"Hourglass": A response to Victor's essay

After reading Victor's essay, I immediately thought of a hour glass as I'm sure other did too considering the story is written in that shape. I chose this picture of an hour glass to represent more than just the fact that his essay is written in this creative style, but also to represent the fact that in this time, the time of the hourglass, Victor is trying to find who it is he wants to be. But the beauty with an hourglass is that you can continue to flip it over and over again in order to give you more and more time. I don't think time is up. Though I liked the creativity of the hourglass, I thought it was slightly confusing when you shifted topics. Overall, good story!

"New Experiences": A response to Kevin's paper

After reading Kevin’s essay, I thought this picture could somewhat exemplify his risk taking personality. Kevin never was scared to try something new, which is often not the case for many people. He was interested in the world and interested in experiencing everything he could. I liked this essay, it was inspiring. I also could relate to his experience in Honduras because I too travelled alone. Though it was scary at first, it was the best experience of my life. Keep taking chances!

"The norm": An response to Sarah's essay

After reading Sarah’s essay, I thought of a staircase. She talks about the norm, and how people are supposed to follow it but then there are also people who stray away instead of conforming. I think with this master staircase it is obvious that at the beginning there is only one "right" path to take, which is equal to the norms one is supposed to follow, growing up, going to college etc. There are people who stray from that, but does that mean they fall off of the staircase? Then at the end, after college, people start to be accepted when they stray from the norm and with this staircase there are multiple ways you can go after you get to the top. Well written and interesting story!

"The Middle": a response to Justin's essay

I feel I can relate to Justin's essay. I am also the middle child and know the title of "the middle child" comes with many assumptions of how we should be: clouded by both our older and younger siblings, and washed away in the crowd. We then are the rebels who are in search of attention. But I agree that this known definition of a middle child does not apply to me. I chose this song, half because it is called "The Middle" and half because I felt the lyrics could apply to Justin's essay. In the first section, it says, "It's only in your head you feel left out, or looked down on." Middle child syndrome is something that is in your head and you can either stick to the definition of a middle child or break free of it. I think it would be cool to possibly relate all of your topics together and add more visual language!

"Priorities": A response to Carlie's essay

Carlie’s article was about straightening out priorities, but I also believe it was about finding your true identity. When she was younger, she allowed others ideas to cloud her own. She would rather follow the trend than go after what she really loved. I chose this song to represent Carlie’s collage because it talks about losing yourself. At a young age, before you have priorities straight you follow those around you, “Washing what you know out to sea, you can see your life out the window.” It is as if the things you want and belief are washing away. But with time, you find yourself and are comfortable being who you are. I thought this was a very interesting paper. I would like to see it come more full circle, maybe tying in school supplies at some point in the end. Also, I think if you are trying to show priorities in each section, a few were unclear. Overall, good job! 

"Change": A Response to Victoria's essay

I chose the song “secrets” by One Republic to represent Victoria’s essay. The chorus of this song starts out by saying “Tell me what you want to hear,” which reminded me of Victoria because she was scared to leave her comfort zone, she was scared to be different. She didn’t want to be judged and therefore held back. Then it goes on to say, “Sick of all the insincere so I’m gonna give all my secrets away. This time don’t need another perfect line, don’t care if critics ever jump in line, I’m gonna give all my secrets away.” This part symbolizes Victoria throwing away her insecurities, giving her secrets away, and finally being who she wants to be and doing what she wants to do. 

"Night vs. Day": A response to Lauren's essay

I chose this song called “Night/Day” by Mae. It discusses how he misses out by sleeping in, and how he will no longer sleep the day. I really like Lauren’s experiment and actually would love to try it! In this song it says, “’Cause I’ve convinced myself that my best can only come in the moonlight, and I keep sleeping in, and missing something.” I understand the point about having the same amount of hours to get work done, it is just different times of the day. I am really curious which you enjoyed better, which was more productive, which you see yourself continuing to do. Overall, well written!

"Who do I want to be?": A response to Alex's essay

I chose this picture of Switzerland to represent Alex’s story. His values and his character have been altered based on where he was raised. But at some point, most people question themselves and why they do the things they do. Why be polite? Is it benefiting me in any way? I thought this was an interesting experiment because no one knew he was conducting it. I think it would be good if Alex added some more of his inner thoughts. There are definitely parts where he incorporates it, but I want to hear more. I also really liked the quote, “treat everyone as a gentleman not because they are, but because you are.” 

