The Cricut Customization Workshop was a series of workshops designed to teach students how to create and craft using Cricut machines. Cricut is a brand that offers various materials, including vinyl, cardstock paper, fabric, and more, which can be customized for personal items or gifts. This idea inspired me to host a workshop focused on customization to expand creativity among students.

The initial capstone idea was to reopen SLA’s school store, as it provided a convenient source of food and snacks for students during their online school schedules. However, this idea faced several challenges, including funding, funding, and cleaning the store. The main issue was getting the adults from SLA and the HSA, who funded the school store, to communicate and agree on a plan.

When the deadline approached, I saw unused Cricut machines in the art room and decided to host workshops using them. I brought up the idea to my mentor, who approved the idea immediately. When drafting the capstone proposal, I had to rethink how this was going to fit in with SLA’s core values and incorporate the business aspect of my previous capstone idea into this workshop.

My research focused on different types of materials that Cricut machines can cut, how it is used, and which material works best for specific crafts. Additionally, I gained knowledge on businesses and how to incorporate entrepreneurship into the workshop.

In conclusion, the Cricut Customization Workshop was a successful capstone idea that allowed students to express their creativity using Cricut machines and explore the potential of entrepreneurship. The workshop provided valuable insights into the use of Cricut machines in various industries and helped students develop skills in entrepreneurship.

(Also looking closer into Offred’s and the Commander’ s relationship.)

The “Handmaid” in the title is referring to Offred, the main character. This is clearly revealed as the story is told in Offred’s perspective. However it is more complicated than you think. The story is told from when Offred is living the actual scene but she also narrates it as if it were told from third person. I noticed how there were parts in the book when characters were speaking, their dialogue was not in quotation marks and other parts were. When there was dialogue without quotation marks, Margaret Atwood, the author, would write “I said.” or “He said.” The dialogue that had quotation marks Atwood would write “I say.” or “He says.” This technique used by Atwood allows the reader to picture the scene when there was dialogue without quotation marks but with quotations, Atwood wanted the reader to feel like they were in that scene. To feel what Offred felt.

When I googled the definition of “Tale” it defined it as “a story, especially one that might be invented or difficult to believe.” On page 39 Offred said, “I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling. I need to believe it. I must believe it… It isn’t a story I’m telling. It’s also a story I’m telling, in my head, as I go along.” She is letting us know this book is her tale, not everything is true. Chapter 38 basically summarizes Moira’s whole journey after she escaped the Center, it was a long long long journey. Not many would have made it out as sane as Moira did. There was a point where she wanted to end her life. On page 249 it stuck out to me that some dialogue, that had quotation marks, were questions and yet they still ended it with “I say.” “ What about the others? I say”. This observation sparked the question Why is it “I say.” even when it is a question? With the help of my peer, Leticia Desouza we were able to discuss and come up with an explanation. Even though this scene was told in present tense, it is still a tale that she is telling the readers. As Offred mentioned on page 243, Moira told her all about her journey but she could not remember everything. She said, “I’ve filled it out for her as much as I can…” Once again letting the reader know that not everything said is exactly true.

Moira’s character is the life/adventurous element of this whole book. Every time Moira is mentioned something to keep the book interesting happens. When she was at the Center she managed to escape but to escape she tricked Aunt Elizabeth into helping her unclog a toilet Moira purposely clogged. She then threatened Aunt Elizabeth, tied her up and swapped clothes with her to make her escape easier. At the end of chapter 38 Offred seemed like she did not really like the content of Moira’s journey. She said, “I’d like to tell a story about how Moira escaped for good this time. Or if I couldn’t tell that, I’d like to say she blew up Jezebel’s, with fifty Commanders inside it. I’d like her to end with something daring and spectacular, some outrage, something that would befit her.”(250) Offred sees in Moira the courage she does not have. She depends on Moira to feel safe or become free. Before the new government took over Gilead, Moira was already expecting it. Moira already had ties with the Underground Femaleroad. Unlike Moira, Offred was not prepared. Everything to her was all of the sudden that is why she depends on Moira to become free. That is also why she wanted to tell a story of how Moira blew up Jezebel’s with fifty Commanders inside. She herself would not do anything to fight or protest and become free.

In chapter 39 it is illustrated an uncomfortable scene between Offred and the Commander. The Commander took Offred to Jezebel’s, where she saw Moira and explained her whole journey after escaping the center. After that the Commander took Offred to a hotel room at Jezebel’s to sleep with her. Although he acknowledged that the Ceremony was the next day, he still goes on to say, “I thought we could jump the gun.” He starts to caress Offred’s body however the way she worded it shows that she is uncomfortable. “…the left leg. He stops at the foot, his fingers encircling the ankle.”(254) Instead of calling her body “my” she references them as “the” because in this moment she is an object to the Commander. An object for him to get his pleasure out of. Even as this was all happening she continues to defend the Commander though not to someone, she is mentally defending him. “I remind myself that he is not an unkind man; that, under other circumstances, I even like him.” Offred holds onto this idea that the Commander is a good guy because she could end up like the last handmaid, killing herself to end her suffering.

