Happiness Project
In the happiness project you got to create a piece of art about what makes you happy. You also had to write an essay about what happiness is to you. I found out of lot of cool facts I never would have even thought of during this project. This project was my favorite because you could go anywhere you wanted with it. In all this project was very helpful to me because happiness is blown out of proportion but really its just something anyone can conquer.
A World Full of Happiness
A question asked a lot but there is no correct answer. What does happiness mean? There can be a lot of answers to this question, if you're a soccer player happiness could be anything from scoring a goal to winning a huge tournament. While if you're a child and your mother buys you a milkshake just for you then you will be ecstatic too. There are two different types of happiness, long term and short term where scoring a game winning goal will be long term and when your mom buys you a milkshake that will be short term. To actively work to find happiness something that you could do is set your goals to where you can reach them but you feel challenged by them because you can always set your goals higher once exceeded but it really hurts to have to lower them because you can't reach them. As a society people need to start surrounding themselves with groups of happy people because if you're surrounded by happy people you then will become happier. Happiness is having a plan, being able to spend time pursuing challenging but realistic goals that are meaningful, and surrounding yourself with happiness.
For deeper and longer lasting happiness you must make sure that you know what you want, when you want it, and how to be happy, If you have a plan to be happy then you most likely will be happy. In the article “There's More to Life Than Being Happy” it states “You have to have a meaning to life to love it”. When reading this the first thing I thought about was that you have to want to be able to do something to be able to do it. Like if you want to be happy than you will find a way to be. An absolutely crazy story came on ESPN the other day about Cristiano Ronaldo it stated that his father owned a bakery and had plans for Ronaldo to take the bakery over but he had no intentions of that in fact he stated “since the day I could think clearly of what I wanted to do it was always to be a professional footballer ” some days Ronaldo would ditch going to work to go to soccer practice when he got home from practice his father would lock him out of the house leaving Ronaldo only one option and that was sleeping outside he stated “My father didn't care if it was 100 degrees or -100 he would lock me outside for the night”. I learned a lot from this story especially to never let go of a plan/dream that you have. This also really helped me think that having a plan really can help in life and its not some lie that your parents are telling you. Ronaldo had very many short term goals that all lead up to his long term goal. He says that without believing in himself he would be working in a bakery in Portugal instead of being the best footballer in the world. So back to happiness if you make a plan to be happy than you will be happy all throughout life. In the book Brave New World by there is shallow happiness showcased because none of the characters have plans the only plans shown in the book is when the DHC and Mustapha Mond plan on making the people either Gammas ,Beta, and Epsilons and that is the only part in the book that shows a plan. This book showed a lot of happiness where a lot of people would love to live but after research it showed with no plan there is only shallow happiness and with shallow happiness there’s no true meaning to the happiness. With a plan deep happiness is the only thing that you're bound to find.
There are many ways you can make sure that you are achieving happiness but there is one way that has been scientifically proven, low expectations. I know lowering your expectations is something very hard to swallow but it's not a bad idea if you think deeply about it. If your goals are set too high and you can't reach them then you will eventually give up on them causing depression. If you're goals are set low then once you exceed them you can always make new ones that are higher than the others. If you have a goal that is to be the best sports player in the world right off the bat I'm sorry but it's not happening, we aren't superman or some fairy we are people. But say you're first goal is to master the sport of soccer and after that tennis than golf and so on and so forth than at least I would know that you had a chance and again a plan to concentrate on. Clint Dempsey lived in a small farm town in Texas. He always planned to be a farmer, “I never had any of intentions playing soccer professionally, I didn't even plan to make varsity in High School” Clint stated. “ I lived in a trailer park until I was 12. Being a farmer sounded incredible to me. Now my brother Ryan was offered a tryout for the Dallas Texans, an elite youth soccer club, he was incredible he decided to take me with him just for fun.” On November 27, 1995, Dempsey lost his then 16-year-old sister Jennifer to a brain aneurysm she was one of the best tennis players in America, I was devastated but that's what got me into the beautiful sport. I did nothing for my sister so I had to pay it back. I had very small goals like dribble the ball through the the field, once I had that mastered juggling was next, I mastered all those skills, I had the chance to be a world class player I was ranked #1 in all of Texas by Maxpreps.com” Dempsey was noticed and recruited while passing time juggling a ball on the sidelines. He went on to be the captain and high scorer of the Texans and was honored with the MVP of the Tampa Bay Sun Bowl tournament. In his MVP speech he said 4 words “I miss you Jennifer.” and walked off the stage crying. If not for his sister America would strongly be missing out on a world class footballer that started from dribbling the ball through the park and small goals like that.
