Maureen Kelly Public Feed

Mo Kelly Capstone

Posted by Maureen Kelly in Capstone · Pulley/Giknis/Spry · Wed on

For my capstone, I wanted to do something that explored the question of “How can we connect with other cultures and have meaningful experiences through a pandemic?” Through my experience with the SLA exchange program to Poland, I learned to understand the true value of connection with places different than our own and the importance of creating a community full of diversity. Because of the pandemic, I knew that the typical exchange programs would not be able to continue, but I knew there were still ways to have these same experiences, even in our own homes. With the help of my mentor, Ms. Giknis, I was able to connect with a group of people from the Rudolph Brandeis Gymnasium, a school in Germany. With a group of SLA students and our partners from Germany, we designed a tapestry depicting our core values of community and connection and are currently working on putting it all together.

While the Tapestry isn’t fully finished, I have compiled a few documents to show the work I’ve put into this project for the last couple of months. I have a google drive with photos showing the process of assembling the tapestry, and a google doc of research for the design on the tapestry.

Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hR1q0CByuJdKZwbhkk2NNIY2vC_yRDzJ?usp=sharing

Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MqlTXDltO3tb5d96qfFBdmyjoECwJsb-uvqzJLtAEBU/edit?usp=sharing

Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LuEsB6vyrBchM99KwvAZ5vQjiFkd2PUoA9upCLk6Jf8/edit?usp=sharing

Advanced Essay #2: How Immigration Reveals America's Truths

Posted by Maureen Kelly in English 3 · Block · Y Band on

Introduction: In this paper, I wanted to explore the “real” side of America and how I believe that immigration and immigrants illuminate this side. This is an idea that I feel strongly about, so it was exciting for me to be able to write about it. Some of my goals were to get my big idea across very clearly and describe it in a way that everyone could understand. I also wanted to have a strong introduction and conclusion and describe ideas with great detail. I am very proud of my introduction for this essay, as I think it really ties in the reader and does a generally good job of introducing the rest of my essay. I worked hard on this essay and I think it is worth reading.

How Immigration Reveals America’s Truths

The United States of America has boasted the title of “Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave” since its inception. This phrase is embedded into the identity of the country, appearing in the National Anthem and other merchandise that represents the country. This idea is not only present within the nation; America is known throughout the world as a land of equal opportunity for all. This has caused a large number of immigrants since the colonial era and has stayed at around the same number since then. The influx of immigrants is partially due to the idea of the “American Dream,” which is the idea that America will provide immigrants with opportunities that they would not get in their home country, and it does not matter where they came from. But, most immigrants are faced with a very different truth when they come to this country; America is not blind to one’s origin or ethnicity. In reality, the “Land of the Free” is favored toward its natural-born citizens, often leaving immigrants behind to fend for themselves.

There are many reasons why an immigrant would leave their home country; dangerous circumstances, no job opportunities, or wanting a better life for a family. The USA can seem like a haven to people coming from countries that are not always safe. According to the Department of Homeland Security, there were 1,096,611 people who obtained legal permanent resident status in 2018 and there were 22,405 refugee arrivals. These numbers do not include people who arrived illegally or were denied legal citizenship. Most immigrants who obtained legal status came from Mexico in 2018, followed by Cuba and the People’s Republic of China. What the Department of Homeland Security did not include in their 2018 yearbook was data showing how many immigrants voluntarily left America. Although America is most likely a safer place to live than most immigrants’ home countries, some may find that the U.S. is much different from what they expected. An example of this mindset is found in the book Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. This book tells the story of Jende Jonga and his family who immigrated from Cameroon to New York City in order to have a more secure life for themselves. Although at first they love the American lifestyle and don’t seem to miss their life in their home country, they begin to struggle to stay afloat due to many factors. In a conversation with his wife, Jende says “In America today, having documents is not enough. Look at how many people with papers are struggling. Look at how even some Americans are suffering… and yet they are sleeping on the street, going to bed hungry, losing their jobs and houses every day…” (Mbue 307). In this quote, Jende is pointing out the hypocrisy of America, showing how immigrants are abandoned by the system, despite being promised something different. He is also showing how natural-born citizens are also often mistreated by their home country, displaying how selfish the United States really is, even when they promise fair treatment to everyone in the country. Jende is showing his frustration with America, as he thought it would be much different from what he got. Soon after he says this, Jende makes the decision to move back to Cameroon with his family, because they simply couldn’t afford to stay in America with the number of problems they had been having. It is a sad truth that many immigrants face, but it is not spoken about often because the United States wants to preserve their identity as a place where all are welcome.