"Mulling it Over": A response to Steven's essay

I feel as though this picture can represent Steven’s story. Through his experiment, he comes to find that appearance does play a role in how people treat one another. By having a mullet, he changed his identity, similar to how one would in a play, knowing it was not a permanent change. There may have been times where he got lost in his character though, and allowed himself to be hurt by how others were treating him. I think it would benefit the essay if Steven incorporated dialogue or deeper descriptions of people’s reactions to his hair and then also deeper descriptions of how it made him feel. How did it feel to be treated differently by his lifelong friends? How did he feel about himself while sporting the mullet?

"Preconceptions vs. Reality": A Response to Steven's Essay

I chose this famous art piece, the Mona Lisa, to represent Steven’s article. The Mona Lisa is not the most gorgeous picture, and it is actually very small and underwhelming when you see it. But because it is so hyped up and everyone knows how famous it is, they feel it is amazing. I think this relates to Steven’s essay but slightly in the opposite. The north part of campus is known to be the worst thing EVER. And sometimes people may confuse whether it is actually bad or they believe it is bad solely because everyone says it is. Steven touched upon this point in his essay where he says, “Everything about North before proved true. I wonder, is that because I have heard it all before or because it is true?” I think this can be a strong point to make and can be used more throughout the essay when talking about his preconceptions versus reality. 

"Isolation": A response to Victoria's essay

This image reminded me of Victoria’s essay. Although she was willing to take a chance and step outside her comfort zone, it seems as though she distanced herself from the true challenge she was facing: making new friends. Without giving her roommates a chance, she tries to leave them and find a single where no socializing would occur. For much of the trip she isolates herself from making friends because for her, that was the largest challenge. I consider her to be the red apple, not trying to blend or connect with any of the green apples that surround her. I think she can take this idea even further and maybe relate it back to an occurrence of why she feared socializing and meeting new people.  

"Misconceptions": A Response to Breonna's essay

If I told you, before you looked at the picture above, that it was of a young girl that might affect what you see. In reality, it is an illusion. You can both look at it and see a young woman or an old lady. What you are told to see and therefore expect to see might affect what you actually see. I feel as though this is very similar to Breonna’s story. Before ever arriving at Hope Village, she had read about statistics and had expectations of what it would be like: poor and dirty with little educational resources. And that then lead to her expecting the little boy to be someone he wasn’t. I thought that ending was great. I think this idea can be incorporated more throughout the story. Also, it might be interesting to incorporate her friend’s reaction because her friend did not have any preconceptions. 

"Together as One": A response to Victor's Essay

After reading Victor’s essay, I found it reminded me of a scrapbook page. Where a scrapbook has multiple pictures and stories and important memories, Victor’s story had a bunch of experiences at mojo. Though the thing with a scrapbook page is that in the end, all of the pages are put together to create the final product. It isn’t until the scrapbook is complete that you can understand the full meaning of it. I feel this is similar to Victor’s piece. Each day he writes about mojo, he has something valuable to add, and each experience is important. But I feel as though he could bring each experience together in the end to show his ultimate discovery about the dining hall. 

"Unmasking Identity": A response to Ronnie's essay

After reading Ronnie’s essay, I thought of the song “I Don’t Wanna Be” by Gavin Degraw. This song talks about how Gavin doesn’t want to be someone he isn’t. He says, “I'm tired of looking 'round rooms wondering what I've got to do or who I'm supposed to be. I don't want to be anything other than me.” Ronnie’s story touches upon the idea of hiding your own identity. She didn’t want to wear Laker apparel to the game in fear of being the “odd-ball-out” or booed at. I think this is a big idea to touch upon and could even be extracted more throughout the story. She could potentially talk about how maybe she wishes she would have stayed true to herself and worn Laker apparel even if it meant she would be different; she would wear Laker apparel just to support her team and where she comes from. She could greater emphasize the importance of staying true to yourself no matter what other people want from you. 

"Creative Title": A Response to ...