Masterpiece Academy

Although I have only been in this course for a semester I think I have learned more in the past few months than I did in any other English course. I have learned how to reach out to members of the community professionally, in a way that they will and have actually responded to me.

As Dr. Preston goes throughout class, we as a class are not necessarily treated as students but as colleagues in a process that is much bigger than ourselves. Although at times we may not deserve to be treated as colleagues,  we are and that helps us grow. In life no one is going to tell you to do your presentation you just have to prepare and get it done.

Through this course I was able to express a deep concern I had about sex trafficking and was then able to get in touch with people that could help me get further on my way to my overall goal of building a safe house for the victims. After I leave thus course I will continue to keep in touch with my resources and hopefully will build the safe house.

On a daily basis Dr. Preston says things that make me think, "you know what, he is right" something that made me laugh was that people think this class is easy because no one tells you what to do, when to do it, or how to do it.

Now although no one tells us what to do, everyone had a presentation when it came the day to present. As people were presenting, I found a common theme in quite a few,  compassion or love. I did sex trafficking which in order to help the victims I need to be compassionate and loving, Jacob is a chef and in order to produce quality food he needs to put love into his food like he did with his bruschetta. Analyssa is into photography, in order to compose a quality picture she must have love and patience in what she does, Paige is into art and crocheting, she needs love when it comes to art because putting love and passion into anything you do makes it worth more to the person you are making it for.

So what did I do? A hero is defined as someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. Noble qualities, I believe by spreading awareness and gaining status I can call myself a hero, but would I? No, I don't do this for fame or fortune, I do it to better people's lives.

When it comes to adventure, I went with wherever my blog took me whether it was across the street or across the country I contacted people and never ended up getting a mentor but I learned that if you want something done you have to do it yourself.

Overall I love this course because it helped me grow into an adult. I will attach a few pictures of my classmates work. Jacob's bread sticks and bruschetta,  Paige's graduation treat, and Austin's comedy suggestions slide.

Beginning

Everything had to stem from something, some idea or thought. As I sit in class and write creatively about something that at first glance looks provocative, I start to think how I can bring creativity into the world of sex trafficking.

Some ideas I came up with were to figure out new ways to catch the pimps, and in addition to that, think of different ways to appeal to the victims.

Masterpiece Interviews

Today I interviewed several people about their projects and what they would be presenting to the class in a few weeks. I found that everyone I talked to had the same worries and/ or wants in means of outreach.

Many people were worried they weren't going to be able to finish their masterpiece in time and on a scale that would be acceptable.

In terms of outreach, many people including myself, said that they feel like they can't reach the audience they had in mind.

Through this experience I have learned that I need to shape the curriculum in order to benefit me.

Connections

Throughout the day I had several experiences that made me think of my project some include people walking through the halls and others included driving in my car.

As I wall through the halls I looked for signs of abuse and shockingly a lot of people show the signs. Now this doesn't mean they are abused but it just makes me think, what if they are? What can I do?

When I drive down the road I look for people, I see a lot of homeless people who could get a job but don't. There are girls forced into a job and here they are begging for money. I'm sure if you asked any victim if they would rather keep doing what they are doing or beg for money almost all of them would say they would rather beg for money.

Lastly laying in bed I think to myself, what if I was taken and forced to do what they are doing? Would I fight? Would I let them take me or would I even know that I was being persuaded into being in that lucrative business? All I know is that I'm thankful I'm not in that situation Abe that I need to get as many victims out of that situation as quickly as I can.

Design

When thinking about my environment and how I could hack it to better suit me I think about where I'd like to spend time. I love the outdoors so maybe I can go out in town and learn from my surrounds. Instead of hiding behind a blog I want to be out on the streets telling people that sex trafficking is real and that it happens everywhere, even here on the central coast.

By hacking my environment I will be open to more possibilities to succeed in my overall project. No one can truly succeed if they don't hack their environment, they will simply be going with the motions rather than making a statement,  making a difference.

The Crossroads Between Should and Must

Should is what society says you should do where must is your moral standards. I find myself doing what I should do not what I must do. As a teenager I want to fit in I want to be "normal" what does that even mean anymore?
I don't know why I want to be normal anymore, the only way to make a difference in the world is to be different, to be abnormal.
From now on I'm going to do what I must, be myself and make a difference no matter how small. I need to make a difference it's my moral instincts to be out of the box and hopefully inspirational to others to make a difference.
Should or must? I choose must.

Up To You

I have been struggling with plenty of problems the past few months but a big question I ask myself is- Am I an entrepreneur?
Most people view an entrepreneur as an expert and I by all means am not an expert when it comes to anything so I'm an entrepreneur in that sense.
As defined in class an entrepreneur is someone who puts something into the world that wasn't there before. By blogging and making a video I can consider myself an entrepreneur because I am putting products into the world that weren't there.
Am I an entrepreneur? As I think what I have done and what I plan to do I can honestly say I consider myself an entrepreneur now. Do you?