Out of all the techniques Margaret Atwood used in The Handmaid’s Tale, the one that stuck out the most to me was how and when she uses quotation marks. Before reading it is necessary to understand that some parts are told from the main character’s , Offred, memory which she also established she could be making the stories up as she tells them. Other parts are told from Offred’s live point of view.. A technique that Atwoord used to distinguish when the story was being told in present or past tense was through quotation marks. Chapter 7 starts off with, “The night is mine, my own time, to do with as I will, as long as I am quiet. As long as I don’t move. As long as I lie still… But the night is my time out. Where should I go? Somewhere good.” (pg. 37) Then Offred starts telling a memory of her and Moira during a time they went to the same school. “You’re getting ashes in my bed, I said. If you’d make it you wouldn’t have this problem, said Moira.” (pg. 37) This memory is told in past tense however it was noted that even when characters said something there were no quotation marks around what they said. This is significant because scenes like this Atwood wants the reader to create an image in their heads contrary to the significance of scenes told in present tense. On page 137 it says, “The Commander is standing in front of the fireless fireplace, back to it, one elbow on the carved wooden overmantel, other hand in pocket.” Offred is telling this story in present tense. When Offred tells a story in present tense she will go into explicit detail about it. The quote from page 137 she makes note of the “fireless fireplace” and how the Commander was standing. The purpose of this is to get the reader engaged, create an image, and also feel what Offred may be feeling in that exact moment. This technique allows the reader to better understand Offred. In the artwork I created I tried to showcase the two different parts. On the top half is Offred going to bed however before she actually goes to sleep she basically scrolls through her memories. I drew her laying in bed with clouds above her head to represent her telling her memories. I chose to add the quote, “Where should I go?” because it is significant to understanding that the next events Offred tells are her memories. She will start telling a good memory she had and then switch to another and another one. The bottom half of the artwork is when Offred was called by the Commander to his office. I specifically chose to not include Offred in this part because when this event occurred Offred told it in present tense from her perspective. I tried to draw this scene as if we were Offred, standing in the room, and seeing it through her eyes.

In my recent Slate Post I talked about Smartphone Addiction in simple words is the overuse of smartphones. This can also include social media. Overuse of these things can have a negative effect. Some effects are depression, suicide, interference with how productive you are, and interference with your sleep schedule. You can even have a “tech” neck. Over time, the position of leaning over your phone can cause your neck to be stiff and stay slanted.

An organization called the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction. Dr. Greenfield, who founded the organization, treats people with internet and technology addiction. He is also known internationally. The organization has therapy and workshops to help the addiction. At Camp Poconos Trail they have a tech overuse program. In this video, they explain how this program works, and the effects it has. They show kids what activities they can do that don’t involve going on their phones. I think camp is a great way to learn how to be off your phone, learn what to do in the meantime, and meet new people.

For my Agent of Change I decided to create a phone use challenge. Basically you would try to spend less hours on your phone for a whole week. You would set a goal based on the average amount of hours you spent the week before. You would do the things that you probably have been procrastinating to do. I chose to do a challenge because I was not exactly sure how I would make a change. I knew that I wanted people to at least try spending less hours on their phone, get them to realize the negative effects and that is how I came up with the idea of a challenge. A challenge is something people can decide to try and is not exactly forced and the challenge itself is adaptable to their average hours goal. I created a google form as feedback to see if this challenge was helpful or not but unfortunately I did not get any responses. My effectiveness is unsure due to the fact that I don’t know if people actually tried the challenge.

I enjoyed doing this project because it is an eye opening experience. I feel like this project sounds a bit scary because you are going to have to put yourself out there and it is not something that just you and your teacher will see but people out in the world will also see. Something I could have done better was organizing, preparing, and presenting my Agent of Change earlier. I think if I had not presented two weeks before grades are put in, I guess people would have tried the challenge and filled out the google form. I think what is left for me to do is also try the Phone Use Challenge and see for myself if it helps, see what changes I should make the challenge.

Could you be lucky by not having a phone these days? Having a smartphone is pretty common today except many are addicted or fear being addicted to it. I think many would agree that they fear having smartphone addiction. We are connected to smartphones, computers, and more almost every day. A lot of the time it is for work but for teens today we are constantly looking for digital rewards and micro-feedback. This issue is important to me because as a teen living in the U.S. today, I realize how much I am on my phone and with virtual school being a thing, I spend practically my whole day looking at a screen. It might not affect us now because we are young but in the future, the tendency is only to get worse.

These are the results of two surveys conducted in 2014-15 and in 2018 to find out how long most teens are online.

Smartphone Addiction is also known as nomophobia, which is the fear of being without a mobile phone. This usually results from the overuse of the internet. This overuse can lead to many negative effects. According to this article, it can lead to depression, suicide, interference with how productive we are, and even with our sleep. I know many of my friends who always complain about having a messed up sleep schedule. They will usually sleep at 3:00 in the morning and have to wake up at 6-7pm for school with no motivation to do anything. There is even a new term called “tech neck”. According to the same article, “The position of hunching over a smartphone for 8 – 10 hours a day takes a toll on physical health. Sitting with the head down puts stress and pressure on the back and spine, which is bad for posture and increases the risk of neck and back issues.” This is something that many teens have, myself included.

This image shows eventually how our posture is going to be. Having a stiff neck is painful because your neck will start to hurt and there is nothing to stop it.

We still are young, we still have time to correct or prevent ourselves from the negative consequences. Some things we can do are: remove apps that are time-consuming from our phones and start accessing them through a different device that we don’t carry around like our phones. Iphones have a new update that allows us to know how much time we spent on our phones. It even allows us to set limits to certain apps. It is called Screen Time.

https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/28/apple-statement-parental-control-app-crackdown/

This research has opened my eyes to many things such as dopamine, micro-feedback, and having a tech neck. It has also shown me that part of the reason for teens’ depression or anxiety is because of our excessive use of our phones. Now that you know some ways to prevent or stop yourself from having Smartphone addiction, will you apply these methods?

Annotated Bibliography