Not everyone is always happy in the world, but I can promise you there are a few. It has been proven that when you know what makes you happy then you will be happier a lot more (lifehack.com). So say playing basketball always puts your mindset to in the “Zone,” but postgame you have a feeling of peace and calmness to where you just sit down and can't help but crack a smile. Then if you do that everyday you will get a burst of happiness at least once everyday. Another thing you can do is surround yourself with happy people. There’s something in the brain that stimulates you to where you start doing the things that your friends are doing (lifehack.com) If people act a certain way around you, then you will form your own personality to fit into their group. In Brave New World they didn't have to change at all, but they also had no friends. Can you imagine a world with no friends and being incapable of making them. It would be a world of loneliness sadness and quietness that would not be fun at all. We have to be thankful for what we have. We are very privileged and need to notice that. We are able to communicate. We should use that skill to be able to create happiness . As a Nation let’s create happiness for everyone.
Happiness is possible to everyone if you follow the correct protocol. Happiness is being able to spend time pursuing challenging but realistic goals that are meaningful. With very easy goals they won’t mean anything to you once achieved, but with challenging and realistic goals once achieved the only thing left is happiness. Ronaldo claims “I'm very fortunate because of my plans Ive achieved my ultimate goal, to be the best footballer in the world.” With a plan and achievable goals anything is possible even happiness just ask Ronaldo. Happiness is possible for anyone, anywhere, at any time you must have a plan and achievable goals, but with those things happiness is the final destination.
This is my happiness art piece, on it I burned a soccer player with two of my favorite soccer teams on there. I did it like this because soccer makes me happy. I put those two soccer logos on there because watching those two soccer teams makes me very happy because those two teams are the reason I started playing soccer and the reason I'm at such a high level right now. I made this by taking an iron solder and burning into the wood plank I first burnt the soccer player and after that I did the logos I decided to write the quotes because it would look better and much more smooth. My quotes connect to my art piece by talking about winning what victory means and why it makes me happy. In all I will look at this project everyday because it will always be hanging on my wall.
A World Full of Happiness
A question asked a lot but there is no correct answer. What does happiness mean? There can be a lot of answers to this question, if you're a soccer player happiness could be anything from scoring a goal to winning a huge tournament. While if you're a child and your mother buys you a milkshake just for you then you will be ecstatic too. There are two different types of happiness, long term and short term where scoring a game winning goal will be long term and when your mom buys you a milkshake that will be short term. To actively work to find happiness something that you could do is set your goals to where you can reach them but you feel challenged by them because you can always set your goals higher once exceeded but it really hurts to have to lower them because you can't reach them. As a society people need to start surrounding themselves with groups of happy people because if you're surrounded by happy people you then will become happier. Happiness is having a plan, being able to spend time pursuing challenging but realistic goals that are meaningful, and surrounding yourself with happiness.
