Posted on No Comments on Art Expressed through the BLM Movement

Art Expressed through the BLM Movement

 

This photograph was taken by Brandon Bell and it shows an open shot of a man with his left arm raised up in a fist standing in front of a building that is on fire and is burning down. This photo was taken during the Black Lives Matter movement and it is likely an example of the protests and rioting that have been occurring these past few weeks.

I find this photograph very powerful, the large amounts of bright orange fire in the background resemble destruction which symbolizes the amount of effort that is needed to redesign the established racist system that oppresses black people. The system made by white supremacists many years ago that everybody has continued to live in. This photograph shows that people want change and if the higher authorities won’t listen then they will make their voice heard, because ultimately, the people outnumber everybody else, and they have the power to cause change if they work together.

To me, this photograph shows the power of a free world where everybody has the right to speak up and cause change. We only see the silhouette of the person in the shot which shows that this person could be any regular person, not some superhero with incredible strengths. The pose in which the person is in shows strength, power, and a willingness to fight no matter how hard the fight may seem.

It feels as if society as a whole as developed so much, it is already the year 2020 and we would expect to have come together as a human race by this point and all that’s left for us to do is to work towards evolution. Everything that is going on inside of this photograph feels as if it happened many years ago in the past, but the fact that it was taken so recently shows the great distance we still are away from global equality.

The shot is taken from a lower angle looking up at this person which makes him seem powerful like a leader. There is only one person in the photograph rather than many people, which seems to me that even if just one person stands up for their vision, they are able to make it happen. The person seems to be looking at something, it feels as if he could be looking at a large group of people who support his actions and are looking up to this person as a leader. The angle of the photograph is taken from the side which doesn’t make the viewer feel apart of the large crowd he may be looking at, but rather makes them feel like a spectator observing what is happening from a distance, and this is emphasized as the subject is not looking towards the camera. I find this interesting because it suggests that we are not doing anything to fight against the problem, however, it makes the photograph feel like more of a historical event rather than a call for action. It makes the viewer think about the situation as a whole, at a larger scale, where we were, where we are, and where we are heading.

 

Posted on No Comments on CREST Reflection #2

CREST Reflection #2

 

I have finished my CREST project and I am going through the reflection process. I think I did well with the way I presented my information as I kept it engaging and interesting. I also think I did a good job of coming up with a realistic conclusion, but I should have worked on narrowing down my idea or maybe choosing something more established in the scientific community.

I learned a lot about meditation, I used to doubt it and not really believe it, but I learned now that there can be many benefits and I know that because the evidence doesn’t just come from my mom but also from scientists. I realized that meditation actually does have several benefits being able to connect structures and renovations in the brain, but I found out in the process that you are unable to make any large conclusions on this topic right now because it has not been tested enough and studies still have a long way to go to find out if it is 100% reliable.

I feel that my topic and video would have a large impact on people around the world as meditation has drastically increased in popularity over the past few decades and it has a 1.1 billion USD industry. Meditation is constantly being promoted by others as a good way to reduce stress and anxiety, however, the religious origins of mediation make it seem as if it is not scientifically reliable and not a real way to cure problems. Therefore I believe this video may shed some light on the useful benefits that it can provide to people.

I should have had a stronger structure overall and made sure that I constantly drew back to the topic question. Another thing is that I should have tried to use more creative visual elements to help the viewers understand the concepts more instead of using images from the internet while explaining things.

In the future I may try to conduct a research experiment based around this topic to get some actual data to support my argument, however, the problem with this is that it would be hard to make it reliable as I would need a control group and make sure there are no other factors effecting the results.

Posted on No Comments on Grade 10 Personal Statement

Grade 10 Personal Statement

This year has been one of the most important years so far in my UWC journey, I feel that I have greatly developed and learned a lot more about myself through the different experiences and I have benefited from the many opportunities presented to me throughout the year. Now that the year is almost over, looking back I can see that I have a stronger understanding of the type of person that I am and what strengths and weaknesses I obtain.

Personally, one of my greatest highlights this year was traveling to Kenya and climbing Mt. Kenya. That trip in the middle of Summer 2019 was very challenging and it was something that I didn’t that I would be able to do. This trip was known to be physically demanding and back then I did not put much effort into maintaining my physical health as I didn’t have regular exercising habits. Still, I wanted to make a change so I took some initiative and challenged myself to participate fully in this trip, and although I struggled a lot, with the support of my best friends I was able to make it to the summit as well as complete the 74km cycle journey which was extremely gratifying in the end. This has led me to take deeper consideration in my physical and mental wellbeing and now I feel that I have been able to build up good habits so that I consistently go for walks, runs, and practice various different fitness workouts.

Academically, I feel that I have improved greatly as well. I have learned a new skill, instead of treating the classes as a chore and forcing myself to concentrate, I have learned to actually gain a genuine interest in the subjects I am learning which makes me much more engaged in class and makes studying for tests seem way less overwhelming (which used to be one of my greatest struggles). I feel like these skills are going to be extremely useful for me in the future as they impact my work ethic itself and I will be able to apply them in an infinite amount of situations as I grow up.

The Jakarta Street Kids GC I participated in this year was very insightful and a great learning experience overall. As I am passionate about our cause, I was very interested and involved in the activities that we were doing. I also gained some useful leadership, management, and collaborative skills as I decided to take the lead enterprise role where I planned out cash flow charts for the events we were hosting. Furthermore, the PPIS service I did where we hosted hour-long sessions filled with games and activities to encourage young children from a local school to practice speaking English was very fun. I learned many useful skills such as patience and self-management in this service, and I also have learned more about myself and what I enjoy doing. I enjoyed interacting with the children and reading books to them, and I would like to pursue similar activities to this in the future.

As I finish the IGCSE course and wrap up the various academic subjects I have chosen, I feel much more excited about the future and motivated to continue learning so that I can eventually choose a career path to focus on. As I venture on into IB, I believe these next two years are going to be extremely important and it will have a significant impact on what I want to do in the future, however, I shouldn’t be intimidated by that but instead, embrace this next chapter of my life and be ready for everything that it has to offer.