More, Hopefully: My Survival Guide :)

Hello, all, and welcome! If you have not been staying tuned then you would know that this will be the last blog that I publish as a GCE student as I am graduating in one week. However, let's not get into that just yet! If you are familiar with my blog, you would know that this course is called Endurance, and it is a class in which we discuss the importance of self-discovery as well as self-improvement.

As of last week, the class watched a movie called Wild. It was about a woman named Cheryl Strayed whose life goes into complete shambles after her mother's passing along with her toxic marriage. So, she decided to go on a three-month-long hike along the Pacific Crest Trail and continues on her endurance journey. Personally, I really enjoyed the movie as I feel like it gave me a visual representation of the saying "don't think, just do."

But anyway, let's get into the Action Project! The journey of this AP was to create a guide of our lives prior to/post-college and/or our alternative careers. I decided to write about my dream of becoming a traveling photographer and the things that I will have to do leading up to that point. If you would like to know more, please continue reading below 👇

       More, Hopefully: My Survival Guide

                                        By: S.S.

                                                                                S.S., Grassy Lands PA, 2020.

                                                                    

My Mission

My mission is to become a traveling photographer. I want to pursue this dream because I enjoy traveling and learning about different people as well as cultures and I enjoy photography because it is an activity that I enjoy doing as a mental getaway from reality. I will be pursuing this mission by attending Columbia College Chicago’s Photography BD (bachelor’s degree) Course in Winter 2022. By pursuing this dream, my hope is to positively influence others through my photographs by overcoming my fears and anxieties of transition. I would like to lead the example for others who feel as if they are stuck in a certain situation that pertains to social anxiety and/or depression.

Land of the Lay

In order to become a professional photographer, I would need at least a bachelor’s degree. The college that I will be attending in January of 2022 - Columbia College Chicago - there is a photography bachelor’s degree program that allows me to meet award-winning photographers to which will help place me at the appropriate level that I need in order to be successful in the future. After receiving my bachelor’s degree from Columbia College Chicago, I will have the photography skills that I need, but I will still need a job. The average salary that a photographer makes in Chicago, Illinois is around $70,000, but the range falls between $56,668 and $80,580. So, if I were to fall into the $80,000 then I would have enough money to start my traveling photography process.

Timeline

2021: Graduate from high school and take a GAP semester to continue working on my photography skills.

2022: Wrapping up my GAP semester and start my photography BD course. This first year is an exploratory source where we jump right into the process using a variety of different approaches.

2023: Start the second year of my photography BD course. This year is where we are introduced to core courses which consist of the crafts of making a photograph, the history of making a photograph, and image strategies depending on the concentration. And hopefully, taking on a study abroad opportunity.

2024: Start the last year of my photography BD course. This last year consists of a Capstone where we put all of our photography skills to the test and assemble all of our work together for our final exhibition.

2025: After completing my photography BD program, I will take on a job that consists of photography and, hopefully, traveling abroad.

2026: I will be starting my traveling photography career by visiting at least two states that I have not visited before - New York and Atlanta.

2027: I will then start traveling internationally by having traveled to at least two countries that I have always dreamed of visiting - Barcelona and Greece.

2028: I will be continuing my career by having traveled to at least four countries - one of which will be South Africa and/or Japan.

2029: I will be continuing my career by having traveled to at least six countries - one of which will be Paris and/or Brazil.

2030: I will be continuing my journey by having traveled to at least eight countries - one of which will be Dubai and/or India. And the journey continues...

Resources

•  The basic equipment that I will need includes a full-frame camera, a variety of camera lenses, and memory cards.
• I will need to learn basic phrases in different languages as well as a passport.
• A job that will allow me to travel or a job that requires traveling.

Roadblock

If I were to hit a roadblock in this journey, I will be willing to work past it because that is what my family taught me to do. I am not sure what I would sacrifice, but I know for sure that I will not be sacrificing my pride. Life as well as my family have always taught me that life will not always be kind to me and that is okay, however, I must always remain my most authentic self no matter what. I did not really understand what that meant growing up, but now that I am older and I see what the world is really like, I know that it means to always stay true to yourself as well as the character that you want other people to see.