This scenario is not only present in fiction. A Return to Nigeria is an article for the NewYork Times written by Enuma Okoro. She recounts her childhood in Nigeria and her decision to move back as an adult. Although her main reason for moving back was to reconnect with her roots, it is clear in her essay that there is some animosity towards America. In comparing the two countries, she reveals the harsh truth about the USA. “I started to imagine what it would be like to live in a place where you did not have to explain some aspect of your identity on a daily basis, where you did not have to offer people a reason, no matter how subtle, for why you were among them,” (Okoro). While Okoro is imagining life in Nigeria, she is pointing out how difficult life can be as an immigrant, or even just as a person of color living in America. As a Nigerian person, she finds that she has to constantly defend the idea that she belongs. Even when America has been defined as a melting pot for centuries, there is still a clear disconnect between natural-born citizens, most often white ones, and the minorities and immigrants that live here. Many immigrants do not feel welcome in a country that they sacrificed their lives to come to for. Proud patriots will try and convince the public that these circumstances are very rare and are not reflective of our country as a whole, but that is simply not true. Recent events like Trump’s election and his strict ideas on immigrants and border control, shootings that have taken the lives of minorities, and corrupt border patrol agents who are extremely rough and unprofessional when dealing with immigration can make immigrants feel unsafe in this country. The fact that these events happen so often and that they are common knowledge prove that these are not meaningless outliers; they are indicative of how America truly operates.

The photo shown above is from photographer Kim Kyung Hoon who captured this image at the Tijuana Border. It depicts a mother with a feared look in her eyes grabbing her two young children by the arm, appearing to be dragging them. One girl is in diapers, looking too young to be able to walk unassisted, never mind run. The other girl looks only slighter older, her hair is in her face and she wears an oversized t-shirt. The mother, whose expression is one of pure terror, has a Disney Frozen shirt on, with Queen Elsa and Princess Anna staring at the camera in the face with a smug grin. What’s different about this photo is that the small family is running from a cloud of tear gas, a chemical weapon that can cause blindness, severe skin irritation and respiratory pain. The gas looks close enough to them to have grazed their skin, causing the young girls dreadful pain. Behind the family there are a couple of other dozen people, clearly, other immigrants, running down a hill, presumably also from the gas. They carry children, bags of food and necessities. The tear gas was emitted by border patrol, trying to deter the hoard of immigrants attempting to come into America. Little girls were scarred for life, both physically and emotionally because there are people in the world who are so afraid of people unlike them. This only happens in America. These are America’s truths. They are hidden in the scars of the abused.

The United States of America is a complicated place. One cannot help but look at the country and see the evil and inhumane things that they have done to people who do nothing other than existing. But it is easy to get lost in what seems like a never-ending tornado of immoral and corrupt actions made by the people that are supposed to be our leaders. Sometimes, you need to zoom out and look at the good in this country. Look at the activists fighting to make America a safer place for everybody, making this country a real melting pot. Look at the young people being able to spot these mistakes we have made at such an early age. Looking at the good helps us fight the bad so that we can make a real change in the world.

Works Cited

Kyung-Hoon, Kim. “Tear Gas Deployed at Border” nytimes, Alan Yuhas 1 Jan. 2019 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/world/americas/migrants-border-tear-gas.html Mbue, Imbolo. Behold the Dreamers. Random House Inc, 2017. Okoro, Enuma. “A Return to Nigeria.” Opinionator, //opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/a-return-to-nigeria/. Accessed 13 Jan. 2020. “Yearbook 2018.” Department of Homeland Security, www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2018. Accessed 10 Jan. 2020.

Advanced Essay #1: My Life Through Music

Posted by Maureen Kelly in English 3 · Block · Y Band on

Introduction: My goals for this essay were to show how music has affected me in my life. This was a very difficult piece for me to write because of how personal it is to me. I am proud of the details that I incorporated throughout my piece and how descriptive I think it is. I would like to improve on analysis and reflection because these were things that I struggled with while writing this.

