Masterpiece Essay

     This class does need a lot of trust by the teacher. Many people did earn trust, but I personally believe that I didn't. I hardly did any assignments on time and barely even did any assignments period.  Other people definitely earned it by constantly doing their assignments an. Doing them brilliantly. In the end it is a choice an some people are going to honor it and some are going to just not do anything.

    This course helped me reconnect with one of my true passions and it made me feel great. I never thought that I would be able to start doing something I actually liked during high school and it wa a great experience overall. I plan on continuing to follow my little dream until I am fully satisfied with what I've released and what I put out there for other people to see. I can't wait to see what's in store for me and my brand in the future.

    The unifying theme throughout all of the masterpieces was how we are trying to make the world a better place. For example Alfredo is trying to make a more efficient way of electricity. Jake is going to help us by saving all of our animals. Sierra is going to get troubled terns off of the streets and get them to do something. We are all helping the world in different ways but in the end we are working together as a generation and we will create a better life for everyone

    I truly believe that I have barely became a hero and I think my journey is just beginning. There is a long way for me to go and I don't think I am anywhere close to where I can be, so hopefully I can reach the end. The beginnings were tough but they made me a stronger, smarter, all around better person and by the time I reach completion I achieve what I know I can

   
   

LIT ANALYSIS

1. I decided to re-read the novel Moby Dick. The story is about a man named Ishmael who wants to become a whaler. He travels to New Bedford in hopes to find a whaling job. The little inn that he was going to stay at was full so he had to share a room with a random person, he is fine with that and his roommate is a man named Queequeg, a native Pacific Islander. The two like each other and decide to go on a whaling trip together. They find a ship that needs workers called the Peqoud and they sign up to go with the ship. The ship has a crazed captain by the name of Ahab who hasn't been the same since a sperm whale but off one of his legs. The ship then leaves on a cold December day and Captain Ahab sets off just to find the great white whale that took his leg, Moby Dick. They spot several whales but are unsuccessful in killing any and the crew starts to get tired of Ahab's foolish ways. Ahab has stowed away a special group of harpooners who he believes have a better chance I killing the white whale. A few weeks pass and the crew is able to catch a few whales but not enough because of Ahab's search for Moby Dick. The Peqoud runs into another ship where there is a prophet who says the hunt for Moby Dick will bring certain doom. The men continue to hunt and on a dark night a young deckhand by the name of Pip falls into the water and becomes mentally ill and soon becomes the prophetic child for the Pequod. They run into another ship whose captain has also lost a body part to the whale and Ahab doesn't listen to his warnings about how dangerous the white whale really is. One of Ahab's special harpooners predicts that Ahab will die trying to kill Moby Dick but Ahab still doesn't listen to his warnings. The ship then runs into a typhoon and many sailors are killed but Ahab will not rest until the whale is dead. This foreshadows what will happen to the captain. The ship finally runs into Moby Dick and battles it for 3 long days. The first day the whale destroys Ahab's whaling boat and nearly kills him, the 2nd day Moby Dick destroys Ahab's special harpooners ship and kills the leader of the mysterious men, and finally the white whale destroys the Pequod an kills everyone on it. The only survivor was Ishmael who stayed alive by floating in a coffin and got picked up by another whaling boat who was searching for men since Moby Dick attacked them.

2. The theme of the novel was no matter how hard you try to do something wrong to someone or something that does something wrong to you, you will end up being the one who has to deal with the harsh consequences.

3. The entire novel is written in a first person point of view by the narrator Ishmael. The tone of the story is very dark with many examples of how you cannot change fate. There are 3 instances where a so called "prophet" sees that someone will die. The crazy dude on the other boat predicted that if they chased the white whale everyone would die, and he was right. Another time the leader of the special harpooners predicted exactly how Ahab would die.