Worse-Case Scenario

The worst-case scenario that I can imagine happening as I pursue my dream is having to move back to my hometown. Do not get me wrong, where I am from - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - has a variety of great schools, however, there are not many great opportunities for people of color as there are for others which is the reason why my mother, as well as other members of our family, have moved to various locations around the country - so that we can have better opportunities in terms of school/career opportunities.

Inspiration

• “Be your most authentic self.”

This quote is from my own mother. I have mentioned this before, but she has been saying this to me for my entire life and I did not really understand the meaning behind it until I got older. It was not until I got to high school when understood that the world would not always be kind to everyone and the best thing you can do is be your best version of yourself.

• “No matter who you are, where you’re from, your skin color, your gender identity… speak for yourself.”

This quote is from Kim Namjoon who is also the leader of the popular k-pop boy band, BTS. It has always stuck with me as the album that came out soon after this was said was called Speak Yourself, and it was about self-love and putting yourself in the world no matter what they think of you.

• “You are your problem, but you are also your solution.”

This quote is from the movie Bridesmaids. I always think about this when I know that I need to get my life together and stop acting like a victim to the world instead of a victim to myself.

• “Your past experiences are valuable lessons to you now, learn from them.”

This quote is from the movie The Lion King. Whenever I do something that is not exactly smart, I think of this line, and try my best not to do the thing that was not exactly smart again.

• “Keep moving forward.”

This quote came from the movie Meet The Robinsons. It is one of the many movies that will always have a place in my heart as it reminds me to never give up and always keep my mission in mind.

Advice for Others

My advice for others would be to always keep your dream in mind. Reminding yourself of your dream is what is going to keep you moving and keep you motivated.

Closing

In closing, these are a few of my personal favorite photographers that I have taken throughout these last couple of years.

Works Cited:

Columbia College Chicago, “Photography Course,” 2021.
Salary.com, “Photographer Salary In Chicago,” 2021.
JobAccept.com, “Photography Jobs,” 2021.

Farewell

Like I said at the beginning, this will be my last blog post as a GCE student since I will be graduating in one week. However, I would like to give a shoutout to my instructor who has provided me with this eye-opening content. I truly appreciate everything and I mean that with everything. Thank you again! ✌

The Importance of Health & Medicine in Outer Space ;)

Hello, all, and welcome to my blog! If you have not stayed tuned, this is a course called Frontiers, and sadly, this is 1/2 last blog posts that I will be publishing as a GCE student, but let's not get into that just yet. Frontiers is an awesome course where we discussed the importance of the sea and outer space. I enjoyed the content of this course as astronomy as well as oceanology happens to be a few of the topics that bring out my inner geek. However, let's get into this Action Project!

The mission of this AP was to create a poster based on one of Space & Technology Grand Challenges. I chose to create a poster on Space Health & Medicine because I found out some interesting facts on the topic while researching and I thought that I should share it. So, please click the poster below to view more details about Space Health & Medicine 👇

Works Cited:

Arif, Aayesha. "This Is How Astronauts Will Deal With Medical Emergencies In Space." Wonderful Engineering, 6 June 2017. Link

Dunbar, Brian. "Space Medicine." NASA, 30 November 2007. Link

Euronews, "Health and medicine in orbit." Youtube, 16 May 2010. Link

In addition:

Like I mentioned before, this is the very last blog post that I will be publishing as a GCE student as I will be graduating in exactly one week. Even though I have not attended this school long, I would just like to give a quick shoutout to the Frontiers instructor! I will always be grateful for the content that has been provided to me as well as the remainder of my senior class. Thank you :)

Grand Challenge #3: "Understanding the Impact of Global Change on Marine Ecosystems."

