Reflection Essay

The Project
My biggest struggle during this project was arranging times we could meet. It was usually cold so outdoor footage was almost impossible, then the NCAA tournament put things off for everyone. Through all of the troubles we had, i'm proud of every bit of out documentary. I don't see what more we could've changed to make it much better than the final cut. I was mainly responsible in storyboarding, though I tried to really help in editing quite a bit at the beginning of editing since I'd had some experience with it last semeseter. I tried to keep the peace. I talked to both parties and even when we were about to split the group, we managed to just get over our type A personalities and make something great. I tried not to instigate anything, and our project turned out wonderful.

The Class
This class was amazing! I loved every moment of it! This course did help me in thinking through and helping with group dynamics. I've never really enjoyed working in groups before, but this project helped me understand how to work through problems one might incur during group work and how to work together through differences to achieve a common goal. I enjoyed learning the new technologies with the editing software and keeping a class blog. The way the class is structured is very easy to enjoy and I definitely would rather learn this way than having to write 4 essays. I loved the class in general. I don't see any need to change it. I enjoyed having you as my WRD instructor for the past 2 semesters, and I'm surprised it's gone by so fast. Thanks for a great freshman year, I always looked forward to your class.

Group Contract/Responsibilities

Responsibilities:

***Note: In our group everyone has a part in everything. Nothing will be done without the whole groups opinion/approval.***

Interviewing - Tori
- Tori does well with talking with people and communicating what information we need to know. She is in charge of interviewing in general. Others will help to get the experience depending on scheduling.

Filming/Sound Recording - Melissa
- Melissa will be in charge of all the film/ audio recording. While other will put input on what should be recorded.

Scheduling/Script Writing - T
- T is already in contact with the leaders of the Paintball team. She is in charge of setting up times for interviewing and keeping everyone informed of when meetings are. She is also in charge of the scripts and approving any questions for interviewing.

Audio/Film Editing - Susan
- Susan is in charge of editing. When editing, we will all have input, and no editing will be done by just one person being present. All editing will be done with everyone's input and with at least 2 people present to not only give feedback but to also learn the editing process themselves.

Storyboarding - Brandy
- Brandy is in charge of the "layout" of the documentary. She is in charge of taking everyone's input on how the "story" in the documentary should go and the fluidity of transitions between the collage of interviews and other film taken.

Speech Review

During my speech, I too noticed that I was very distracted by my powerpoint. I'd created it thinking that having it would help ease some stress I was feeling about forgetting my main points. However, I noticed that it took away from the presentation its self and made it lengthy. My eye contact went down the more nervous I got, and my speech suffered greatly. I realize now that I should be more confident in speaking on my own and not letting technology take away from it. Just because I looked prepared with a powerpoint didn't mean I was mentally prepared I guess, which makes sense since what I'd made it for was just in case and based off of me not trusting myself like I should have. I think that feeling was evident in the room too. I felt it get more tense and uneasy, which led me to freak and adlib quite a bit of my speech. It ended up turning into more of a commercial for the group than trying to sell my idea for the documentary. I lost a lot of aspects in my speech by going about it this way. Next time, I'll trust myself and be confident when I present so I don't fumble and think I need a crutch. In the end, the thing that was supposed to help me most ended up costing me.

Questions I Hate Answering

I suffer from a nervous system disorder, Hyperhydrosis (or Hyperhidrosis), which causes my hands and feet to sweat. This isn’t just an ordinary reaction to freaking before a test or speech, but something I deal with on a daily basis, all day and all night. So it’s no surprise to me when my hands are dripping for no reason. Though I can’t help it, many people still put me in the category with others that have been exercising, or doing anything physically taxing that would cause this problem. However, no one can tell me what has caused this for me. While I’m well received by some, I’m looked at as gross and weird/freakish to others, but I can’t do a thing about it. I’m always asked the same question, and it’s one that many people don’t even want to really know the answer because they’re afraid of what they’ll hear. Despite this, I’m always asked why my hands are profusely wet. I try explaining my disorder, but once they hear that it is sweat I’m usually looked at as gross. Many people just say “Oh,” or “That’s weird.” Little do they know how much I get that sort of response, which is usually every day.  I’ve gotten to the point that even though I know people are just curious, I also know what most of their responses will be like, so I’m too afraid to answer. It hurts, and people don’t realize how even just a simple expression like, “Oh,” cuts me to the core. I hate even talking about it now. It sets me apart from everyone else, and it hinders me from doing some of the things I used to love and were good at like Cheerleading and drawing, but I can’t do those now because I slip while tumbling down the mats or rip the paper I’m drawing on. I can’t bring myself to do these things because of that one simple question, but it has made all the difference in how I live my everyday life trying to avoid contact with people. I would much rather be an outgoing person, but the ways to try and fix this can be invasive and risky so I just try to cope. So when I’m wondering about something someone has or does, I don’t typically ask them unless I’ve grown close as family to them because I know that even though it’s just an innocent question it still can hurt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperhidrosis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

