Reflections

The overarching goal of this project was to create a series of creative projects to represent who we are. In English, we wrote a personal statement that we could use for our college applications. Then, we took the personal statement and recorded it and edited it in ProTools. For Animation, we took the essence objects we brainstormed for our essay and 3D modeled them in Maya.  These objects had to represent us and our personality in some way. We also created a short loop of the Freestyle logo with what Freestyle meant to us or a Google logo with something that happened on our birthday. Through this unit, I learned about my values as a person and what I looked for in a place and friends. I learned how much my community means to me and what my writing works meant to me after the fact. I valued the time we got to write a college essay, allowing us to focus on other essays in the time we would’ve spent on the personal essay, as well as the opportunity to learn more about myself as I explored my core values.


Personal Essay

The purpose of this assignment was to create one of our many college essays. We went through an extensive process to create and refine the essay, using principles from College Essay Essentials by Ethan Sawyer to brainstorm, outline and edit our essays. We started with brainstorming around 20 objects that we felt represented us and our experience so far. We then determined our core values. After this, we determined whether we wanted to do a narrative structure or a montage structure, dependent on whether we knew what we wanted to do and if we faced obstacles in our life that shaped us in some form. After we had a draft, we edited it according to tips from College Essay Essentials. 

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My Essay

At age 6, I finished reading The Doll People without my parents’ help.

Since then, I have read countless books. I’d scroll through Goodreads and mark books that sound interesting, peruse bookstores, and question my friends. I’d browse the bookshelves in my house, overflowing with books.

I would curl up on the couch with the book in my lap, oblivious to the outside world. I was immersed in a new world, with endless opportunities for magic and adventure. I’d even tune out my friends in favor of burying my nose further into the book on occasion.

This love of reading bolstered my love for writing. The authors created an out-of-world experience with only their words. I wanted to know how they strung their words together to create the characters I fell in love with and the places I’d escape to.

And so, the first chapter of a book was written, lost in the midst of documents. The next chapter followed, and soon my computer was filled with files telling half-written stories. I would lose motivation after letting them sit for a week. I wanted to know how an author regained motivation for a single story after taking a break. Feedback? Compliments? Readers?

I found websites that created a platform for writers of every skill level, and through it, I wrote more and more. I wrote unconventionally structured stories, several of which accumulated thousands of views and ‘votes’. On another platform, I have a collection of short stories over 50 chapters long. Some I hate, some I’m ambivalent towards, and others I love. But with each comment and vote for my stories, I gained motivation to finish my books. If not for me, then for my readers.

Sharing my words with strangers has always been easier for me than sharing my words with those around me. It is why my stories are on public websites, but none of my family has ever read them. For me, it’s not a matter of being afraid of criticism. My stories are a part of me, and I grow as a writer as I improve my work. But the topic of my words are geared to a certain audience, an audience I know my family isn’t a part of. They’re connected to the shows I watch and the books I’ve read, such as The 100 and Keeper of The Lost Cities. They wouldn’t understand the characters, the history behind them, or the world they’re in. However, I let them read my documentary book, self-published with the help of my peers and teachers. When I create a novel of my own, I’ll gladly let them read it. But only then.

   Creating worlds in the stories I’ve shared has never come easy. Nothing has ever come easy. The work put into the world-building and the character development leaves me stressed but when I take a step back, I am proud. I am proud that I finished a story, a chapter in a book of short stories.

I find versions of myself, both who I am and who I aim to be, in book characters. When a character makes a rash decision, I find myself irritated at their choices and wanting them to do better. It’s taught me to think through everything more than once, and of the people my decision would affect outside of myself. When a character places their well-being before that of others, it’s taught me to care for myself before I worry about others. Helping others is harder if I can’t take care of myself. When a character is part of a community that is kind and genuine, I find myself grateful that I’m part of a similar community.

And at age 17, I find myself with piles of books in my bookshelves, waiting for me to read them. Waiting for me to discover another part of myself in their pages.


Perspective Piece

For this project, we had to write a ‘rant’ or a short paragraph about a topic. After recording and editing in ProTools, we then used After Effects to create a short video to go along with the recording. We made each image we found online fade into the next image and placed them at specific points in the piece to align with what was being said.

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A screenshot of the After Effects interface. There is a photo of the Women's March on display, and the timeline for the video is visible.
The interface for my project.

Animation

Object Design

We took our essence objects and decided which ones we wanted to model. Afterwards, we created small thumbnails of what we wanted it to look like in Maya, complete with different ways of shading it. After we settled on an object, we began to model it in Maya. For this project, I used headphones and turtles to represent my love for music and water. After we created the object, we played with the textures available with Maya. After playing with these textures, we learned about UV maps and created one for our object. This was a long and confusing process. Then, we uploaded it to a program called Substance Painter, where we painted onto the actual object. After we finished with this, we applied the textures to the object in Maya and animated a camera going around it to showcase it. However, because we encountered technical difficulties, we rendered three shots and created a short video with them instead of the camera movements. We created a voiceover to go with the video.

A photo of the final object. It has turtles for the ear pieces of the headphones.
A diagonal view of the final object.
 A close up of the turtle earpiece. The shell is wood textured, and the fins and head are green.
A close up of the turtle earpiece.
A close up of the cushion. It has my name on it and hearts on the top and bottom of it, with squiggles in the little indent. It is dirty to show use.
A close up of the cushion.
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Animated Logo and Loading Screen

We also created a short animated loop of the Freestyle Logo or the Google Logo. For this, we had to make the logo represent what Freestyle meant to us or choose an event that occurred on our birthday for the Google logo. We also had to create a loading screen to go with it.


Overall Reflection

Throughout this project of creating a personal essay and objects to go with it, I learn more about myself and my values. I learned just how much I valued community and how my stories and characters emulated the type of person I wanted to be. Along with learning more about myself, the project presented the opportunity to get to know my peers and what they valued in life. I was able to learn Autodesk Maya, a new software, and how intensive, frustrating and amazing it could be.