Hello, all, and welcome to a course called Frontiers! In this course, we discuss the three specific frontiers of scientific understanding which include our seas, our universe, and our current advancements in technology. As of the last month, we have been learning about the importance of regulating populations, ocean acidification, marine technologies, and most importantly, humans and our impact on marine life. From all of the information that we gathered, the one thing that stuck with me is the topic of coral reefs. I will be expanding more on coral reefs in my paper, but until then, let's get into the Action Project! The mission of our AP is to write a research paper on one of the Grand Challenges. The Challenge that I wrote about is Grand Challenge #3: "Understanding the Impact of Global Change on Marine Ecosystems." I decided to do so because I find the subject very important, not only in marine ecosystems but in human ecosystems as well. So, check it out below for more details 👇

12HoE: My Room Redesigning Process!

Hello, all, and welcome back to Endurance! If you missed my last post, this course is all about diving deeper into who we really are as well as how much we are willing to endure to impact the world, and more importantly, ourselves positively. As of recently, our class has just finished a book called Night by Elie Weisel. It is based on Weisel’s Holocaust experiences with his father in the Nazi German concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945, toward the end of the Second World War in Europe. I, personally, found the book extremely eye-opening because of the way Weisel wrote it. He wrote this in a way that made me feel as if I were experiencing the Holocaust with him. Like, when his father was killed by Nazis, he expanded on being emotionally and physically numb to everything
as well as him feeling as he is not a person anymore, but a machine that is working for others. In the end, the book made me come to the realization that there is a lot of hate in this world and all it takes is one person’s opinion to start something terrible. But let’s not get into that topic too much! Let’s get into this Action Project, shall we?

The mission of this Action Project was to create a vlog that showed us devoting 12 hours to something that is productive while following our guiding question: How do you document the pursuit of your mission? For my 12 hours of endurance, I decided to re-design my room! I have been trying to re-design my room for the last couple of months, but I have never had the time nor energy to do so. So, I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and finish it now. With the help of my mother, I cleared my room, cleaned the walls, shampooed the floors, and relocated some furniture.

But if you would like to see the full process, please take a look at the video down below :)

Below, you can read the more thorough and explained version of my video 👇

On 5/12/2021 at 1:00 PM; I started cleaning out my room. I did this because I needed to be able to have a fresh start. I cleared mostly everything out of my room except for my bed and wardrobe. I did that because, one, they are both heavy, two, my bed was only going to be rearranged to the opposite wall, and three, my wardrobe was only going to stay where it was in the end.

1:15 PM; I began to clean the room. My mother and I have not got around to spring cleaning yet, so I started that process by doing a deep cleaning of my bedroom which meant sweeping my floor, cleaning the walls, spackling the holes in the walls, dusting the corners, and later, shampooing my carpet. But since I could not reach the walls up near the ceiling, my mother made a crazy suggestion that I use our Swiffer's, and if you do not know what that is, it is a cleaning device that you use to clean your floors. I was a bit surprised with them as they made great results on the walls.

Once I was finished with doing the deep cleaning of my bedroom, it was around 5:00 PM. I was pleased with the results, but I did not think that it would take that long. I realized that the walls were painted poorly, not to mention that the walls were filthy. But after finishing the deep cleaning, my mother and I started to place my bed on a smaller wall on the opposite side of the bedroom. I wanted to do this because my room is not very spacious. So, moving my bed to a smaller wall would make my bedroom seem bigger and more spacious than it was before.

5:30 PM; my mother started to hook up my television on the opposite wall where my bed was placed. I asked her to do it because I am not good with tools or leveling things on the wall. But after about 15 minutes of her putting the television up, I started screwing in the shelves that went below my television. In the end, my Apple TV and Roku Box were on the top shelf while my three cameras were displayed on my second shelf.

5/14/2021 at 1:00 PM; my mother and I started building my desk. I wanted a desk because the desk that I had before was ruined from box cutter cuts, glue-gun bumps, and I had a lack of space to do work. Also, I was doing schoolwork from my bed which almost always resulted in me falling asleep in online classes. Anyway, the desk that we were building was supposed to be a corner desk which meant that it was made to give me more and take up a corner of a room. It ended up being bigger than we thought. My mother reassured me that it would fit, but unfortunately, I was right, it did not fit. But my mother's building talents saved us from throwing or giving away the desk. We saw that we could reconstruct the desk and turn it into a regular one by getting rid of half of it, and it turned out to be exactly the right size. Though, after we finished putting the desk together, I asked myself, "What could be an alternative project for the remainder of the desk?"