For deeper and longer lasting happiness you must make sure that you know what you want, when you want it, and how to be happy, If you have a plan to be happy then you most likely will be happy. In the article “There's More to Life Than Being Happy” it states “You have to have a meaning to life to love it”. When reading this the first thing I thought about was that you have to want to be able to do something to be able to do it. Like if you want to be happy than you will find a way to be. An absolutely crazy story came on ESPN the other day about Cristiano Ronaldo it stated that his father owned a bakery and had plans for Ronaldo to take the bakery over but he had no intentions of that in fact he stated “since the day I could think clearly of what I wanted to do it was always to be a professional footballer ” some days Ronaldo would ditch going to work to go to soccer practice when he got home from practice his father would lock him out of the house leaving Ronaldo only one option and that was sleeping outside he stated “My father didn't care if it was 100 degrees or -100 he would lock me outside for the night”. I learned a lot from this story especially to never let go of a plan/dream that you have. This also really helped me think that having a plan really can help in life and its not some lie that your parents are telling you. Ronaldo had very many short term goals that all lead up to his long term goal. He says that without believing in himself he would be working in a bakery in Portugal instead of being the best footballer in the world. So back to happiness if you make a plan to be happy than you will be happy all throughout life. In the book Brave New World by there is shallow happiness showcased because none of the characters have plans the only plans shown in the book is when the DHC and Mustapha Mond plan on making the people either Gammas ,Beta, and Epsilons and that is the only part in the book that shows a plan. This book showed a lot of happiness where a lot of people would love to live but after research it showed with no plan there is only shallow happiness and with shallow happiness there’s no true meaning to the happiness. With a plan deep happiness is the only thing that you're bound to find.
There are many ways you can make sure that you are achieving happiness but there is one way that has been scientifically proven, low expectations. I know lowering your expectations is something very hard to swallow but it's not a bad idea if you think deeply about it. If your goals are set too high and you can't reach them then you will eventually give up on them causing depression. If you're goals are set low then once you exceed them you can always make new ones that are higher than the others. If you have a goal that is to be the best sports player in the world right off the bat I'm sorry but it's not happening, we aren't superman or some fairy we are people. But say you're first goal is to master the sport of soccer and after that tennis than golf and so on and so forth than at least I would know that you had a chance and again a plan to concentrate on. Clint Dempsey lived in a small farm town in Texas. He always planned to be a farmer, “I never had any of intentions playing soccer professionally, I didn't even plan to make varsity in High School” Clint stated. “ I lived in a trailer park until I was 12. Being a farmer sounded incredible to me. Now my brother Ryan was offered a tryout for the Dallas Texans, an elite youth soccer club, he was incredible he decided to take me with him just for fun.” On November 27, 1995, Dempsey lost his then 16-year-old sister Jennifer to a brain aneurysm she was one of the best tennis players in America, I was devastated but that's what got me into the beautiful sport. I did nothing for my sister so I had to pay it back. I had very small goals like dribble the ball through the the field, once I had that mastered juggling was next, I mastered all those skills, I had the chance to be a world class player I was ranked #1 in all of Texas by Maxpreps.com” Dempsey was noticed and recruited while passing time juggling a ball on the sidelines. He went on to be the captain and high scorer of the Texans and was honored with the MVP of the Tampa Bay Sun Bowl tournament. In his MVP speech he said 4 words “I miss you Jennifer.” and walked off the stage crying. If not for his sister America would strongly be missing out on a world class footballer that started from dribbling the ball through the park and small goals like that.
Not everyone is always happy in the world, but I can promise you there are a few. It has been proven that when you know what makes you happy then you will be happier a lot more (lifehack.com). So say playing basketball always puts your mindset to in the “Zone,” but postgame you have a feeling of peace and calmness to where you just sit down and can't help but crack a smile. Then if you do that everyday you will get a burst of happiness at least once everyday. Another thing you can do is surround yourself with happy people. There’s something in the brain that stimulates you to where you start doing the things that your friends are doing (lifehack.com) If people act a certain way around you, then you will form your own personality to fit into their group. In Brave New World they didn't have to change at all, but they also had no friends. Can you imagine a world with no friends and being incapable of making them. It would be a world of loneliness sadness and quietness that would not be fun at all. We have to be thankful for what we have. We are very privileged and need to notice that. We are able to communicate. We should use that skill to be able to create happiness . As a Nation let’s create happiness for everyone.
Happiness is possible to everyone if you follow the correct protocol. Happiness is being able to spend time pursuing challenging but realistic goals that are meaningful. With very easy goals they won’t mean anything to you once achieved, but with challenging and realistic goals once achieved the only thing left is happiness. Ronaldo claims “I'm very fortunate because of my plans Ive achieved my ultimate goal, to be the best footballer in the world.” With a plan and achievable goals anything is possible even happiness just ask Ronaldo. Happiness is possible for anyone, anywhere, at any time you must have a plan and achievable goals, but with those things happiness is the final destination.
