Year End Reflection: Part Two

Describe your vision for yourself in pursuing higher education

I intend on going to the University of Southern California's film school. I have been wanting to attend USC since the 7th grade when I first realized my passion for film making. I know that USC only accepts the best of the best students, so that is why I have been pushing myself since I entered high school to get the best grades, SAT scores and as much community service as possible.

I hope to get my bachelors degree in film/cinema design while minoring in business administration and management. I hope to then peruse my masters degree in the same major, but that depends on if I get accepted to their graduate program, if I have any job offers etc.

What in the world do you care about and what are you doing about it?

I care about film making. I have been in love with it since the 7th grade when I watched the behind the scenes features of the movie The Incredibles. I have been working towards my dream of becoming a film director ever since them by putting my all into every film-based project we were assigned in school, trying to turn as many of my projects as I could into a film based project, (example: Media Saves the Beach) and entering as many of my movies as possible into film competitions and festivals. So far, one of my films has won an IVIE award and an award at the San Diego County Fair, (it is now being shown in multiple elementary school throughout the country). I entered another film into the IVIE Awards, (I also presented an award at the IVIE Awards) and I just entered a film into the San Diego Film Festival, so now i am waiting to hear back from them.

What four-year college/s are you interested in and why?

The colleges I am interested in are:

1. USC: University of Southern California is known to be one of the top film schools in the country/world. I have been interested in USC since I was in the 7th grade when I first realized that I wanted to be a film director/producer. USC also has one of the top business schools in the country, and since I intend on minoring in business it seems like the perfect fit for me.
2. NYU: New York University is often tied with USC for top American film school. It doesn't have the best financial aid packages though, which isn't good for any soon-to-be college student.
3. UCLA: University of California, Los Angeles is often ranked in the top five for American films schools. It used to be higher on my list until i discovered that you have to be a junior in college in order to even apply to their film school. Also, your chance of getting into the UCLA film school is low, even if you already go to UCLA.
4. Chapman University: Chapman's film school is slightly newer, but it is already ranked right along side of USC, NYU and UCLA. It's in the county of Orange, and a lot of the students are known to get hired by film or television stations almost immediately after graduation.

I also have Yale University and Columbia University on my list as my reach schools, and UCSD and SDSU as my backups.

Beyond grades, what motivates you to work hard at school?

I am motivated to work hard because I have a goal for myself, and that is to get accepted to the USC film school. I have been working my absolute hardest since the day I entered high school to, yes, get the highest grades I could, but I didn't want high grades just for the sake of saying "I have good grades". I shot for the best grades possible so I could get accepted to USC. I know that nothing is guaranteed and even kids with 5.0s get rejected from their dream college, but I am still motivated by my dream to go to USC and make a good life for myself doing what I love, film making.

Year End Reflection: Part One

What project was most valuable to you, and what have you gained from it?

The most valuable project for me this year has definetley been Ampersand. I have learned a lot about how I work with other people thanks to this project. I had already known that I tend to take a leadership role during projects, but I never realized how over-bearing I will often become. I realized fairly quickly that when a group of people all need to work on one computer, if I'm not the one actually using the computer, I get very stressed out and start trying to plan how to force the other person out of the chair so that I can work. I am really glad that I have realized this about myself because if I hadn't I would probably continue acting this way in both projects and in life in general. Since I realized this, I have already caught myself being a complete control-freak at rowing and at my house, so now that I know about this problem I can improve myself. I have already started by asking my teammates their opinions on smaller details such as if one layout should have a black box in it or not, and things such as that. I can only grow and improve from here.

What is your greatest strength as a student in a project-based learning environment?

I really enjoy doing hard work, especially when it comes to building something or creating a physical product, that is part of the reason why I enjoyed Ampersand so much. Since I knew that my Ampersand article would be going into a book that anybody could view, I really felt motivated to put my all into it. I wrote as many drafts as possible, not just the required amount. I also immediately asked to be a managing editor so that I could take on as much responsibility as possible. When I was chosen to be a managing editor, I was thrilled because I was getting the chance to work hard and create as great of a product as I possibly could.

What challenges do you face as a student in a project-based learning environment?

Whenever I work on a group project, I usually have a hard time listening to my group. I often get so hung up on the way "I want things to be done" that whenever my group members come up with an idea, I will often try to brush it off or find a way around it. This was definitely apparent during the editing process of Ampersand. I would occasionally ask my teammates, "Do you like this image better here, or here?" and I would try to take their advice as much as possible. But when it came to letting them do the editing themselves, I couldn't handle it. I kept saying, "I made that edit in the book, do you want me to make it on the computer?" and "I know how to do that. Move over, I'll show you". I have realized this problem, (basically I'm a control freak) and I am trying to incorporate my team-mates ideas more, but I still find myself trying to go with "my idea(s)" as much as possible.