My baby blue walls surround me I sit in my room, bored out of my mind. I just finished my kindergarten homework. It was rewriting letters and words. As I lay on my bed, I hear a faint sound coming from the room next door. It was smooth and blaring. I’m used to this noise. It’s the sound of my father practicing his trumpet. This usually bothers me, but today, it intrigues me. The music of the horn captivated me and drew me to my father’s studio.

I slithered into the room and stood near the entrance, admiring what seemed to be perfect technique. Soon, he spotted me from the corner of his eye.

“Do you want to try?” he asked me. I nodded enthusiastically and scurried over to his side. He guided my hand onto the cold yellow brass. The smell of pennies penetrated my nose as I got closer to the trumpet. He placed his lips onto the mouthpiece and started to blow. The same sound from before began to fill the small room. For a second, I stood there, still. I had no idea what to do. How could I even compare to the maestro that was my father? But, with a few encouraging looks, I lightly pressed on the first valve and the sound shifted to something higher. I was making that sound. That beautiful, rich sound.

I pressed a few more valves to change the pitch more. My dad’s blank wall seemed to fill with brightness and color with each note played.

I soon went through every note three times and decided to stop. My dad smiled kindly at me and went to face his music again. It was much too complicated for me to comprehend. I went back to my bed with wonder in my ears and mind.

I wish I could say that this was the moment that I decided that I wanted to be a musician. That ever since that day all I’ve dreamt about was performing on stage with only me and an instrument. But twelve years later, I haven’t a single musical bone in my body. I attempted to play the violin for several years, but I found it to be a liability rather than a creative outlet. The rest of my family, however, is completely different.

Both of my parents are professional musicians and my two brothers are pursuing careers in music. I am the odd one out in my family, the black sheep. I find algebra and solving equations much more stimulating and interesting than reading notes off a staff. My parents tried to console me that I’m still artistic and I’m just like them, but I’ve accepted that I’m different.

That doesn’t mean that music isn’t important to me. Even though I’m not as involved in it as the rest of my family, music is a huge part of my life. Music is the reason I’m alive. Both metaphorically and literally.

I’m a complicated human being. Most of the time, I don’t like talking to people about how I feel or the things that are going on in my life. There are a million reasons why I don’t open up: I don’t want to feel pitied, they wouldn’t understand, I don’t want to burden them, etc. But those don’t matter. Music is how I allow myself to release the emotions I so often engulf myself in. Music is the way I feel. It’s the way I speak to others. It’s how I listen to myself.

After finding out that my mom was sick, I didn’t know how to feel. I had only ever known my mom as healthy and athletic. She walked ten miles a day sometimes, and then she suddenly has cancer of the leg bone. I couldn’t look at her and see a person with cancer. It was my mother, not some frail bald woman you feel bad for in the supermarket line.

kept silent about the news I had just heard. If I couldn’t comprehend what I had just learned, how could anyone else? So, I layed on my bed and stared at the ceiling, in silence for a while. But my mind was blank. The information was in my mind, but I couldn’t process it or formulate any new thoughts. So I turned on my music. I don’t even remember what I was listening to, probably the Beatles or a random playlist I had made, but I immediately started to break down. The fear and sadness that had been building in me for days had finally been allowed out. Everything came rushing out and I couldn’t control myself. I layed there, with tears and snot streaming down my face.

Some people think emotion shows weakness and that crying is worrisome. I don’t think that’s true. Letting all of my emotions out was the most therapeutic thing I could do at that moment, and the music was the key to that. If I had held it in, who knows what would’ve happened. I would have erupted at some random, inappropriate time as if I was a volcano only instead of scalding hot lava it was misery and fear.

The singer’s soft, melodic voice was able to reach into my soul with a key and unlock where I was holding it all in. It’s difficult to explain why music is able to help me open up. It would be easy to say that the way the lyrics are written in a way that feels personal to me and my situation, but I think it’s more than that. Of course, words help. Lyrics are poetry and they mean much more to me than anything a friend or an adult could say. But, there’s something about the melody and instrumentation too. Music is like an entirely different language to me. At first, it’s hard to understand. But as you study it and start listening to it more and more, you discover the beauty of it and what it really means.

