The tittle of my art work is "The Imaginary Garden" because its a picture of my imaginary garden brought to life. When I was younger my mom bought be a Vara Braley lunch bag, and it had all these weird looking flowers. So when i would go to sleep I'd have these dream of me being stuck in this strange gardn. Were every flower was bigger that I, everything was colorful and bright. This imaginary garden of mines had soon become a relaxing place for me so when ever i would have to go to the doctors to get a needle or when I watched a scary movie and could sleep I'd just always think of this garden and i'd be ok. So when thinking of a art project I though to myself to make it come to life.
When first starting on this project I drew a smaller version on white paper of what i wanted my bigger version to resemble. When I finished my rough draft, I also consulted my teacher Marcie Hall on how my drawing could be better. She gave me a few tips adn then I was off to make the final draft. When first making my final picture I was intimdated. But then as I started drawing things started to come together.
The medium I chose to use when bringing color to my artwork was pastels, as well as color pencils. I didn't wasn't to use paint because I put in allot of small details. And I wanted them all to be captures. I felt as though paint would overshadow them.
For the past two quarters, I have been lobbying for a greener Philadelphia. It began with a seed being planted, if you'll pardon the pun-- the tree that had stood outside of my house since my childhood was cut down. Although it was already dead and slowly falling apart, it was the only tree on my entire block. I wanted to be able to go outside and see something organic. Was that too much to ask?
Apparently not, because soon after that tree was taken away, another was planted in its place. A live one, this time. I wanted more of these trees, so I decided to do something about it.
My lobbying research eventually lead me to Greenworks Philadelphia, a project lead by Mayor Michael Nutter calling for an exponential growth in urban trees over the next 5 years. I expanded my topic to include other green aspects of Philadelphia-- carbon footprints, natural energy supplements, etc.
I have created 4 blog posts total. Each of them serve to educate, explain, or notify the public as to the environmental situation in Philadelphia.
My final blog post is in the form of a flow chart. Through answering a few yes and no questions, it allows citizens of Philadelphia to figure out the way they can best help to green Philadelphia.
The earth, much like the human body, will only tolerate so much abuse before it gives in and dies. We will not be able to continue living here if we do not preform some much needed maintenance. Even though I am done lobbying, I hope to continue being part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
Steve Birkmires and Ryan Francis' Weebly page about Gangsta rap and the battle against censoring hip hop music Including Music Video's, Photos, Articles and Timelines
(The
cashier just gazed at me with a blank stare.)
I
tried to organize my thoughts before I was embarrassed even further. I felt my
cheeks turning red as if my face was burning up. Then, I thought to myself and
realized that maybe the residents of Pittsburgh pronounced or had different
words for certain products as compared to how residents of Philadelphia may
call them. I just arrived here no more than two days ago for just a simple
doctor’s appointment, and I’ve have already been faced with an obstacle
involving language. Despite the fact that I was thirteen, I still had trouble
grasping languages from around the world. With one more hopeful try, I asked
once more but with similar words in which I was trying to portray the first
time.
“May I have something to drink?”
“Oh yes, what would you like? We have ‘pop’ if that’s
okay.”
Without
causing more confusion, I just agreed with what the cashier said. She handed me
a bottle of Coca Cola soda bottle. Exactly what I was asking for from the
beginning.
“Is that all?” she asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
Walking
towards the car, I hilariously shared my experience with my parents. At first,
they giggled a little but then just stared at me wondering why things were so
different between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh even though they are located in
the same state. After explaining what just happened to me, they burst into obnoxious
laughter. They tempted to make an effort and describe how certain things
conflict with language, environment being one of them. For example, since I was
raised in the South Philadelphia region my accent is different then most because
I pronounce water by saying “wudder”. Their words of wisdom reminded me of an
essay I read in which my view on language was effected.
In
the essay How to Tame a Wild Tongue by
Gloria Anzaldía, the main character creates a language to suit her identity as
well as the environment she lives in. The girl is experiencing difficulty
deciding between speaking one language; therefore she develops a language that
correlates between her personality and her opinions. Although I only speak English,
sometimes I do the same exact thing depending on where I am. Also, my beliefs
on language are quite similar to the author when she states, “ A language,
which they can connect their identity to, one capable of communicating the
realities and values are true to themselves.”
