exposes my peers and I to new material without boring us with textbook reading. He discusses without lecturing. He teaches without losing our attention. He makes us laugh, daily. He is a refreshing breath of fresh air in a room full of hormonal, sweaty teenagers. 

His best quality in my opinion, is his ability to read the class. My favorite teacher knows when and how to crack a joke. He knows when to explain a topic further. He can make us forget about the past 5 hours of nonstop learning. Furthermore, he even gives us the class period as a study hall when he notices excessive stress in us (most likely due to the constant testing that is prevalent in my school). His class is an oasis, but only because of the clean water he brings. 

However, do not let that discredit him about his teaching. My favorite teacher knows more about Statistics than the SuperComputer at my future university does. He knows how to use visual aids to simplify the most confusing subjects, as well as showing videos on how others have solved the problem at hand, teaching us students that there is always more than one way of solving the problem. He knows when a Null hypothesis has the correct normality verification when N is greater than or equal to 10n, whatever that means. 

Moreover, not only is he a magnificent teacher, but he also is an unmatched coach. My favorite teacher is multifaceted, with the ability to teach students how to find standard deviation as well as how to run a 4.1 second 10 meter dash. He can inspire student both on the track and in the classroom. 

My favorite teacher has the most well-groomed beard in the school, a fire Instagram with more followers and me, and a state-winning cross country team. But more importantly, he has the love of each and every one of the student that go through his classes. His personality is unparalleled and is character is impeccable. 

My favorite teacher is Mr. Zamaria 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

This past week, my peers and I in the Dig Cit class entered our Global Citizenship Unit. We have been analyzing some of the basic rights that are guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, posted by the United Nation. It was great to see some many of the 30 rights actually mirror some of the amendments to the US constitution. One such right is the right to Assembly, while another is the right to free speech and religion. 

I felt much pride that our constitution was used in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To think that we had that much of an impact on the seven billion people that inhabit the Earth is amazing. I realize how blessed I am to be in the system of government that we in America enjoy. 

However, I also realized that many of the rights that are included in the Declaration are not followed. The right to movement and the right to flee persecution are almost universally denied in third world countries. Furthermore, the right to seek asylum isn't respected worldwide, even in America with the Syrian refugees. There are many steps our country needs to take in securing everyone's right if we want to continue to be the leader of the free world. 

World of 7 Billion

Recently, my Digital Citizenship class touched on the growing world population issue. We entered a national competition on increasing awareness of the problem through the World of 7 Billion website. Our task was to create a one minute video that discussed an issue related to either deforestation, public health, or water safety, all topics that are effected by increased human population. Our parameters were: to use copyright free video/images to create an informative video that would show how our selected topic was being effected by population growth, as well as come up with a solution to the problem. 

My peers and I were given only three days in and out of class to create this video, a shorter time span that the Service Via Video project I have discussed in previous blogs. However, we were able to create a much stronger video due to our experiences in iMovie. After just one review session in class, I felt that my peers and I had finally mastered the art of RESPONSIBLE video creation. 

Personally, this video hit home for me. My father is an employee at a local power company, so I understand many of the issues that are related to public health from the perspective of resource depletion. I very much enjoyed the video and I hope that the judges from worldof7billion.org agree!

Surviving the SnowStorm

Now that the "blizzard" of the Southeast is melted and gone, it is time to get back to my Service Via Video project. Cole, my partner, and I have met with the Turn Two For Youth director, Vince. I videoed the encounter as Cole picked up the empty equipment bins and banners from the TTFY warehouse. The goal of our project is to increase the awareness of the Ambassador Program within the TTFY organization. Therefore, it is my job to come alongside Cole and keep a video record of his actions as Junior Ambassador so that I can compile an informative video that other prospective Junior Ambassadors can watch. 

For our video, I will be interviewing not only Cole and Vince, but two other local Junior Ambassadors. This way, I can share the story of multiple volunteers in my video, giving the audience a more wholistic idea of the responsibilities that a Junior Ambassador has. Special thanks to John and Will for agreeing to interview with me. The farther I push in this assignment, the more connections I am making within my own community. 

Lastly, an update on my Passion Project. I have currently identified around 10 common issues that my student peers run into on a monthly basis. It is annoying that they have to deal with simple malfunctions when, with the proper knowledge and skill, can be fixed within minutes. Some issues deal with iCloud back up, while others deal with school-sponsored apps such as Schoology and Self-Service. I am creating solutions for these 10 issues and will continue to keep you updated with my progress. 

Turn 2 For Youth

I was excited this week to hear about our next upcoming project: The Service Via Video Project. After coming back from winter break, the teachers of my Dig Cit class have decided to get us back in the swing of things by volunteering/partnering with local non-profit charities or organizations. 

My partner, Cole, and I were given the organization Turn Two for Youth. Locally based, T2FY collects new and used baseball and softball equipment that they give to teens all over the globe. Their organization has had collection up and down the east coast, ranging from Philadelphia to Florida. Our job is to create a video that T2FY could use to display their Junior Ambassadors program. Lucky for us, another student at our school, Jacob, volunteered to help us out with the video production. Jacob is quite the expert with the video and will be a great addition to our project!

As I was looking on the T2FY website and I saw that they were partnered with Chick-fil-A. I am a team member at Chick-fil-A and I have developed some amazing relationships with the upper management there. I hope to use my influence to sponsor a  baseball equipment drive at my Chick-fil-A location and possibly other chick-fil-a locations across the Charlotte area. What an opportunity to help others.