That moment wasn’t the first and definitely not the last of my adventures in exploring my emotions with music. Pretty often after a tough day, I just need to come home, put on my favorite Sufjan Stevens song and let it all out. If I didn’t have music, I’m not sure there would be a time where I was able to open up like I do.

Music is life. Music is my life. I was born because of music, and I’m still alive because of music.

Absolutism and Corruption

Posted by Maureen Kelly in English 2 · Pahomov/Rhymer · E Band on

Mo Kelly

Ms. Pahomov

English 2

26 March 2019


Absolutism and Corruption

Power is something that everyone strives for. It gives them a sense of purpose in life and the ability to control what’s happening around them, which can sometimes be difficult. But some people aim for a different kind of power: absolute power. Absolute power is when a leader holds supreme authority over a group of people. This power makes it so that there are no checks and balances in place, and the ruler holds all control in his or her hands. Absolute power almost inevitably leads to corruption.

In Lord of The Flies, a novel by William Golding, a group of young boys are stranded on an island without any adults around to help them. They decide that in order to maintain civility, they must elect a chief. Ralph, a young boy on the island, is voted leader, but soon after, the group starts to split up. Ralph leads one group and Jack, the leader of the choir-boys, unofficially leads the second. Jack is more interested in hunting and getting meat while Ralph wants to get rescued as soon as possible. It is clear that Jack’s style of ruling consists of a more absolutist approach than Ralph’s. In a conversation between Ralph and Jack, “‘And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can't hunt, you can't sing—’ ‘I'm chief. I was chosen.’ ‘Why should choosing make any difference? Just giving orders that don't make any sense—’” (91). This quote shows how Jack believes that power should be distributed. In criticizing Ralph about not being able to hunt or sing, Jack actually intends to call attention to his own skill at both of those things. He wants to ignore the democracy of the island and use the strongest person (himself, in his own eyes) as the chief. This could indicate that Jack believes in absolute power, and more importantly, that he should be the absolute ruler, as the quote occurred before he became an unofficial chief. Later, he leads his own group of boys, and uses his absolutist ideas as chief. Golding writes, “‘Give me a drink.’ Henry brought him a shell and he drank... Power lay in the brown swell of his forearms: authority sat on his shoulder and chattered in his ear like an ape,” (150). After obtaining his absolute power, Jack becomes corrupt. He no longer believes that he has to do any work, because he is the leader. This quote contrasts with Ralph’s style of leadership, which often sees him working and cooperating with the boys in whatever needs to be done. For example, he helps construct shelters, and builds the fire that he thinks may help them get rescued. On the other hand, Jack forces his “subjects” to do even the simplest of tasks for him, like getting a cup of water. Ralph is not an absolute ruler, and he is not corrupt. Jack is an absolute ruler, and he becomes corrupt almost as soon as he gains that power, if not before.

Vladimir Putin was appointed President of Russia in 2000, and was later officially elected into the position. He has been ruling as the President for a total of 14 years, with a four-year gap in between terms. Although he fought against it early in his presidency, he is widely considered to be one of the most corrupt leaders in modern times. Even though Putin was elected by the people to be President, the fact that he has been in power for so long may have contributed to his corruption. Just like in Lord of The Flies, there are examples of Putin’s corruption before he became the President. One example is when he was the Deputy Mayor of Saint Petersburg. A quote from pri.org explains the scenario: “The government gave the company 2.5 billion rubles for a construction project. Nothing was constructed. Instead, former police investigator Andrey Zykov says the money went to vacation villas in Spain for Putin and his cronies. No one punished Deputy Mayor Putin,” (Campbell). Because Putin was in power, he believed that normal consequences didn’t apply to him-- and in a way, they don’t. This power quickly began to cloud his judgment and ability to be a fair leader. He forgot the difference between right and wrong because he was never reprimanded for anything, This ultimately led to his corruption. When he became an absolute leader, the corruption became even more evident. A more extreme example of his corruption comes from 2015, where Mikhail Lesin was found dead. According to a Russian Corruption Report, “Lesin died from blunt-force injuries to his head, neck, and torso. Lesin had supposedly been in contact with the Justice Department and the FBI to schedule an interview about the inner workings of RT [Russia Today] the day after he died, which raised questions about the involvement of his former Kremlin allies,” (Massaro et. al. 2). Russian Today is a television program paid for by the Russian Government. Multiple FBI agents have said that they believe Putin or his allies are behind the murder. This isn’t the only case of Putin allegedly having people killed. If this allegation is true, his corruption has gone from giving money to cronies to being an accessory of murder. He knows that he will most likely never get aquitted for his crimes. He believes he is above the law. His absolute power made him forget what it was like to be a regular citizen and blinded him of the consequences of his actions.