4. There are multiple instances of symbolism throughout the story. One example was the ship itself, it was a dark ship covered with whale bones and it just symbolizes death, it pretty much causes it. Another example of  symbolism is Moby Dick himself. He represents death and more of the unknown  side that you fear. Like I said earlier there is a lot of foreshadowing. The 2 main examples were when the crazy prophet dude predicted Ahab's death and then Feddalluh predicts exactly how how Ahab will die. Then there was various instances of personification where the author makes Moby Dick out to seem like a human. Another example of personification was how Melville made the ship seem like a living breathing thing by saying it "groaned and gasped" as it sailed around. Irony is also present throughout because the entire time Ahab is tryin to kill Moby Dick and in the end the white whale is the one who kills, and he kills Ahab.

CHARACTERIZATION
1. First character I want to talk about is Ishmael. Even though he is the narrator of the story he doesn't really reveal much about himself. He kind of stays quiet throughout the novel and doesn't change very much. He is probably the most static/flat character  throughout the whole story. Captain Ahab is  the character who changes the most. At first he is just mad at Moby Dick for taking his leg but the deeper into the story and the more hardships he goes through to catch he white whale the more deranged the captain becomes. Moby Dick isn't an ideal character because we can't really see what he's thinking and why he does his actions. He doesn't really change but he seems more and more vicious until he eventually becomes te killer beast that he is feared to be.

2. Melville completely changes how he talks when the various characters speak. He speaks slang and goes on with long speeches when the sailors are speaking. This is because they talked differently at that time and he try's to recreate as closely as possible.

3. Ishmael was very flat because he hardly did anything throughout the story and at some points he seemed to just disappear. He was also static because he didn't really change by the end but he was the only person left alive.

4. I didn't really feel like I met anyone because it was kind of hard to relate to any of the characters. To me it just felt like I was reading a history book of some sort not a best selling novel.

I, ENTREPRENEUR

a. The expert I designed my questions for could be any CEO of any clothing brand and they are more of a textbook entrepreneur than one we described in class. One we described on class does it to get their ideas out there for other people to see and for other people to enjoy. This can be some of the people but a few of the CEO's are just in it for the money.

b. I am definitely an entrepreneur because I just want people to like what I make and appreciate it, not just buy it for its exclusivity and to make people feel bad because they don't have it.

c. I am an entrepreneur and I'm not an expert yet so it's not really about being the top dog on the food chain. Entrepreneurs should just want people to appreciate their ideas and not just go after what's in their wallet.

THE START OF IT ALL...

I have not mentioned lately but have told the class that I will be attending Gavilan College in Gilroy to play football this fall. I am very excited because this ha been my dream to play at the next level eer since I started playing football 10 years ago. I even have a chance to start and make an impact this year so that just adds to the excitement. I will be studying sports medicine with the hope to pursue a job as a atlethic trainer or a physical therapist. This will be one I the most influential times if my life and can make or break what I do for the rest of my life.

10 QUESTIONS

1. How did your brand get started?

2. What made you want to design and produce clothing?

3. What is the meaning behind your brand name?

4. How long did it take for you and your brand to get noticed?

5. Who is the main man behind all of the designs?

6. How has becoming famous affected your designs?

7. What was your very first design that you put on a shirt?

8. What is your favorite design you have ever made?

9. What other company has dooe designs in your opinion?

10. How has creating a clothing company changed your life?

HAFTA/WANNA

There is a huge difference between being in high school and being out of high school. It is just a different way of thinking, knowing that you are no longer a child and you need to be a mature young adult. You still do things that you did in high school you just do it with different people. It isn't the same for everybody and it is determined on how you and what you want to do.

STEPS TOWARD FINAL PROJECT

I am getting ready for my final project and I'm going to present it with Bobby on Tuesday the 27th. We both wanted to go earlier but I'm not sure when the shirt will be completely done so we didn't want to risk it. Bobby was going to do a large wall portrait for Preston's room but Bobby is kind of a perfectionist so he didn't think he could finish it so we agreed to combine our projects. I think that it's better than a wall piece because a wall piece can only be seen by so many people wheras a person wearing a shirt can be seen by thousands of people each day and can be appreciated by more.