Sir Ken Robinson’s speech was very simply presented, yet effective. While he didn’t use any visuals he told many success stories of those who were allowed to be creative when they weren’t doing well in a normal academic institution. His tone was serious when it needed to be, and he threw in some humor to lighten the mood. Robinson projected well in his speech, and while he had to stop himself sometimes because he stumbled over his words, he was able to fully pull his presentation back together without any real snag in the speech. His body language wasn’t cut off; it was open to show confidence in what he knew. Robinson may not have presented any actual scientific studies, but due to the fact that he presented himself well, he could’ve been a renowned expert in this field even if he had been making his speech off of his own personal experiences. He wasn’t stand-offish and uppity as many experts in their respective fields can be, and that is also what helped him get the responses of laughter and clapping that he did because he made himself personable. That’s what made his speech so effective to listeners because he was able to capture their attention and present the material in a way that wasn’t lecturing, but relatable. Robinson had nice organization and knew exactly when he could interject a story to back up what he was saying. He also let thoughts soak into the listener and wasn’t in a rush to just output his perspective and go on. There wasn’t really anything I found that was ineffective. Visuals may have helped, but I can’t think of anything else.

Detroit vs. Everybody

I've never been to Detroit, and though I've really had no experience being there to judge it I feel that It’s probably a place I’d feel terrified going to. I get scared walking on the South end of campus so Detroit would not be my first on my list of places to go. The beginning of Rembert’s article really described my exact notions of the city. All the media attention from the violence and bankruptcy has really put a damper on what I used to know Detroit for.

Years ago, before bankruptcy put Detroit in the headlines, I saw Detroit as a modernizing city. I heard Detroit and thought of Eminem and Cadillac. Never would I have thought about how bad it was becoming to live there. So, going into this article, I had many preconceived notions that this would just be another article on how horrible Detroit was to live in. Then I came to the Heidelberg Project. I was intrigued by how through the what seems to be the eminent demise of a “once-great” Detroit, some are still trying to give it something, something to be remembered by instead of this run down, almost 3^rd world, post-apocalyptic thoughts of the rest of the country. I loved the part when the author stated that he didn’t think that the rest of the country wanted Detroit to survive. I thought that this is a great description as to the feelings of the rest of the country. Many don’t want to think that Detroit is salvageable when in fact it can be as vibrant as it once was. Just because it has a bad rap and is deteriorating doesn’t mean it can’t be restored.

After reading this article, I now feel strongly about the revitalization that some people are putting forth the effort into doing for this city. It upset me when I read that someone had actually set fire to one of the houses in the Heidelberg project. I found that Belle Isle Park and the Hart Plaza Amphitheater were beautiful in their own respects, and I love that the author, despite seeing and hearing the absolute worst of Detroit, was able to shine a different light on the lesser known beauty in the city. I would like to see Detroit put back together and revitalized. It’d be a tremendous testament to human will power and hope that even the worst of the worst in this country can bounce back from the toll that economic hardships can cause. 

I found this article compelling. When first starting the article, I thought the author was going to completely degrade Hollywood’s choice of exploiting the “sex appeal” of actors/ singers. When really, he was fascinated by what all our bodies can go through and the drastic changes that can occur. One example he gives was how Kim Kardashian’s body went from just gave birth to being worthy of posting on Instagram in a revealing white swimsuit. He made a strong point of how our bodies can go through such dramatic changes just by our sheer will and desire, but by also what the society around us dictates as attractive.

Our world has based many views on secular thoughts and tendencies. Meaning that what grabs our attention the most is seeing someone almost completely nude. That’s what gets you remembered in this life time. As Morris pointed out, Miley Cyrus will probably always be remembered as the girl that went from sweet Hannah Montana to someone half naked on stage twerking. Our society is developing round this vision of beauty and perfection, and what makes you desirable. People think now that to get attention they have to dance naked in front of millions of people, so they mold their bodies to allow for that.

I’m all for being healthy and in shape. I find it a crucial part of being able to live life to the fullest, however, that’s not always how to get attention. Many people who are in the music videos and movies are taking insanely good care of their bodies because they know that in order to be recognized, they have match this image set by the public. Almost every channel I’ve watched has numerous broadcasts of many different weight-loss or fitness plan advertisements. The ads themselves lure viewers in with words like sexy to make them think that the only way to be noticed is to be just that. As Katy Perry said to the NPR reporter, “I know I have that sexy card in my deck but I don’t always have to use that card.” Our bodies and how they look matter way more now than what they did 10 years ago. I mean 10 years ago our class was 8 or 9, and all we really cared about was when the next episode of SpongeBob was going to come on or how we were going to sneak cookies while mom and dad weren’t looking. We didn’t care about trying to impress others using appearances. My point is that the author shows how much progress has been made by even just thinking back a year. Morris also used the point that the best movies this year were the ones not based on things such as finding love through appearance, but through personality. He uses the movie Her as an example to show how different we think when we don’t see a physical thing in front of us and how we are more focused on looks than character.