This is my happiness art piece, on it I burned a soccer player with two of my favorite soccer teams on there. I did it like this because soccer makes me happy. I put those two soccer logos on there because watching those two soccer teams makes me very happy because those two teams are the reason I started playing soccer and the reason I'm at such a high level right now. I made this by taking an iron solder and burning into the wood plank I first burnt the soccer player and after that I did the logos I decided to write the quotes because it would look better and much more smooth. My quotes connect to my art piece by talking about winning what victory means and why it makes me happy. In all I will look at this project everyday because it will always be hanging on my wall.
The MUN Project
In this project called the Model UN Project was a very long process. We started this project 10 weeks ago the day after winter break. I was not happy about the Project at first because I thought we would have a day to recoup but when we started the project I was actually very happy about it. When we started our first problem was the North Korean issue, I loved this problem because I found a lot of information fast. The next problem was the Palestine problem I didnt like this because I couldnt find any information until the last day. In all I liked this project because I feel as if it will help me later on in life.
1: What would you tell another student if they asked why the Model UN was important?
If an 8th grader said “Why do we have to do the MUN project? How will it help me in life?”
The MUN project helped me open my eyes to out of this country. I had no idea about the Israel-Palestine conflict but because of this project I am now very interested in conflicts across the US. So my response to this question would be the MUN project will be the toughest project you’ve ever done you'll have those days where you sit there and go I hate this so much, while other days you will say this is the most fun I’ve ever had in school. But in all this will help open your eyes to not just the US conflicts but to the whole world.
2: What HOHAM were you most proud of at the conference?
At the MUN Conference we always use HOHAM’s even if we want to or not. In the MUN conference almost everyone was going for resolution 2D but I knew that I had to persevere and flood the people with questions and comments when I had the chance to. By doing this I believe that I raised my grade which helped me a lot.
3: What was the greatest challenge you faced in the project and how did you work through it?
I was assigned Chile as my country we had to find our countries perspective on the problems instead of ours. While doing the Palestinian problem it was very hard for me to find the perspective of Chile because they are allies with almost every country.
4: Although everybodys speeches were very interesting I am am choosing this one as the most interesting is because the facts were strong and the whole speech was too. I believed that Aminas speech was the most interesting because it stated facts that would change minds and statements were made that no one else stated. So that is why I chose Aminas speech.
1: What would you tell another student if they asked why the Model UN was important?
If an 8th grader said “Why do we have to do the MUN project? How will it help me in life?”
The MUN project helped me open my eyes to out of this country. I had no idea about the Israel-Palestine conflict but because of this project I am now very interested in conflicts across the US. So my response to this question would be the MUN project will be the toughest project you’ve ever done you'll have those days where you sit there and go I hate this so much, while other days you will say this is the most fun I’ve ever had in school. But in all this will help open your eyes to not just the US conflicts but to the whole world.
2: What HOHAM were you most proud of at the conference?
At the MUN Conference we always use HOHAM’s even if we want to or not. In the MUN conference almost everyone was going for resolution 2D but I knew that I had to persevere and flood the people with questions and comments when I had the chance to. By doing this I believe that I raised my grade which helped me a lot.
3: What was the greatest challenge you faced in the project and how did you work through it?
I was assigned Chile as my country we had to find our countries perspective on the problems instead of ours. While doing the Palestinian problem it was very hard for me to find the perspective of Chile because they are allies with almost every country.
4: Although everybodys speeches were very interesting I am am choosing this one as the most interesting is because the facts were strong and the whole speech was too. I believed that Aminas speech was the most interesting because it stated facts that would change minds and statements were made that no one else stated. So that is why I chose Aminas speech.