3:00 PM, I began putting my plushies and other forms of collectibles on top of my wardrobe and shelves. I did this because I did not want my plushies scattered around my room like they were, so to save some space, I put them on top of my wardrobe. After that, I placed my BTS dolls on my top shelf which is next to my wardrobe. After some time struggling with making the dolls stand up, I finally got them to do so.

4:00 PM, I chose which tapestry that I wanted to put up on my biggest wall. I decided to put up the tapestry that showed an astronaut and a time traveler meeting in space. I chose this one because it complimented the colors of my bedroom and every time I looked up at the tapestry, I could not help but think, "What are they talking about?"

5/14/2021 at 2:00 PM; I wanted to put up a variety of artwork. I wanted to display photos that I either took myself or photos that I bought offline, but unfortunately, I did not get around to it. So, instead of the artwork that I will eventually be putting up, I put up some 'invisible bookshelves' for my many books. I find them really fascinating because they give you the illusion that your books are floating in mid-air. The only downside about them is that I can only put five to seven books on each shelf or else they will collapse. I only bought four of them and I could buy more, but it is around the time of year where I start to donate items anyway.

In the end, I am very pleased with my room re-design work! I have more space which is what I wanted all along! And I am pretty sure that I will be making more changes in the near future, but not now. I am very pleased with the results. Also, while finishing up this vlog, I finally understood my guiding question: How do you document the pursuit of your mission? I learned that you can do this by owning your pursuit. What I mean by that is, with enough dedication and passion, you can get through any rough patch that you come across, you just need to think about what you want your ending result to be.

But anyway, thank you all for watching this awesome transformation, but I would especially like to thank my mother for taking time out of her studies to help me with this long process since I would not be able to finish without all of her help and support.

Again, thanks to everyone for watching, and do not forget to like, comment, and subcri- oh, wait I am not a Youtuber. That was kind of embarrassing. Okay, bye now!"

Coming To Terms

Hello, all! This is a class called Endurance and, sadly, it is the last Humanities course that I will be taking before I take part in with GCE. But let’s not get sad just yet, I need to explain this AP! Endurance is a course in which we dive deeper into who we really are as well as how much we are willing to endure in order to impact the world, and more importantly to impact ourselves. I am enjoying this course because it allows me to think about who I am as a person as well as what I would like to do in the future. I am not usually fond of speaking about myself let alone my future because it reminds me of how quickly my teenage years are coming to an end and how adulthood is rapidly approaching, but let’s not dwell on that. Let’s get into this Action Project! The mission of this Action Project is to create the first chapter of our own autobiography. In this autobiography, we have to explain a challenge that we had to face at some point in our lives and discuss how we overcame that challenge. I decided to write about mental health and how I came to terms with it after all of these years. So, without further ado, please enjoy it :)

-

Coming To Terms

Growing up, I lived a great childhood. For the first nine years of my life, I was raised in the countryside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by my mother along with my grandparents who also played major roles in my life. As a child, I was as brave as a cheetah yet as oblivious as a puppy. I did not know that much about the world, but I was always ready to explore anything and everything. My mother and I moved to Chicago a few months after I turned nine and those first couple of years seem like a blur now, but I vaguely remember the complications that occurred once I began approaching high school. 

S.S., Home, 2020

This is a photo that I took in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania near my old home.

It was not until my mid-freshman year of high school where I started feeling distant from the world, but I had no idea why, I just did not feel happy anymore. I noticed my attitude becoming colder, I lacked motivation, lost my brave inner cheetah, and struggled academically. Like a sloth, all I wanted to do was stay in bed all day and sleep for hours at a time. My mom would try getting me out of the house, but I would always ignore her. I felt bad for shunning her away, but I could not bring myself to speak or get up. I thought that I reached the “angsty” teenage stage, however, it turned out that I had anxiety and depression. Apparently, I have had it for a while, since I was ten years old, to be exact. 

