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Movies, books, TV shows, social media, and even walking down the street. These are all places where romantic relationships can be witnessed. Many people engage in relationships during their teenage years. Many teenagers complain about being single and wanting a significant other. Teenagers feel pressure to engage in romantic relationships due to media.

In a survey that I did amongst a group of Juniors at SLA, over half of them agreed that they have felt societal pressure to engage in a romantic relationship. Students in an environment where education should be a main priority express a feeling of pressure from their peers, social media, family, etc to have a romantic partner. Teenagers in this day and age have easy access to the internet, where romantic relationships are especially prominent due to social media pages that post pictures of ‘couple goals’ and other similar ideas of romantic relationships. Through social media it is easy to see who’s dating who, who likes who, who’s talking to who, ways to see relationships. Due to this teenagers feel pressure to fit in and engage in their own romantic relationships.

In an article written by TeenZeen.org the author writes that, “Sometimes, you may not be ready to start dating, but you feel that you have to because everyone else around you is.” A very common way that people, especially teenagers, express themselves is on social media sites such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Teenagers tend to show off the people that they’re talking to, they like to post about their emotions and how they feel about certain things. This can be a very powerful thing that can influence others feelings on certain topics. Many teenagers follow people that they idolize on social media, many of these social media famous people are teenagers themselves. When teenagers see people their age who are succeeding they feel pressure to mimic their actions to achieve their own success. One way that they might try and do that is through entering romantic relationships, especially if the person / people that they idol are in their own romantic relationships.

Kara Nesvig wrote an article for Teen Vogue about the “21 best TV show couples.” The article lists a few of the many romantic relationships that are shown on TV. She writes that, “These 20 iconic couples make us believe that love is real, even if it’s just on TV.” Almost every single teenager watches some type of TV. This shows how prominent couples are in TV shows and how it makes teenagers have a certain perception of what ‘love’ should look like. Almost every TV show or movie about highschool students has some type of love plot to it. This causes pressure on teenagers to enter their own romantic relationships because, “it’s what everyone else is doing.” By nature, humans want to fit into their environment and with their peers and if that means entering a romantic relationship, even if they aren’t ready, then that’s what they will do.

Relationships are seen everywhere nowadays, even though many teens say that they are content in not being involved in a romantic relationship they feel pressured to be in a relationship. This is due to how often teenagers are reminded of others, especially their peer’s, relationship statuses, and more oftenly the ones who are engaged in romantic relationships.

https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/best-tv-couples

https://www.teenzeen.org/teens-and-dating.html

Survey done by me

My element is Radon (Rn). The atomic number is 86. My element is a toxic substance that was discovered in 1900 by Friedrich Ernst Dorn. It was known as Niton until its name was changed in 1923. It is primarily obtained through radium decay. It is used in cancer treatment.

I got my idea from the toxicity of Rafon. Gas masks that filter out toxins need to be used when near Radon. So I drew a gas mask.

We researched our element and then we came up with 3 ideas. Next we copied our best idea on to copy paper and the copied it onto a foam board. Then we used paint to print it onto another paper.

If I could do anything different I would make sure my drawing and words was more indented in the foam.

I enjoyed the printing part of the project when we used the paint. It was the most fun to me and I enjoyed doing it. It was when we put paint on the foam and copied it onto paper. I liked putting the paint onto the foam the most of the entire project.

AGENT OF CHANGE

For my final agent of change I decided to did 3 posters that really set the mindset of how smoking is bad for every human around the world.  When I first started this project I was going to do only children but I quickly realized after some research that it is not only the children that need help, the adults also need help with smoking because I pretty sure they do not realize the extensive and everlasting damage smoking puts on your body and your pockets. So what I did to spread some awareness around my school community was to put up several different posters that depict how smoking affects you and the people around you. My first poster was a picture of the words Ńo Smoking” and below that was multiple reasons and effects smoking has on You My next poster that I made was a picture a vertical cigarette that shows the different ages( to the max of 60). For my final poster I made was a pictures of  cigarette explaining the dangers and how. I realized a lot through these past couple of months the worst of smoking and the effets aren’t just made up, they are real and I learned that from multiple MDs about smoking and the dangers. From this project I also want and have been talking to my family that smokes and sharing this information with them. I believe I should do that because It shows how much I have learned from this project and I feel as though it’s my duty and my job that I try to make a change in people lives to stop smoking to one protect their health and two stop a trend that smoking is cool and I hope that I achieve that with my posters.

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Quarter 4 Advanced Art Reflection

The first project we did this quarter was figure drawing. With a regular mechanical pencil on white 8.5 x 11 paper, I sketched 8 figures from a useful reference image site. I then chose one of the sketches to draw on large paper. I think that the final product is kind of atrocious proportionally, but I am proud of it because I never do full figure drawings. I think this project really showcases how much I need to do more of it. The second project we did this quarter was line drawings. I really liked this project. I did 6 bust portraits in different colored pens on white 8.5 x 11 paper, using continuous lines. The final product looked better with some drawings than others, but I think that the overall effect was very cool.