Writing Refection

One of the first things that I had to overcome with my writing actually had to do with the subject I was writing about. I have always had an extremely hard time writing about myself. I always feel narcissistic when I write about myself, so I try to avoid it whenever possible.

When we were assigned the American Icons project, I quickly realized that I would have to get over that. I originally started off by writing a biography about my American icon, (Chris Thile) which wasn't the assignment. I had to constantly revise my essay, starting by slowly changing all sentences that said, "Chris Thile started playing the mandolin when..." to "I was inspired by how old Chris Thile was when he started playing the mandolin..."

To be honest, I still have a hard time writing about myself, but I while revising my work I figured out another way to write about myself without feeling conceded. I decided to envision myself as a character, rather than myself. I wrote about "Madison" as if I were a character in a story. This way, I didn't feel like I was talking about myself too much, so I didn't feel so awkward while writing.

Another thing that I had to work past this year was something that I have had problems with for years. I am terrible at writing endings for stories, essays, everything. No matter what I do, I always end my stories abruptly or strangely. I especially had problems while trying to end my Ampersand piece.

While writing my Ampersand piece, Buried by Work, I had a strong opening, moderate middle, and a complete dead-end of an end. I had to go all the way back to the loop, (which is when you re-visit the beginning of the writing during the end of it) in order to write my ending. My piece started where I was literally covered in piles of work, so I ended my story that way as well.

I feel that the loop has really helped me with my endings. I never thought that one writing tip would fix a life-long problem.

My biggest goal for my future writing would probably have to be really learning the meaning of "concerts, so pancakes". I will often write very strong openings to my writing pieces, but the rest of the piece will taper and eventually seem mediocre, (in my opinion at least). Because of the loop, my endings are now stronger than they had been, but the middle of my essays usually seems rather dull. I think that while it is important to have a strong opening, I need to work more on the body of my writing with in-depth revision and drafting.

Historical Reflections

If I could have anyone from history come to college with me, it would probably have to be Franklin D. Roosevelt. I would want him to be the dean of my school. FDR was a terrific leader that helped pull the country out of financial crisis during the Great Depression so having him as one of the top officials at the school would be a great thing, (in my opinion).

Considering the state of America's current economy, having FDR as a leading official of my college would be excellent. If there was concern over the financial status of the college, FDR could remind everyone that, "...We must lay hold of the fact that economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings." The university wouldn't have to let the economy decide what their budget for the next year would be. FDR could lead the university by making budget cuts only where necessary.

During prep rallies or orientations for new students, FDR would inspire everyone to work their hardest during college. He was such an amazing public speaker, that encouraging the students would be easy. When addressing the students, I could see FDR reminding the students that, "...Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." The students would be motivated to work together and make the best of their college experience.

Lastly, the final note as to why I would want FDR at my school is one that I think most people would agree with me on. During finals, FDR could gather the students, (or address them over the school's radio station if they have one) in order to encourage them to try their hardest and not to worry about their tests. During the chaos of the end of the year, (or semester) when everyone is worried about getting their homework done and prepping for finals, FDR could easily address the students and calmly remind them that, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself".

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5057/

http://history.eserver.org/fdr-inaugural.txt

http://www.h-net.org/~hst203/readings/lind.html

Literary Reflections

As cliche as it sounds, I would probably bring Gatsby with me to college. I think he would be a business professor, (after all, I do want to minor in business). I would want him to be my business professor because he is self-motivated and has a good sense of money. He spends his own money in a seemingly lavish way, but he spends only what is necessary in order to achieve his goals, (in this case it would be winning over Daisy). If he wasn't trying to win over Daisy, he probably wouldn't spend much of his money at all.

Another reason why he would make a good business professor is because he knows how to make connections even though he isn't a very social person. I'm a fairly shy person by nature, so having a shy teacher that knows how to be assertive and make connections when necessary would be very helpful for me. Gatsby knows how to go to and throw a party, which is something I can't do to save my life. When you are in the business world, you have to learn how to go to professional parties in order to meet with people of power, (which is sadly a major part of the business world) and I personally can't stand going to almost any form of party, so having someone like Gatsby as an influence would probably be a good thing in that case.

Lastly, Gatsby is the type of person who doesn't let anyone, (except for maybe Daisy) get in his way. He believes in pushing forward and will achieve his goals no matter what. Pushing forward and not letting anyone stand in your way is a crucial part of business. I don't let people get in my way for the most part, but I'm not ruthless like Gatsby, (and to be perfectly honest I don't really want to be). But nonetheless his self motivation is inspiring and that is something that I admire. That is why I would want Gatsby to be my business professor.