I hated the way I felt and there were not many things that made me feel any better, but one of the only things that made me feel somewhat better was music. There was one specific song that never failed to bring me back from my thoughts and it was called Born This Way by Lady Gaga. It would always make me feel like I was being hugged through my headphones because it would remind me that I am who I am and nobody could ever change that. In an interview, Lady Gaga expounded on her battle with mental illness to which she said, "I've suffered through depression and anxiety my entire life... I learned that my sadness never destroyed what was great about me. You just have to go back to that greatness, find that one little light that's left." 

S.S., Freshman Mask, 2020.

This is a photo of the mask that I created in art class during my freshman year which symbolizes depression.

When I attended school, I would always put on a happy mask for my friends. Like a therapist, I wanted to act as a strong support system for them, and I enjoyed that, but it was not healthy because I needed that for myself. So, around that time, I had an art project coming up, we had to create a mask and paint it in any way that we felt. So, after some serious brainstorming, I decided that I wanted to paint my mask in a way that would be meaningful to me, and hopefully other people. I ended up painting half of my mask orangish-yellow like sunny daylight - symbolizing happiness and brightness - and the other half of my mask bluish-black like the dark night - symbolizing sadness and loneliness. I, as well as my teacher and fellow peers, was proud of the outcome of my mask because it allowed me to help others understand the way depression felt and how quickly it could ruin your mood. 

But as of recently, I have done another activity where I interviewed a few family members and friends asking them to describe me, my strengths, and my weaknesses. From that activity, I managed to learn a little more about myself. I learned that I am very caring and sincere, but sometimes a little too much. I tend to act as a support system to others so that I can distract myself from my own problems which is not healthy at all. I need to start thinking about myself and what I am going through instead of focusing on what everyone else is going through. I am learning that I need time to reflect and reset because if I do not start prioritizing myself, things will only get worse. My Mom told me that I need to put on my own oxygen mask and save myself before I attempt to save others. I appreciated the people that I interviewed because they were blunt and honest with me. And as for accuracy, the answers given by my interviewees were spot on and pretty accurate. So, again, I appreciated the activity along with those who participated. 

S.S., Candid, 2019.

This is a candid photo of me which my cousin took, I liked it because I looked calm and collected.

Throughout this journey, I learned that mental health can be like walking around with an invisible rainy cloud above your head. It influences my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It impacts every aspect of my daily life as well as my ability to cope with stress, take on and overcome challenges, build relationships, and recover from life’s setbacks and hardships. But I also learned that it does not control me unless I allow it to control me. Today I understand that depression and anxiety are conditions that I have, but they do not define me, nor are they my whole existence. Famous lawyer, author, and activist Bryan Stevenson says, “I believe that each person is more than the worst thing they’ve ever done,” and this quote really resonates with me. Being ashamed of the things that make me unique, hiding my struggles, and pretending that I was okay are definitely some of the worst things I have ever done. For years, I wore a mask which was like committing a crime against myself, but coming to terms with my mental health freed me from that self-imposed prison. While this may not seem like an accomplishment to some people, it is to me and it is a sign of my growth and development. I wholeheartedly believe that had I not taken steps to address my mental health, I would still be wearing that mask and would have been eaten alive by my despair. Full transparency, I still have my moments when I do not feel my best and like a sloth, I slowly withdraw. However, today I recognize that my moments will pass, and being supported and loved by my family and friends reminds me that I am okay.

The Fallon Faith Impact [FP Edition]

Hi, if you're new, welcome! Recently, I shared a post about the 'Fallon Faith Impact' which was one of our Action Projects where we were to create a time capsule from 100 years hence. I decided that I would like to fictionalize a powerful woman president. Her name is Fallon Faith and in the slideshow below, you can see her journey leading up to her presidency.