The Tragedy Project
In this project we learned about Greek tragedy and read 2 plays. We chose a social issue in the US right now. I chose homelessness because I feel like it is a growing issue. To start off we read a bunch of articles about our issue. We then watched a documentary about our social issue. After our research we wrote our script and had to refine at least 5 times. Once we finished our script we did the visuals and finished them. The day of the presentation was a little frantic but in all I thought that this project was very fun.
http://issuu.com/treyfurnas/docs/itsnotalwayssunnyinchicago
Script
Its Not Always Sunny in Chicago
Characters: DeAndre -Trey, Chorus(parents from heaven) -Haley as mom(Ann) Rollin as dad(Mike), Drug Dealer -Ben, Friend 1(Tyrone)-Puff, Friend 2(Stephen) -Asher, Gang member 1 -Will, Gang member 2-Lyric Gang member 3-Eythan, Owner of foster home(Alice) -Kate
PROLOGUE-
(Flashback of DeAndre’s past as a young child, back to when he was
young and wealthy with his parents. Although he didn’t have a very good connection with them, he still looked up to them. There are visions of his drinking father, the flashback goes on and it shows his parents getting killed in a car accident he is absolutely devastated; then he was sent to a foster home.)
SCENE ONE-
Takes place in Chicago IL.
DeAndre: (Opens his eyes and is in his foster home, he counts his money; then goes outside.) Hey man you got the drugs?
Drug Dealer: (pulls out a little mini ziplock baggie with cocaine in it.)
DeAndre: Thanks man. (Hands him $150)
(Both split in different directions)
(DeAndre goes into an alleyway where he meets a few friends and they all do their drugs)
Owner of Foster Home: (Turns corner) DeAndre is that you?
DeAndre: (Starts to Run, but is cornered in by a wall.) Oh Shit!
Alice : Come here right this instance! (she grabs for him)
(They both walk into her office, and sit down)
Alice: DeAndre this is becoming a weekly occurrence and you're becoming a bad influence I cant keep you in the home if you can't quit!
DeAndre: Fine, I guess I’ll pack my stuff… (DeAndre leaves the office and goes to his room)
(After an hour of packing his bags DeAndre says his goodbyes and leaves. He goes outside but has nowhere to go)
Chorus:
(DeAndre’s dead parents)
DeAndre if only you gave up on those drugs
If only you still had us
If only you hadn’t broken the law
If only you knew how to spend your money
If only you hung out with the right people
Now look at where you are…
The streets of Chicago
Filled with crime and gangs
SCENE TWO:
(DeAndre wakes up on the street, he’s freezing cold, and starving. His friends walk over to him)
Friend 1 (Tyrone): Yo is that DeAndre?
Friend 2 (Stephen): Yeah I think so.
(Both walk over)
Friend 2 (Stephen): DeAndre what the hell you doin on the street man?
DeAndre: I got kicked out man.
Friend 2 (Stephen): Out of what?
DeAndre: My foster home.
Friend 2 (Stephen): How come?
DeAndre: The owner of the foster home caught me with cocaine, I have nowhere to go! I feel like my old man, you know? Drinking and doin’ drugs, but that’s the way I grew up. That the way I was raised. Y'know man?
Friend 1 (Tyrone): Haha you gotta be more secretive about that shit man.
DeAndre: Y’know man the last thing I expect from you is for you to help, You're always all about yourself! You're such a self centered asshole.
Friend 1 (Tyrone): (Punches DeAndre in the Face)
DeAndre: (On the ground bleeding)
Friend 2: (Pulls Friend 1 away) Get outta here man! (Checks on DeAndre to make sure he is okay.)
DeAndre: I'm all good man thanks for checking. Now get outta here man its to cold…
Chorus:
(DeAndre’s parents)
You now have one less friend
that’s the last thing you need
you're now on the street
freezing in defeat
you can't feel your feet
You’ve hit rock bottom
Your life is fading away in the blink of an eye
The worst has yet to come…
DeAndre: (Shivering on the street his wound just stopped bleeding)
(Gang members walk up to DeAndre)
Gang Member 1: Look at this young blood on the street
Gang Member 2: Haha, he don't stand a chance on the streets of Chicago.
DeAndre: Guys please don't hurt me I don't got any food or shelter I'm just tryn’ to scoot my way by, I’ve really messed up okay?
Gang Member 3: It looks like its your unlucky day.
(All 3 Gang Members mugg DeAndre and leave him with no shoes or a jacket he is bleeding and he can’t move)
DeAndre: (Wakes up and manages to move himself to the street.)