The third project we did this quarter was digital drawings. I made two of them using google draw. For each drawing, I used a combination of lines of my own creation and pre-made shapes. I personally like the more geometric one I made better. The fourth project we did this quarter was an illusion of space drawing. I used pencil on  white 8.5 x 11 paper. To make the illusion of space, I made a vanishing point and made all the lines go into it. I liked the cool surreal world I made with my drawing.

The fifth project we did this quarter was a texture drawing. Before my final drawing, I used a website to practice many different textures I could create with my pencil. Then, I used pencil on white 8.5 x 11 paper to make a drawing of vegetables, showcasing what I had learned about texture. The sixth project we did this quarter was value drawings. These were very fun because I had a lot of freedom with what I did. I did some fun doodles with a number of different mediums on white 8.5 x 11 paper. The seventh project of this quarter and the final project of the year was an elements of art drawing. I used color, value, line, space, and shape to make a really cool drawing. It was really fun to combine all the skills I learned to create something of my own.

My element is Hydrogen. Its atomic number is 1, its atomic symbol is H, and its atomic weight is 1.00794u. Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe. It is a gas and is the fuel for stars that are in a plasma state. Hydrogen is one of the elements that make up carbohydrates, and it is also an important component in water.

I got the idea of making a star for my print design while I was researching my element. Hydrogen is the fuel for stars, so I thought it would be fitting for a star to be my design. I had to incorporate the atomic number and symbol, so I decided that I would put the atomic symbol, H, inside the star. I drew the H in one-point perspective and I drew the atomic number, 1, under the star.

The process of making this print took me a while. I first had the idea of making drops of water on my print due to Hydrogen’s role in making up water. I then decided to go with a star design instead. When drawing the print onto the styrofoam stencil, I initially drew my design on regularly which was a mistake. I then turned over the stencil and redrew my design backwards, so that it would show up regularly on the print.

If I were to do this project again, I would probably try and create a more complicated design in order to challenge myself. My favorite part of the printmaking process was using the rollers to cover my styrofoam stencil in paint so that I could press it onto my paper to make the print. I enjoyed this because it was a simple process, yet it ended up making beautiful pieces of art. It was very cool to see. Hopefully I will be given the opportunity to do this again sometime in the future.

Atoms & Art

Bohrium

My element for this project was Bohrium, with the atomic number of 107 and atomic symbol of Bh.  Bohrium was first discovered in 1976 at the Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia by Yuri Oganessian, and the element was confirmed in 1981 by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenber at the GSI particle  accelerator (Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung) in Darmstadt, Germany. It was created by bombarding Bismuth with Chromium in both labs, but since the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) said that GSI’s discovery claim was more credible than JINR, GSI were awarded the discovery despite JINR likely discovering it first.  The element was named after Niels Bohr, a danish physicist and Nobel prize receiver in 1922 for physics, who made contributions to our knowledge on atomic structure and quantum theory. Bohrium does not have any real life uses and it has only been produced in minute quantities in particle accelerators. Little is actually known about what Bohrium other than it is a highly radioactive metal and it is solid at room temperature,  as its half-life is only a few seconds long.

The idea I got for the imagery of my element came from the knowledge that it was created in a particle accelerator, so I decided to sketch up an image of two particles colliding and creating many new particles and elements.  To print the sketch, I first needed to trace the original sketch on tracing paper, then transfer that over to the foam board backwards and essentially etching the positive space. I would then roll the paint onto the brayer and roll it onto the foam board.  Then I would place a piece of paper on top of it and apply even pressure on the paper to transfer the ink. I would occasionally lift up the corner or the side of the paper to see where more pressure was needed to be applied and then the paper was removed and left to dry.  If I were to make the print a second time, I would’ve put more texture onto the motion trails of the particles as on the print, it is just solid color. I would’ve also printed multiple colors if I wasn’t already past the printing stage by that point. I enjoyed doing the printing the most, and specifically rolling out the paint as it was satisfying to do and it was the most hands on step of the process.  

Darlenny Rodriguez

English 2

The Obesity Epidemic: What's Causing it?

Obesity has become a rapidly increasing issue in America, with more than one third of adults being obese. This is an issue because of the serious health problems it can lead to. They range from gallbladder disease, strokes, diabetes, and many other diseases. Many things can factor into the cause of obesity, such as non sedentary living, but one of the leading causes is processed food.  In a country where the majority of the food is process, obesity has become inevitable.

Processed foods are foods that are commercially prepared foods that aim to ease consumption, usually foods that have already been prepared. Shape.com highlights the different levels of processed foods and its negative impact on the human body. According to their article ¨Why Ultra-Processed Foods = Obesity¨, there are three levels of processed foods, minimal, semi, and ultra processed. They highlight the issues of ultra processing, stating ¨they tend to be calorie packed per bite, readily available, often super-sized, and heavily marketed; which all add up to overeating by throwing off our normal appetite, hunger and satiety mechanisms.¨  Food that doesn’t provide people with the needed nutrition might make them feel full but soon you will be hungry again because their body will be asking for nutrients. This becomes a process, which becomes harder to break after it is made a habit. Processed foods may seem great at first, but slowly they are harming the human body and their consumption should be minimalized.

