Masterpiece!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRxQsonZWRE

Masterpiece Academy Reflection

When Steve Jobs mentioned the saying “stay hungry, stay foolish”, it left an impression on me. It goes back to all of the life advices and themes I learned as I grew up. I had a deep curiosity in technology as far back as I can remember. I wondered why VHS tapes got replaced by DVDs, or why the computer monitor got thinner as the years passed. My curiosity took me to follow what I thought was interesting, and to start delving into the tech world. The moment you know that something strikingly interests you is when you know that you are “hungry”. You want to keep “eating” or learning about what you love to do. That’s exactly what I did, but life is a bumpy road.

As a child, I was a shy person who didn’t open up too much. I tried to act like a normal kid who blended in with everyone. We all know that conforming to society creates no individuality from Brave New World. Stereotypically, I thought that it was bad to be geeky and like all the high tech stuff. As I entered high school, I came to slowly realize that it’s good to be unique and stand out in your own way. I began to open up more to others and share my passion. This is when “stay foolish” comes into play, in that you shouldn’t follow a dogmatic system. It’s okay to be different and not follow what people think to be the “smart choice”. “Stay foolish” and create your own path instead of following one already made. However, as an ambitious student preparing to get into college, it was not easy to focus just on your passion. Homework, sports, work, volunteer, etc all turned my focus away from my passion, but nevertheless I still made time to learn about technology.

When senior year came, my course into learning changed directions. As a student who likes to succeed in everything, having a high level of trust from a teacher was something that I deserved. Everybody deserves to do what they love (assuming it creates some form of value for others), so having this high level of trust was something we deserve as students. It felt very unusual to be given so much trust from a teacher who barely knew us in the beginning of the year. In the end, being given this trust was an important first step into our individual masterpieces.

The idea of presenting a unique masterpiece in class was something that allowed me to explore my learning in ways I could not do before. The open source structure allowed me to easily collaborate and produce works that I couldn’t have by myself. I planned the biggest project I had done in my life by going to a large museum. Following through and making a video from what I and Jared saw was no easy task, but we were successful. Before the trip to the Computer History Museum, all of my learning of tech was from online sources, devices at home, and strolling through Best Buy. It was a cool experience to see history’s most influential devices from the punch card computer to Intel’s 4004 in real life.

Before seeing everyone’s masterpieces, I didn’t expect to learn so much from others. I honestly thought that it would be boring presentations that the audience would have to sit through, but everyone’s masterpiece left a positive impression in me. A common theme that I found in all of the masterpieces were that each one was meaningful in its own way, and not just something put together for a grade. For example, I personally don’t have much interest into playing music, but I easily felt the meaning of playing your own music. As for the presenters, everyone had a lot of personal stories to tell and how it connects to their masterpiece. Also, the presentations felt very natural as if were trained to give a good presentation. Some people who usually don’t show much emotion or gives a rather boring presentation seemed a lot more interesting and enthusiastic.The specific hand gestures and facial expressions made were direct translations of their passion.

As a self reflection, I have espoused learning. I love that moment where two things you thought were unrelated connects. I especially love learning about computers because it is the foundation for much of the world’s daily tasks. It influences us so much in ways we won’t think because it’s a standard. However, I find computing fascinating because I can do so many different tasks with it and create almost anything virtual. I love using a computer, building it, and researching what’s coming next in tech. in that sense, I would like to say that I am still in the hero’s journey, because a journey shouldn’t end this quick. I have had a successful year with my masterpiece, but really I think that it’s part of a longer journey, with larger challenges to conquer.

Steve Jobs Commencement Speech

Romeo and Juliet Remix

I was reflecting back on my high school life as per the journal topic and I thought about the Romeo and Juliet project we did in English freshmen year. I had a lot of fun making this remix with Joey, Michael, Jacob, and Ephraim. It's definitely worth the watch.

Sonnet notes

Macbeth Act IV questions

Act 4 questions 

Collaboration with Danielle Cadena

Act 4.1

1. How many witches appear in this scene?

The three weird sisters from the beginning and Hecate appear in this scene.

2. What messages does Macbeth get from the witches and their apparitions? Does he feel safe after the first three apparitions? Should he? How does he feel after the fourth, the line of kings?

The armed head tells Macbeth that Macduff has gone to England. The bloody child tells him that he will never be vanquished by a man. The child with a crown and a tree tells him that he will be vanquished when someone gets past this forest. Macbeth continually wants to know his future so he asks if Banquo’s prophecy will come true and the witches show him eight kings that rule with Banquo behind them. When i read this part i pictured Macbeth in the fetal position because he seems broken and if he were standing on a ledge well these visions would be his last inch. I think he should feel this way because his own greed, ambition, and corrupted self led him here and he knew  what was going to happen when the witches told him.

3. What does Macbeth learn from Lennox at line 158? What does he plan to do about it?

Macbeth learns that Macduff has fled to England which means he is becoming a serious problem so Macbeth plans to murder his wife and children. P.S. He thought of that all on his own, just to show how much his character has changed since the beginning of the play.

4.2 #3

Her son is killed by the murderer.Lady Macduff and her son didn’t run away, but instead kept firm of their position. After the son died, Lady Macduff fled while the murderer chased her. We don’t know if she was killed afterwards but it is safe to assume so.

Macbeth Act III Notes

Scene 1

• Macbeth meets with Banquo and talks about the witches' prophecies again
• Macbeth wants to get rid of Banquo by having other men do it

Scene 2

• Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth about murdering Banquo

Scene 3

• The men Macbeth hired ambushed Banquo and killed him
• Fleance was able to escape

Scene 4

• at the dinner party, Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost in his chair
• he tells Lady Macbeth that he'll complete the entire deed, can't stop halfway by letting suspicious people live

Scene 5

•  Hecate appears with the witches

Scene 6

• Lennox and a lord discuss about Macbeth's dangerous influence and hopes to rid him