Jack’s corruption is different from that of Putin. The result of Putin’s corruption involves money, embezzlement, and his disregard for the law; but on the island in Lord of The Flies, there is no money and there is no official law. Jack’s corruption is shown in the way he treats the other boys, and how he views himself. Although the circumstances and examples of their particular corruptions are different, both of these people were led to this by their absolute power. Jack’s descent into corruption was exponential: his small actions in the beginning of the story are clearly corrupt, but they do not have as big an impact as do his actions later in the book. Golding writes, “The chief [Jack] was sitting there, naked to the waist, his face blocked in white and red. The tribe lay in a semicircle before him. The newly beaten and united Wilfred was sniffing noisy in the background,” (160). At this point in the book, Jack is completely corrupt. He has surrounded himself by people who will do whatever he says and will only agree with him. Whenever someone disagrees with him, like in this quote, he punished them horribly and cruelly.  If given the chance, he most likely would’ve killed Wilfred, seeing as he had Roger kill Piggy earlier in the book. By appointing himself the supreme leader, there is no one to challenge Jack's authority, so corruption occurs.

Power can be a good thing. In the examples of Lord of the Flies, Ralph as chief helped the island gain order instead of the chaos that was inevitable with no leader. Leaders in nations with checks and balances in place can do wonders for that country. But, absolute power can lead to corruption. For Jack and Vladimir Putin, it did. Absolute power clouded their judgment and made them believe they were above all law. Absolute power may seem attractive to some, but it can cause many problems within the community they are leading.




Works Cited


Campbell, Bradley. “Five Corrupt Moves That Helped Make Putin the Most Powerful Man in Russia.” Public Radio International. www.pri.org/stories/2015-01-13/five-corrupt-moves-helped-make-putin-most-powerful-man-russia.


Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin Books. 2006


Massaro, Paul, et al. Corruption in Russia: An Overview. U.S. Helsinki Commision, 23 Oct. 2017.




Eighty-Two

Posted by Maureen Kelly in English 2 · Pahomov/Rhymer · E Band on


I’ve been shaking all day I swear. Seriously! I need to know what I got on that test! You know I studied for two weeks straight? Legit any free time I had I would open the textbook and just read it. And re-read it. And re-read it. It felt like my brain was melting. I would try to open my mouth to talk to someone and all that came out was “Cells are the basic unit of life” blah blah blah. (laughs) If I have to read one more sentence about fucking heterozygous genotypes, I’m gonna blow my brains out, seriously.


Wait, here he comes. Oh my godddd I’m so nervous. (in a joking manner)I’m gonna fail it. I just know it. If I fail, will you drop out with me? We can live a happy life under a good ‘ol bridge. Who needs education? (gets the test) Here we go. Two weeks of my life wasted on this. Lets---- (flips paper, suddenly a darker tone) Oh my god. Are you kidding me? This has to be a joke. There is no way. (to teacher) Are you sure this is mine? You’re positive? Shit. (to friends) I got an 82. No, that’s not good, shut up. It’s practically a C. You don’t get into Princeton with a C, do you? (beat, softer, slowly gets louder) I studied for two weeks straight and I got an 82. I memorized an entire chapter of the textbook. Eighty-fucking-two. You might as well just give me a live bomb, cause that’s what this is. (starts flipping through the test)


How did I get this wrong? And this? I know that! Fuck, I hate myself. I don’t know what I’m gonna do. (a realization) Crap, my parents! There gonna kill me. I can’t show them this, they’ll actually murder me in my sleep. Crap. Wait, maybe I can... (to teacher) Mr. Johnson, can I retake this? Like soon? Now, even? I can’t have this grade, I just… I can’t. What do you mean it’s too high? How is an 82 high? This is literally the lowest grade I’ve ever gotten on a test. Ever. (back to friends) What am I gonna do? I can’t have this grade and I know my parents can’t have it. I can already imagine the looks on their faces. It’s that look that makes me feel guilty, furious and miserable all at once. They’re gonna be so disappointed in me. I already know what they’ll say.