Another reason why processed foods should be considered the leading cause of obesity in America is because of how accessible and marketed they are. Big companies are mass producing unhealthy items, ignoring the negative effects it has on people's health. Myfoodandhappiness.com speaks about this in an article explaining the correlation between obesity and processed foods. They state ¨They [processed food] are created to allure you, excite you and addict you to become a consumer of their product. The food companies’ goal, just like any other company, is to make more money. The way they do it is by designing products with a perfected taste with the help of people that have been hired to serve the role of guinea pigs.¨ Unlike many healthier foods, processed foods prioritize making money over keeping americans healthy. In addition to this, they are extremely easy to obtain. Restaurants, supermarkets, etc. are all around and many companies make them extremely affordable. These foods are marketed in a way to appeal to the general public, because of how easy it is to get them, making processed foods the main cause in obesity .

Obesity has became a bug issue in America due to the severe health problems it can cause. Many factors play into this, such as people not getting enough exercise, or genetics, but processes foods and its tactics that make you want them are reasons why the obesity epidemic should be blamed on processed foods.

1. editors, shape.com. “Why Ultra-Processed Foods = Obesity.” Shape Magazine, Shape Magazine, 25 July 2013, www.shape.com/blogs/weight-loss-coach/why-ultra-processed-foods-obesity.

2. Kriner, Matthew C., and Monika. “Processed Food and Why Is It the Main Cause of Obesity.” My Food & Happiness, 16 May 2017, www.myfoodandhappiness.com/processed-food-and-why-is-it-the-main-cause-of-obesity/.

Genero Accooe

4/22/18

English 3

Larissa Pahomov

Due to recent events, many people are questioning the safety of what we  humans call, social media. About 2 week ago, Facebook's creator, Mark Zuckerberg went on trial on Capitol Hill as Facebook was caught dealing information to Cambridge Analytica which is a company hired by President Donald Trump which deals with data mining and storing, and strategies for elections. The reality of all this is that this data can all be accessed from each and every Facebook account on the planet which begs the question, do we really care about the actual information or the just the assumption that people/ companies make out of that data? People often care about consent when it comes to information, and many people be upset if they found out that their info was being used or studied once it was too late. People The data is misrepresenting and goes against what they themselves choose to portray online.

The grilling on Capitol Hill was long and awkward to most as Mark Zuckerberg  answered many of the senators questions, some of which seemed obvious due to their nature. One quick question that Senator Blumenthal had asked Mr. Zuckerberg had made it clear that even Zuckerberg did not fully agree with people invading his privacy. Blumenthal asked the CEO of Facebook if he would care to tell the senators were Zuckerberg had stayed the other night and had his beliefs on privacy confirmed when Zuckerberg refused to reveal that info. It goes to show that even someone like Zuckerberg who created the website which has abused others personal information wouldn’t like their own info used. Like most people, Zuckerberg wouldn’t want complete strangers to know where he’s stayed due to the probable dangers that could come from people that would like to do him harm. It seems that it is only specific information that Zuckerberg would have liked to show since due to the image he would like to convey to the media. If Zuckerberg were to have had his location known at almost all times then he would come off as a vulnerable person which can be a damaging trait to people in power and if they had the choice, they would certainly not allow such information to be put out into the media.

Even though Mark Zuckerberg was the main focus of the grilling on Capitol Hill, it still leaves people to question the thought process of those over at Cambridge Analytica. Aleksandr Kogan, the app developer for Facebook said that his actions were justified due to the companies so called “(“The belief in Silicon Valley and certainly our belief... was that the general public must be aware that their data is being sold and shared and used to advertise to them," - Kogan) In response to the interview, Cambridge Analytica said that they assumed that the data they were given did not violate data protection legislations and even began to ask consent from other users. This change of actions shows that the company saw some sort of problem with the way they gathered information and ultimately proves that they saw it shouldn’t be their choice to do as they please with others information but also shows that people often .

People often forget the risks of social media when it comes to their own privacy and take many of their choices lightly. They come in the form of blindly accepting the user agreement terms papers, posting or liking things that may end up damaging their own image, but the one thing that separates the two is that when humans do things against their will they revolt and become angry. Humans constantly battle for their free will, and constantly fight to make sure they are in complete controll of their lives and the ways in which thoes lives are percieved. The problem was not that Cambridge used data, it’s that it was against the will of thoes it came from.

Sources:

• Musil, Steven. “Cambridge Analytica Researcher Fires Back at Facebook on 60 Minutes.” CNET, CNET, 22 Apr. 2018, www.cnet.com/news/cambridge-analytica-researcher-fires-back-at-facebook-on-60-minutes/

• Granville, Kevin. “Facebook and Cambridge Analytica: What You Need to Know as Fallout Widens.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Mar. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/facebook-cambridge-analytica-explained.html