This shows that a language is spoken and used to
appeal one’s characteristics as well as to portray the aspect of a person’s
life. Identity clarifies the inner beauty of someone by many actions, language
being one of them. This is relevant to me because when I socialize with my
friends I usually say things that express how I feel and what I am all about.
On occasions, I speak to authority figures with proper vocabulary and a
respectful tone in order to show my appreciation, but it still shows who I am
despite the community I am involved with.
After
several experiences of being in the state of embarrassment on either the words
I used for something or how I pronounced something, I’ve came to realize that
there are always struggles you are bound to face throughout life but you have
to approach them differently. This means that everyone is unique in their own type
of way especially when relating to language, so you just have to keep your head
held high and overcome this obstacle without being self-conscientious about
yourself. I’ve gained a large amount of knowledge by experiencing faults with
my language, but now I have a clear understanding on how to connect with people
from different backgrounds.Acceptance is a main goal that you must be
able to accomplish in order to actively engage within a community because then
a positive attitude is being conveyed. Also, it allows people to use their
language in whichever form they feel comfortable with. Clearly, language
reflects upon strength, dignity, power, and beliefs because it either builds or
breaks you through your identity.
For our second quarter project we were given the opportunity to create whatever type of artwork we wanted to. I personally loved the idea of this because it gave me freedom to express my feelings in many different ways and show the many different sides of who I am. I decided to go with a more poetic project this quarter and express my everyday feelings in a poetry portfolio with images of myself that shows who I really am on an everyday basis. I chose to do this type of project because I know there is a secret side to me that nobody ever gets to see and I thought it would be good for everyone to take a look into my mind and see the way I really feel about the things I go through in life. This project is not fully completed yet because I have to take my time and go with my emotions when I write and I know I have more to let out so when I feel like I have shown all the sides of me that I want to show I will print all of my poetry and photos and put them in a portfolio book so that the work can be seen up close.
If I were to do this project differently I think I would try to dig deeper into who I am and try to really get raw with my emotions. I think I was a little scared to let people into my heart and soul with my work this time so next time I would get more real with myself and come to terms with who I am before I tried to let other people know who I am.
In the photos below there are just a few samples of some of the poetry I have already completed and some of the photos of myself that I edited and created to show the sides of who I am. Because my writing is so personal and close to me and how I'm feeling not all work could be uploaded but here's some of who I am I hope you enjoy what you see.
This is my letter to Senator Scott Brown (R-MA). He is against the DREAM Act because he feels as if it is a "backdoor amnesty." With my letter I am hoping to convince him to vote for the DREAM Act. Though many students and people have tried to convince him and fail, giving up is not an option.
Dear
Senator Brown, My
name is Caroline AbdulBaki and I am a senior at Science Leadership Academy.
This year, applying to colleges is an incredibly huge part of my life and
filing for financial aid. While fighting to accomplish this overwhelming
process, I tend to ask my friends to see the kinds of steps they are
taking. All or most of them would say their process is complicated, easy, and
or done, but not all of them mean it. Some of my friends would not be applying
to colleges or for financial aid because they are illegal immigrants. They know
that financial aid will not be given at any cost, and in some situations, they
are declined from going to any college. The
DREAM Act gives these hard working students an opportunity to be leveled as an
incredible student. These students that you are now depriving from college have
been attending your school districts since Pre-school. They should not be
punished for a mistake their parents committed and the child takes all the
sufferings. . These children may not be American on paper, but they are at
heart. I understand the pros and cons of the DREAM Act, however “the children
are our future” should be a huge reason why you should vote for the DREAM Act.
These children work hard to receive an education and achieve in life in order
to help make OUR country a better place to live. It is important for those who
help represent the country their entire lives to be given a chance. They
work hard to accomplish DREAMS they have had for a long time but not to be
crushed by a system that limits their education. If you are not a favor of the
wordingm try to change it, make it reasonable but I ask you to not take this
opportunity away from these earning children. Take
a minute and put yourself in their shoes. Put your children in their shoes
imagine if they were to suffer from a mistake that you had made in your past.
It is a frustrating proccess that any parent or child would be willing to
fight. We want to legalizing immigrants and why not help those who
deserve it. Take a second Mr. Brown and truly think about these children by
helping to make the right choice for these children.