“We didn’t sacrifice our whole lives to come to a brand new country for you to get a b, Dahlia! We worked so hard for you and this is how you pay us back! I came from nothing and I still went to Harvard! You have everything and you still can’t do anything right!” Since 7th grade, all that I’ve heard from them is “college college college ivy league ivy league ivy league” I have no freedom anymore. Every hour of my day is accounted for.  (beat) Do you know why I’ve never invited you over? It’s not because I’m secretly ashamed of my immigrant parents or my dishevelled home. It’s because I have literally zero free time anymore, my parent make sure of it. They think because they had a hard life that I should too. Do you know what I do every day? Do you? Every morning I have up at 5 to make sure I look perfect because they can’t raise a trashy daughter. I drive myself to school and go to three classes barely getting down all the information they’re shoving in my brain and writing notes I can barely read. I eat a 15 minute lunch cramming down the “Perfect Nutritional Meal”. Three more classes. On to Student Government where, again, I write down the ridiculous requests that the students make, knowing that nothing will ever get done to fix them, and then after all that,do I get a break? No. Of course not. Because then I have Cross Country where I run and run until my heart is in my throat and I feel like I’m literally dying. Because god forbid I have a little fat on my stomach. (fake excitedly) Gotta Build up that resume! On to my five hours of homework! Do the math problems, read the history textbook, make the science presentation, memorize Spanish vocab, write the English essay. Still. Not. done. Study for what feels like the thousands of upcoming tests and when it's finally midnight I fall into my bed and as I fall asleep I recite memorized math formulas while simultaneously trying to remember what I had for lunch this morning. I am so sick of it.


One day I’m gonna get out of here, I swear. I’m gonna go to some bullshit college in California as far away from family as I possibly can. Fuck Princeton. (laughs) They’ll be so mad at me! But what are they gonna do about it? And maybe I won’t even go to class. Just sit in my dorm all day basking in all of my free time. I won’t even do anything with it. Just sit there. One day. One day….


(back to teacher, calm) Thanks Mr. Johnson. Sorry I’m such a brat. (beat) You know? This test doesn’t matter. None of this does. (sighs) What class do we next?


Sexual Assault in the City

Posted by Maureen Kelly in English 2 · Pahomov/Rhymer · E Band on

Mo Kelly

Pahomov

English II

21 September 2018

Sexual Assault in the City

“Do you wanna hang out with me and Ida tonight?”

The text was from my friend, Kate. I instantly smiled and replied with a yes. It was the first warm night of the year, and I was desperate to leave my stuffy house to hang out with my two closest friends.

When I got to Ida’s house, they came right out.  They were dressed similar to me; in shorts and a tank top, the perfect spring clothes. We all shared a smile and began to walk down the street.

“My mom told me not to go to the playground once it gets dark, but do you want to go anyway?” Kate asked.

I thought about it for a while. I’ve lived in the city my entire life, and I’ve never encountered anything scary in the night before. It was only a playground, what was the worst that could happen? We all agreed and went on our way.

The warm breeze hit our face as we laughed and talked on our way to the park. It was great to finally be able to be outside again and even better to be with friends during it. The sun was slowly setting, and the pink and orange sky lit up our path ahead of us.

At the park, we found a place to sit down and continued talking. Around us there were some kids playing. As the sun set, they slowly began to leave. Soon, we were the only people there.

What was her mom so worried about? I thought to myself. After all we weren’t kids, we were teenagers. We knew how to be safe.

In the middle of my thought, I heard a rustle in the grass. The others heard it too. I looked up and saw a group of kids on bikes laughing. They were acting just like we were, I paid no attention to them. It was just a bunch of kids having fun.

But, they slowly started getting closer to us. The kids with bikes started circling us and began laughing louder than before. Still, I tried my hardest to not pay attention to them.

“Hey,” Someone shouted, “You guys are cute.” We muffled a thanks and started shifting away from them. I started to get very uncomfortable, “Are those IPhones?” Kate shot up and started walking away, quietly telling me that we needed to leave.