For days people have just walked past DeAndre and ignored him
DeAndre: I'm so hungry I just wish people would pay attention. (With one last yelp of pain DeAndre takes his last breath.)
Chorus:
(DeAndre’s dead parents parents)
Its been days since you've had food
If only you were looked at as a human
If only the people knew the hard life you had to live
the people of Chicago are so inconsiderate
you've reached the end of your rough life
We wish you had left the drugs behind
We wish you had a second chance to have a chance of success
We wish people understood how hard life as a homeless is.
The End
Tragic ending:
Reflection
DeAndre, even though he messed up, learned his lesson, and learned that he could do better than he was in the end, he just choose to do the wrong things based on is past. And sadly people choose to see him not as a human on the streets while he was begging for his life. Yet, the sad part it that people choose to ignore him anyway and as a result of that he died.
I worked very hard on this project and thought it through a lot. There was a ton of revising or thoughts that were scratched. At first we were going to have him do cocaine with his gang but then we thought it through and a gang wouldn't let each other be on the street. it took a while but I am proud of our final project. My mother always told me quality over speed and Hayley and I barely got this finished in time, we barely got this exported to Sara in time for our in class exhibition. But in all I believe that our final project was a success.
If I were to give someone advice for this project next year I would say to use all of your time wisely. I would have refined my graphic novel by using voices reading over the peoples parts so it wasn't as confusing because I feel if we did this it would be much smoother. So my best advice would be to think this through a lot.
Working in partners worked very well for my group because on the days I was gone then Hayley got stuff done which was very helpful and when she was absent I could get stuff done which I hope was helpful. The most challenging thing was finding stuff to do when both of us were present and also when we were working on the same thing and did the same thing at the sametime and it got lost. But mostly it was a very fun experience to work with someone I didn't know and then to get to know them was fun. I felt having partners was a good I would continue to have partners in the continuing years.
The toughest part in this project for me was something I don't have to deal with and this was patience because my partner would get distracted easily and I needed her help and I didn't want to be rude so I just let her do her thing. But other wise It wasn't to difficult. Another thing that was hard was the amount of time we were given.
Its Not Always Sunny in Chicago
Characters: DeAndre -Trey, Chorus(parents from heaven) -Haley as mom(Ann) Rollin as dad(Mike), Drug Dealer -Ben, Friend 1(Tyrone)-Puff, Friend 2(Stephen) -Asher, Gang member 1 -Will, Gang member 2-Lyric Gang member 3-Eythan, Owner of foster home(Alice) -Kate
PROLOGUE-
(Flashback of DeAndre’s past as a young child, back to when he was
young and wealthy with his parents. Although he didn’t have a very good connection with them, he still looked up to them. There are visions of his drinking father, the flashback goes on and it shows his parents getting killed in a car accident he is absolutely devastated; then he was sent to a foster home.)
SCENE ONE-
Takes place in Chicago IL.
DeAndre: (Opens his eyes and is in his foster home, he counts his money; then goes outside.) Hey man you got the drugs?
Drug Dealer: (pulls out a little mini ziplock baggie with cocaine in it.)
DeAndre: Thanks man. (Hands him $150)
(Both split in different directions)
(DeAndre goes into an alleyway where he meets a few friends and they all do their drugs)
Owner of Foster Home: (Turns corner) DeAndre is that you?
DeAndre: (Starts to Run, but is cornered in by a wall.) Oh Shit!
Alice : Come here right this instance! (she grabs for him)
(They both walk into her office, and sit down)
Alice: DeAndre this is becoming a weekly occurrence and you're becoming a bad influence I cant keep you in the home if you can't quit!
DeAndre: Fine, I guess I’ll pack my stuff… (DeAndre leaves the office and goes to his room)
(After an hour of packing his bags DeAndre says his goodbyes and leaves. He goes outside but has nowhere to go)
Chorus:
(DeAndre’s dead parents)
DeAndre if only you gave up on those drugs
If only you still had us
If only you hadn’t broken the law
If only you knew how to spend your money
If only you hung out with the right people
Now look at where you are…
The streets of Chicago
Filled with crime and gangs
SCENE TWO:
(DeAndre wakes up on the street, he’s freezing cold, and starving. His friends walk over to him)
Friend 1 (Tyrone): Yo is that DeAndre?