BEGINNINGS

My life could be pretty awesome if I was able to make it really big in this business. I could work with other really good artists and designers and collaborate to make awesome t-shirts and other items. That in itself would be worth it itself but I would also be able to get any piece of clothing early and for free or really cheap. There is lots of money in the game but I'm not really about the money, I'm just about getting my ideas out there and let people see how a company should be ran.

BEGINNINGS 2

I like the new beginnings quick writes that we do because I always have interesting things on my mind. This helps me get those things out there and show the creativity I actually have. Creativity is really important in designing and creating clothes because you can't have the same design done by multiple brands so you always need to come up with something new. I believe that having such a creative mind myself really helps me have advantage over other brands and designers who can't really think for themselves.

LIFE AFTER....

Life after high school is going to be pretty good for me. I only get 2 weeks after graduation to do whatever I want and then I move up to Gilroy and start practice for college football at Gavilan College. It's going to be very different but I think I'm going to have a lot of fun playing my favorite sport at such a high level. None of my family has ever played a sport at the college level and I think I will be the first of many to play. I am kind of nervous because I am so young playing with grown men but I can't make it an excuse, I just got to work hard and than hopefully I will even start this year.

MASTERPIECE INTERVIEWS

Summer
- im working on putting all of my research and ideas together into one final masterpiece project
-im working on this because its times to put that work that i have completed over the course of the semester into the actual real masterpiece
-the significance of this project in my life/future career is that it has helped me realize what i want to do and what i need to do in order to be successful
-this work is helping me outside of school because it has helped create a balance in my life
-not anything in particular has necessarily surprised me in my work so far
-i think that i need a more clear idea of how my masterpiece and how i want it to turn out to be successful in my presentation
-i have learned that with too much work or too much fun, you will never feel totally content with your life, it requires a balance

Malik
-I'm working on showing the different forms of sports and medical engineering and how they work and how they are applied.
-I chose this because I'm into engineering and also physical therapy so I found a way to combine the two together.
-the significance of my work will help me better understand how technology is helping athletes and people around the world recover from injuries. And from there I want to better what's out there already.
- this work will help me keep my passion for sports and my interest for engineering still in my life.
-I as surprised that it took me so long to find out my topic because I thought the two I was interested in before couldn't be related.
- to finish my project, I will need to demonstrate a few samples of technologies out there, what they do, how they work, how it's applied.
-I've learned that finding your passion will make work much easier and let you lead a happy life.

Tiana
-I am working on a masterpiece project of traveling, mixed with adventuring, also mixed with "doing cool things". With all this I will create an amazing video full of awesome things I have done.
-I want to experience as much as a can that life has to offer and really live life to the fullest.
-In life, I can take so much from these experiences. Traveling and trying new things is such an enlightening experience that I can carry on forever.
-Outside of school, I know I will be a much happier person and much more well rounded! I will be able to engage in many conversations and provide input based on my personal encounters.
-I haven't really been surprised yet, but I will await the day!
-I need my GoPro camera to come in the mail already so I can start filming all these cool things I do. With that camera filming my awesome times, I will make one amazing video full of highlights to present how I have made my project come alive.
-I have truly learned that life is short and that we really need to take advantage of life's opportunities. Talk to new people because you never know where that conversation may lead. Mine led me to a trip to Italy, and now to Belgium.

CONNECTIONS

Everyday I talk to Bobby, who is a street artist in our 0 period class, about making a design to start off with. I have a lot of ideas and I can't put them on paper because I have no artistic ability at all, so I tell Bobby what I like and what I think would be cool and he puts it down and adds his own little flavor to it. I also talk to Derek, a first period student, about collaborating with his brand that he's trying to also create and right now we are currently designing a shirt. Lastly I have been talking to my cousin who has a shirt printer and he's going to help me get my ideas out there.

DESIGN

I would start by changing the seating on the room. I would have the 2 circular tables in the middle and I would surround those with a huge square of desks. This way you could talk to whoever you want an if you need help you go to the middle tables and ask for assistance with anything you need. It would be a better environment for learning and anyone could end up helping you, but for it to work you can't just sit with your friends. You need to work with people with the same or similar interests so you can figure out your projects together and hopefully get it all done faster.