Still, they kept following us. I said goodbye to them, trying to be polite, but they wouldn't leave us alone. One boy started throwing rocks and sticks at our legs. We just moved faster.

            “They grabbed my butt.” That was when I knew I needed to get out of there, and fast. I shared a look with Kate, and we began running. The warm breeze that was so refreshing earlier was now just an obstacle getting in the way of my safety.

I ran until I noticed that Ida wasn’t with us. Panicked, I tried to search for her. My heart was beating so fast I could feel it in my throat.

“Where is she?” I shouted.

As I was spinning, a portion of the same group of kids marched up to us. Behind them, I saw Ida, slowly walking with the other kids. She was visibly scared, but she was staying cool, calm and collected. I almost wanted to laugh. She was much smarter than us.

She made her way back to us, and we yanked her away from the kids. Thankfully, there were a few girls there who stopped the group from doing anything else to us. They left as loudly as they came, and we turned the opposite direction.

“Are you okay?” We all asked each other. Everyone said yes, but no one really meant it.

I was pulled into a group hug, and I could feel everyone shaking from fear. We reluctantly pulled away and began our walk home. Although it was only a few blocks, it felt like miles.

Ida explained to us later that she thought we were right behind her when she started walking with the kids. She was walking with a few girls, who she said were actually really nice to her.

“I didn’t want to scare them or anything,” She said when I asked why she stayed with them, “I was just trying to stay calm.”

What she did really opened my eyes on what to do in these situations. You can do dumb things when you’re scared, like we did that night. Running away only made us more vulnerable. If I stayed calm, they would’ve seen that I wasn’t afraid of them and they would've left. Most young kids that do things like this just want to try and scare you.

After that night, I have been hesitant to go out in the dark or go out at all. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced. But, now I know what to do in a situation like this one: stay calm. Getting in a panic will help no one.

I made a mistake that night. But, that mistake helped me realize something incredibly valuable. Something I will never forget.


Element Print

Posted by Maureen Kelly in Art - Freshman · Hull · d2 Band on
IMG-0448
IMG-0448
My element was Iron. It has atomic number 26. Iron has been for a long time.  People say it has been around since 3000 B.C. No one knows who discovered iron. Many people say that it came down on a meteor. Iron is used to manufacture steel and civil engineering. In the human body, iron is essential for blood production. I chose to make this design because of the discovery of iron. It came down in a meteor, so I drew meteors coming to earth with iron in them. To make this print, I first had to make sketches. Then, I had to trace this design on a piece of tracing paper. When is was time to put it on foam, I flipped the tracing paper so it would be backwards on the plate. I pressed my pencil into the paper and traced my design. When I actually printed, I rolled the ink onto my plate evenly and pressed it into my paper. It took a few times to get it perfect, but I eventually got the perfect print. If I were to do this project again, I would make my design have more depth. Looking at it now, it is a little flat and adding more depth would make this more interesting. My favorite part of this project was printing. It was fun to see my final product. The big reveal after you peeled back the paper was really fun. Overall, I loved this project and would do it again. 

What is Printmaking and Why is it Important? Mo Kelly

Posted by Maureen Kelly in Art - Freshman · Hull · d2 Band on
Printmaking is creating art from some kind of stamp. The stamp can be made of wood, linoleum, or any other material. Printmaking with stamps is called "relief printing". There are four more kinds of printmaking; intaglio, serigraphy, lithography and mono-printing. Each one is unique, but they carry the same basic concept. 
Printmaking was one of the earliest forms on art found in the world. It was first found in the 6th century. It is believed to be invented by Daniel Hopfer, but many prints were found before the actual invention. The earliest form of printmaking was the woodcut. People slowly started to use different materials as the years passed. The invention of printmaking was revolutionary. You could make thousands of art pieces only using one stamp. Because there are so many different kinds of printmaking, if you don't like one kind, you could try another one. Anyone can make a print. All you need is a a material you can carve into, some kind of ink, and paper. It is very inexpensive. The invention of printmaking changed the world of art forever. 
printmaking1
printmaking1
The print pictured above is a piece that interests me. The use of lighting is interesting is what makes this picture good. The moon produces the light and it shines on the objects. You can't tell what the objects are, exactly. It is up to the reader to decide what they think it is. Personally, I see a man sleeping next to a mountain and a boulder. But, my neighbor could see something completely different. Making the print black and white was a bold choice. It sets the tone for the picture and making it have colors would change the meaning completely. The detailed lines are eye catching. This picture was found in "The Art of Printmaking" exhibit in Lehigh University Art Galleries. 