Label-less Business Plan

Hello, all! If you're new, welcome to Social Entrepreneurship! This is a course where we discuss the importance of creating a successful business. Lately, we've been learning more about sales pipelines/funnels, techniques, etc, as well as speaking to different people who either run businesses or have been associated with business openings. In the last month or so, the class has spoken to James Bateman - the owner of Gadabout in Virginia - and Matt Nicklin - an entrepreneur/investor. They were nice enough to meet with us virtually and answer our questions regarding business set-ups and the process.

The mission of this Action Project is to create a business plan that you believe could yield investments. I decided to create a unisex clothing brand that is trendy and affordable.

-

Label-less

OVERVIEW

I am a big shopper and a big spender. I wear what I like and whatever looks good on me and I shop in every department. I have always been bothered by gender-specific clothing that is labeled men's and women's.

But Label-less is a unisex online clothing store that sells trendy urban wear for affordable prices. It is set up to succeed during times of closure such as COVID-19 and though there may be a conversation about having a physical store after the pandemic, as of right now, having an online store would be best. We open up our sales opportunities to anyone with an internet connection.

This business falls under Sustainable Development Goal 11 which is sustainable cities and communities. This goal owns up to its reputation by making sure cities and communities are inclusive, safe, and most importantly, sustainable.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Label-less is to demolish the division created by men and women's sections in mainstream stores and provide quality, affordable urban wear for all individuals.

VISION STATEMENT

Label-less will efficiently and respectfully provide quality urban wear at affordable prices for all individuals while growing from a small business to a well-known brand name.

MANAGEMENT & ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

These are the major roles in a web team:

• Web Manager

Responsible for the maintenance, design, development, content, and marketing of a website or a group of websites.

• Content Producer

Writes, develops, edits, and publishes content and copy for a variety of digital platforms.

• Designer

Creates visual templates that can be used as means for online communication and/or interaction with customers.

• Developer

Writes code for the website.

PARTNERSHIP

Label-less could be a partnership. There are many opportunities to share a space with other retailers or for major retailers to open a Label-less section. All of which would make this business more successful regarding management, sales, and/or clothing design.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Here are the products we sell and the average prices for those products.

Tops:

T-shirts = $7.00

Sweatshirts = $10.50

Sweaters = $12.50

Hoodies = $14.00

Bottoms:

Jeans = $15.00

Sweatpants = $10.50

Shorts = $7.00

Skirts = $6.50

Dresses:

Maxi = $16.00

Mini = $13.50

T-shirt = $11.00

Skater = $9.50

Shoes:

Sneakers = $17.50

Flats = $10.00

Sandals = $12.00

Boots = $18.50

Accessories:

Bags = $15.00

Belts = $5.00

Jewelery = $5.00-$15.00

Fanny Packs = $8.50

Self Care: 

Bodycare = $18.00

Skincare = $12.50

Haircare = $16.50

Tanning = $12.00

DEMOGRAPHICS

The demographic information for Label-less:

- targeted age range: 15-35 

- income range: lower-median income range and up

- apparel size range: XS-3X 

CITATIONS

Andrea-University of Toronto, The Best Unisex Clothing Stores, 2018: https://www.collegefashion.net/shopping/best-unisex-clothing-stores/

SDG 11, SDG Indicator Updates, 2017: https://medium.com/sdgs-resources/sdg-11-indicators-2017-updates-b43bcbfe54fb

USB Small Business Administration: https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/write-your-business-plan

Shane Diffiley, Roles and Responsibilities of a Web Team, 2013: http://www.diffily.com/articles/webteamroles.htm

JM Portfolio, Don’t Be Self Conchas, 2020: http://jmpgcelabschool.blogspot.com/2020/03/dont-be-self-conchas.html

RP Portfolio, Savor The Flavor Business Plan, 2020: http://rpgcelabschool.blogspot.com/2020/03/savor-flavor-business-plan.html

CONCLUSION

Overall, this project cool. I've never had the energy to do a business plan, but this project forced me to do so which is a good thing. I've always wanted to create some sort of business associated with fashion along with the idea of advocating for gender equality so, I'm happy I did this for the sake of the future.