Friend 2 (Stephen): Yeah I think so.
(Both walk over)
Friend 2 (Stephen): DeAndre what the hell you doin on the street man?
DeAndre: I got kicked out man.
Friend 2 (Stephen): Out of what?
DeAndre: My foster home.
Friend 2 (Stephen): How come?
DeAndre: The owner of the foster home caught me with cocaine, I have nowhere to go! I feel like my old man, you know? Drinking and doin’ drugs, but that’s the way I grew up. That the way I was raised. Y'know man?
Friend 1 (Tyrone): Haha you gotta be more secretive about that shit man.
DeAndre: Y’know man the last thing I expect from you is for you to help, You're always all about yourself! You're such a self centered asshole.
Friend 1 (Tyrone): (Punches DeAndre in the Face)
DeAndre: (On the ground bleeding)
Friend 2: (Pulls Friend 1 away) Get outta here man! (Checks on DeAndre to make sure he is okay.)
DeAndre: I'm all good man thanks for checking. Now get outta here man its to cold…
Chorus:
(DeAndre’s parents)
You now have one less friend
that’s the last thing you need
you're now on the street
freezing in defeat
you can't feel your feet
You’ve hit rock bottom
Your life is fading away in the blink of an eye
The worst has yet to come…
DeAndre: (Shivering on the street his wound just stopped bleeding)
(Gang members walk up to DeAndre)
Gang Member 1: Look at this young blood on the street
Gang Member 2: Haha, he don't stand a chance on the streets of Chicago.
DeAndre: Guys please don't hurt me I don't got any food or shelter I'm just tryn’ to scoot my way by, I’ve really messed up okay?
Gang Member 3: It looks like its your unlucky day.
(All 3 Gang Members mugg DeAndre and leave him with no shoes or a jacket he is bleeding and he can’t move)
DeAndre: (Wakes up and manages to move himself to the street.)
For days people have just walked past DeAndre and ignored him
DeAndre: I'm so hungry I just wish people would pay attention. (With one last yelp of pain DeAndre takes his last breath.)
Chorus:
(DeAndre’s dead parents parents)
Its been days since you've had food
If only you were looked at as a human
If only the people knew the hard life you had to live
the people of Chicago are so inconsiderate
you've reached the end of your rough life
We wish you had left the drugs behind
We wish you had a second chance to have a chance of success
We wish people understood how hard life as a homeless is.
The End
Tragic ending:
Reflection
DeAndre, even though he messed up, learned his lesson, and learned that he could do better than he was in the end, he just choose to do the wrong things based on is past. And sadly people choose to see him not as a human on the streets while he was begging for his life. Yet, the sad part it that people choose to ignore him anyway and as a result of that he died.
I worked very hard on this project and thought it through a lot. There was a ton of revising or thoughts that were scratched. At first we were going to have him do cocaine with his gang but then we thought it through and a gang wouldn't let each other be on the street. it took a while but I am proud of our final project. My mother always told me quality over speed and Hayley and I barely got this finished in time, we barely got this exported to Sara in time for our in class exhibition. But in all I believe that our final project was a success.
If I were to give someone advice for this project next year I would say to use all of your time wisely. I would have refined my graphic novel by using voices reading over the peoples parts so it wasn't as confusing because I feel if we did this it would be much smoother. So my best advice would be to think this through a lot.
Working in partners worked very well for my group because on the days I was gone then Hayley got stuff done which was very helpful and when she was absent I could get stuff done which I hope was helpful. The most challenging thing was finding stuff to do when both of us were present and also when we were working on the same thing and did the same thing at the sametime and it got lost. But mostly it was a very fun experience to work with someone I didn't know and then to get to know them was fun. I felt having partners was a good I would continue to have partners in the continuing years.
The toughest part in this project for me was something I don't have to deal with and this was patience because my partner would get distracted easily and I needed her help and I didn't want to be rude so I just let her do her thing. But other wise It wasn't to difficult. Another thing that was hard was the amount of time we were given.