My New Slide

Posted by Maureen Kelly in Technology - Freshman · Hull · d1 Band on
One Slide (3)
When I first made my slide, I thought it was perfect and it didn't need changing. But, when I presented in front of my class, I saw that there were actually flaws. The critique taught me a lot of things. The most important thing I learned was that no matter how great you thought your slide was, it had flaws. When first making my slide, I didn't think much about the colors that went into it. But, when presenting, I noticed flaws with the colors I used. One person told me I should use the color wheel to help with that issue. Even though it seems obvious, I never thought of color when making my slide. I also learned a lot about fonts. Before, I didn't know what a sans or serif was, now I know it helped a lot when making my slide. 
The most important change I made was to delete the rose. I only needed one flower and I thought the sunflower was better for my slide. I also made the sunflower a lot bigger and made it the center of attention. I spaced my sentence around the flower to give the illusion of the two combing. Also, I made the most important words in my sentence a script font and put it in a different color than the rest of the text. I chose purple because it was across the color wheel from yellow, which is the color of the sunflower, so it matched well. I also made my name much smaller and in a more basic font. I wrapped my name around the stem of the flower so people know it was mine, but it isn't the center of attention. I made a lot of changes to my slide but they all were useful.
The research I did helped a lot when changing my slide. Most of the research I read said that simplicity was key and I didn't follow that advice in my original slide. I think my slide is much simpler and therefore, more eye catching. The golden rule is; less is more.  I also read a lot about color. If you have too much color, it can be too busy, so I only put a few colors in my slide. But, I think the most important thing I read about is making the slide not boring. The best way to do this is not have everything be straight. It can be boring to look at if you do this. I tried to make my text have interesting spacing so it wouldn't be boring. All of my research was very helpful when making my new slide. 
Some sources I used were Presentation Zen, zachholman.com, and oberlin.edu. My dad also helped me create this slide because he knows a lot about design. 

My One Slide Project - Mo Kelly

Posted by Maureen Kelly in Technology - Freshman · Hull · d1 Band on
For my slide, I knew that I wanted it to show the things that I love in an elegant and simple way. I chose the flowers for many reasons. The obvious reason is that I like flowers and that is true. I think it adds my interest without being too obvious. Also, I needed something to fill up the space, but not crowd it. Because the images are transparent (meaning without a background) they have this effect of not being too crowded. I like that there isn’t a big block of unused space. I chose this sentence because I feel like it describes me perfectly. In my Me Magazine I talked a lot about the arts and how they are important to me so I knew that it must be added. I chose a simple font and put it in uppercase to draw attention to it. I bolded the most important words to show that it was an important part of my life.  Originally, I had my title (my name) in the same font, but I changed it to a script font to differentiate the two parts. I made the title red to match the rose and the dashes yellow to match the sunflower. Every part of this slide was intentional and took a lot of decision making.
One Slide

Home Network - Mo Kelly

Posted by Maureen Kelly on
1. My local network starts with the cloud. That sends wifi to my house. Verizon, my internet service provider, is the one giving me my internet. That goes into my router, which is also a modem. The wire connecting to my router is a coaxial cable. The devices connected to my wifi are, 5 phones, 4 computers, 2, i-pads, and 2 televisions.   

2. So far, I have learned a lot about networks. I learned that the cloud is a real thing. It is a large computer stored in a building. ALso, I learned that there are many different cables that could connect into to your router. Before, I thought there was only one. I did not know what a modem was. I learned that sometimes a modem and router can be a combination. I am glad I learned about these things. Now I can understand the thing that I use everyday much better. 

3. If other people wanted to know about home networks, I would tell them that in your house, you need a router in your house in order to connect to wifi. Also, you need a modem. I would tell them about the different kinds of cables and ISP's. Hopefully I will be able to help anyone in need. 
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