Spring Lit Analysis #1

TOPICS AND EVENTS

1. A. The book I decided to read was ARGO. It is the story about how the C.I.A saved the lives of six US embassy workers who escaped from the embassy in Tehran, Iran in 1979. On November 4, 1979 Iranian radicals raided the US embassy because America was keeping their shah hidden and this sparked an Iranian revolution. 6 embassy workers were able to escape and were able to hide in Tehran for a little while but they wouldn't be able to hide forever. When the US heard of the situation they had to do something, so the C.I.A came up with an idea.The agency had a crazy idea and they decided it was the best thing. Their plan was undercover agents should dress up as a Canadian film crew and say they are filming a Sci-fi movie named Argo. The lead agent, Antonio Mendez, was the "director" and he provided the escaped Americans with new Canadian identities and passports. when they were at the airport there was many close calls and they were alost caught multiple times. Right when the plane took off the guards realized who they were but they were too late and the Americans had escaped, but the rest of the hostages weren't released until January 20, 1981. To avoid further conflict, the C.I.A blamed the escape on Canada and were able to keep the secret for 20 years.
     B. Americans fight for freedom and will do anything they can to conserve their freedom.
2.The author chose to write about this topic because it was an important part of his life and he helped save many peoples lives, and that's something few people are able to do in their lifetime.
3.I chose this book because I like to learn more about our government and this was a interesting time when many lives were at risk and what they had to do to save hundreds of lives.
4.This book seemed kind of irrational and like and impossible idea but the way they went through with the plan was cool and well executed. The escaped Americans seemed like scared little kids because they were scared to go outside and scared to do anything because if they got caught they would be executed, so they are relatable to anyone in our society who is scared of something that is greater than them.

PEOPLE
1.The author didn't exactly create new characters but he had to change the name of because he is still associated with the C.I.A  and he is not allowed to say certain names for government reasons. The tone is kind of dire and seems like there is always something bad about to happen but they are able to get out of it before anything happens. It says that either they are full of luck or they just always know how to survive and make their way through the worst of things.
2.One character is the author and main character Anthony Mendez. He is a Mexican-American and a now retired C.I.A agent. He grew up and wanted to be an artist and went to school to be one. One day he saw an ad in the paper to work as an artist for the government and it ended up being for the disguise section of the C.I.A. He was calm under pressure and was able to lead his team to safely lead his men to safety and protect them get the Americans back to the US. Another character was Ken Taylor. He was the Canadian ambassador of Iran and he let the escaped embassy workers live at his house. His actions were crucial in the survival of the Americans and was the true savior in the end.
3.These characters were interesting enough to write about because they were able to save half a dozen innocent lives and lead to the eventual freedom of  hundreds more held capture.

STYLE
1.Mendez had a more journalistic style to his writing because he talks about the events and talks about how they were able to save the escapees.
2.He focuses more on action and dialogue than lengthy descriptions, because of this there is more suspense and makes for a better book overall.
3.Mendez uses a lot of dialogue to help set the mood but he hardly uses tools or at least its hard for me to spot them.
4.I think he wanted to be informative mostly and tell the story to the audience. He wanted to do this because Mendez wanted to tell us the truth and not what the government wants to tell us.
5.He uses a few articles for reference but he knew most of it because he was an agent in the C.I.A and they know everything as it is. This added to my thinking because I know he doesn't need to have a bunch of articles to prove a point because he probably knows more than most articles.

ENDURING MEMORY
The main point from the bool that will stick with me for a long time would have to be that fellow Americans will do anything to save a fellow Americans live. They will travel the world, risk their own life, and go to hell and back to know that an innocent American can be free. That's the greatest  thing not only about this book but also about this country.

Spring Vocab #4

DEFINITIONS

• Accolade-an award, honor, or laudatory notice
• Acerbity-sourness, with roughness of taste; harshness/severity
• Attrition-a reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength
• Bromide-a person who is boring
• Chauvinist-a person who is aggressively and blindly patriotic, especially one devoted to military glory
• Chronic-constant; habitual 
• Expound-to explain; interpret
• Factionalism-self-interested; partisan
• Immaculate-free from moral blemish or impurity; pure; undefiled
• Imprecation-a curse; malediction
• Ineluctable-incapable of being invaded; inescapable 
• Mercurial-changeable; volatile
• Palliate-to relive or lessen without curing; alleviate
• Protocol-the customs and regulations dealing with formality; etiquette
• Resplendent-shining brilliantly; gleaming
• Stigmatize-to set some mark of disgrace or infamy upon
• Sub Rosa-confidentiality; secretly; privately
• Vainglory-excessive elation or pride over one's own achievements; boastful vanity
• Vestige-a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence     
• Volition-a choice or decision made by will  

Spring Vocab #3

DEFINITIONS

• Apostate-a person who forsakes his religion, cause, or party 
• Effusive- pouring out; overflowing
• Impasse-a position or situation from which there is no escape; deadlock
• Euphoria-a state of intense happiness and self confidence
• Lugubrious-mournful, dismal. gloomy especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner
• Bravado-a pretentious, swaggering display of courage
• Consensus-majority of opinion
• Dichotomy-division into 2 parts, kinds; subdivision into halves or pairs 
• Constrict-to draw or press in; cause to contract or shrink; compress
• Gothic-pertaining to middle/medieval ages 
• Punctilio-a fine point or detail as of conduct, ceremony, procedure
• Metamorphosis-a complete change of form, structure, or environment 
• Raconteur-a person skilled in telling stories
• Sine Qua Non-an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential 
• Quixotic-extravagantly chivalrous or romantic
• Vendetta-any prolonged or bitter feud, rivalry, or contention 
• Non Sequitur-a statement containing an illogical conclusion
• Mystique-an aura of mystery or mystical power surrounding a particular occupation or pursuit 
• Quagmire-anything soft or flabby
• Parlous-perilous or dangerous 

Spring Vocab #2

DEFINITIONS

• Accouterments-additional items of dress or equipment
• Apogee-the furthest or highest point; apex
• Apropos- with reference to; concerning
• Bicker-to engage in a petty quarrel; squabble
• Coalesce-to come together and form one whole  
• Contretemps-an embarrassing occurrence; mishap
• Convolution-a form of shape that is in curved lines
• Cull-to select from others
• Disparate-completely distinct or different in kind
• Dogmatic-characterized by or to the expression to opinion strangely or positively as if they were facts 
• Licentious-lacking legal or moral restraint
• Mete-to distribute by as if by measure; deal out
• Noxious-poisonous or harmful to health 
• Polemic-a controversy or argument especially one that is a refutation of or an attack upon an opinion
• Populous-containing many people or inhabitants; thickly settled 
• Repartee-a swift, witty reply
• Supervene-to follow immediately after; ensue
• Truncate-to shorten or to cut off
• Unimpeachable-beyond doubt or reproach; unquestionable

Life After...

I only have 5 months left of high school then I go on the journey of life. I have somewhat of an idea of what I want to do but it's still kind if a blur to me. I know that I'm going to go to a junior college than transfer to a university, but the real question is where am I going to go and what am I going to do? I like lots of various things but I don't want have a career in some of those things. I think working with the human body is really interesting, especially either a physical therapist or a forensic scientist. The only thing is I haven't really researched into schools that offer either of those subjects. I know that I'm going to stay in Santa Maria and go to Allan Hancock for at least one year than I was thinking about going up north and go to Gavilian college in Gilroy which is 10 minutes away from where all of my entire family lives. I know it's really close and I'm not very prepared but I know I will make a good decision and I will do the right thing.

Spring Vocab #1

DEFINITIONS
1. Adumbrate-report or represent in outline; foreshadow

2. Apotheosis-climax

3. Ascetic-the practice of self-discipline; abstinence

4. Bauble-small trinket or decoration

5. Beguile-trick; charm

6.Burgeon- begin to grow or increase rapidly

7.Complement- a thing that completes or brings to perfection

8.Contumacious-stubbornly or willingly disobedient to authority

9.Curmudgeon- bad tempered person; old person

10. Didatic- intended to teach