In the first Humanities class of my junior year, Rhetoric, our class discussed how to use our own voices to bring people together, divide opinions,and transcend conflict. In the third and final unit of this class, which is called Unite, we studied how rhetoric can be used to inspire and mobilize people. In order to understand this, the class looked at many different forms of artwork that expressed a message about an important issue. For the action project, the class was asked to study a specific social issue that is going on right now and try to bring awareness to that issue by creating some form of art that speaks to it. I decided to look into animal abuse, and I brought awareness to that issue by writing a poem. I already had a challenge when the project was introduced because I didn’t know what issue to study, but after doing some research, I finally chose animal abuse. It was hard for me to do research on this topic because I didn’t like reading the horrible statistics, but I’m also glad that I can use my words to bring attention to it. Thanks to this project and unit, I now know what it artistically takes to inspire a group of people in order to make a change on a specific issue. I hope you enjoy my artist's statement and poem below!
Artist’s Statement:
I’m RD and I’ve been an animal lover my entire life, so it was both easy and hard to write a poem about animal cruelty- easy because I have a natural admiration for animals, hard because I had to read all the horrible statistics about animal abuse. I really don’t understand what goes on in the minds of people who think that hurting an innocent, helpless animal is alright. These animals are coming into our life and all they are expecting from us is care and love.The HSUS led a study that estimated that nearly 1 million animals a year are abused or even killed as a result of problems going on in a household. If you know you won’t be able to care for an animal, please don’t let one into your home.
I also want to bring attention to the clothing that you put on your body. If you’re a person who wears fur, I just have one question: why? “More than 50% of fur in the US comes from China, where millions of dogs and cats are often bled to death and skinned alive for their fur” (Do Something.org). Do you really want to wear or support a brand that tortures animals just to look good or get big bucks? As you’re paying for these jackets, hats and other fur products, you’re handing money to the killers of the 50 million innocent animals who are violently murdered (Born Free USA). Animals love us no matter what, why can’t we do that too?
To raise more awareness on this issue, I decided to create an art piece from an animal's point of view. I really want to bring attention to the thoughts and emotions that these animals have, about which people often forget. I sat down and thought of all the different feelings that a person who is abused might experience.The only advantage that humans have is that we can talk and try to speak up, but animals cannot do that, which breaks my heart even more. There are many ads out there showing the cute animals that are victims of animal abuse, but we really do not bring attention to their thoughts and emotions, which is why I wrote a poem to do exactly that. If I had a choice as to where I would want my poem to be showcased, I would definitely print out tons of copies and stick them around animal shelters, pet stores and veterinarian offices to remind people about the importance of taking in an animal in their home, and how crucial it is to treat them right. I would also want my poem to start a new wave of anti-animal cruelty ads, where real, young people would speak up for animals, who sadly cannot do that themselves.
I included a great deal of pathos in my poem as I described the emotions and thoughts of these animals. I can also say that I added ethos because I have been around animals my entire life, so I know how much deep love animals actually have and how much deep love they also deserve. I would also say that my whole poem carries strong logos because it’s logical to not hurt an animal. Animals have feelings just like us, but some people still do not understand that. I hope you enjoy my poem below!
I want you to hold me in your arms, not put me in harm
I want you to care, but all you do is put me in a scare
I want you to stroke my neck, but instead you twist it
I want you to pet my fur, but instead you wear it
It looks better on me anyway
It kills me to see you raise up by the fall of my feathers
You brought me in and I was expecting love
But all I got was a million shoves
Now all I see from you is a boxing glove
Am I the animal here, or is it you?
Works cited:
"11 Facts About Animal Cruelty." 11 Facts About Animal Cruelty. Yahoo, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
"The Fur Industry." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015
"Get The Facts:." Ten Fast Facts about Fur. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
In the first Humanities class of my junior year, Rhetoric, we are going over how to use our voices to bring people together, divide the opinions of people and transcend conflict. In the second unit of this course, which is called Challenge, the class went over how speakers use devices and many appeals to persuade their audience to be on their side. To get a better sense about this all, we read and listened to many speeches and practiced making annotations on these speeches. For the action project, the class was assigned to look into a speech and annotate it, along with looking for the many appeals and devices that the speaker included. I decided to look into a speech given by Malala Yousafzai. It was her first speech given since she was shot by the Taliban, so I knew there were going to be a lot of important messages, and I knew she was going to be smart about how she wrote/presented her speech. It was a challenge picking which speech of hers to pick, but after going through them, I thought this one was the strongest. I honestly was scared because of how long the speech is, but it was very well written and very informative, so this project not only helped me with improving my skills on annotation, but it also also informed me on the problems that Malala is addressing in her speech. I hope you enjoy my prezi presentation below!
For my Health and Wellness course in the fall term, I am taking an Italian class for language credits. In this class, we are introduced to the basics of the Italian language. I enjoy coming to this class because I think the language is very interesting, and because I love learning about other countries and their cultures. Our Italian teacher wanted us to explore a city in Italy, and make a slide show out of it. I was assigned the city Ravenna. I have never heard of this city, so I was pretty excited to see the beauty that the city holds. Below I have a slideshow that shows the most unique and wonderful parts of the city. I hope you enjoy exploring!
In the first Humanities class of my junior year, Rhetoric, we are going over how to use our voices to bring people together, divide the opinions of people and transcend conflict. In the first unit of this class, which is called, Suppose, the class went over the different devices and appeals in speech, and how to work those around in order to persuade an audience. For the action project, the class was assigned to choose a topic that we could make into a debate, and try to defend our position. I chose the topic, "Why summer is really better than the rest" because summer is my favorite season, and I want others to know how to take advantage of the beautiful season.We were also assigned to create a logo for our topic. At first I had a hard time picking a topic that I was actually passionate about, but then as I was looking through pictures of my summer, the idea hit me. I was really into this topic, so writing the speech was actually exciting. I'm proud that I correctly learned how to apply the different devices and appeals into my speech in order to feel a connection with my audience. I hope you enjoy my video and speech below!
Summer is that breath of fresh air we’ve all been craving. Many people agree with this because it’s our chance to recharge and to finally be able to touch a piece of freedom. Some people don’t agree with this though, still saying that the fall, spring and winter are the best seasons, but that’s because they don’t really know about all the many benefits and reasons for why summer is really better than the rest.
Being able to splash around in the pool or beach all day sounds way better than sitting in a classroom and being drowned with tons of homework. Instead of staying up late because of homework, I was staying up late this summer at bonfires hearing the marshmallows roast and the laughter of my friends. Instead of rushing to class, I was rushing to see the sunrise along the ocean. Instead of hearing the screams of teachers or annoying students, I was able to enjoy the peaceful sounds of the ocean as I laid under a palm tree, letting the waves wash away my worries. Summer is your chance to finally get on that huge water slide you were scared of before. It’s your chance to go explore a whole different country or even just your city, without mother nature making you feel like you should have never have set foot outside your house.It’s your chance to explore yourself without school getting in the way. Summer is your chance to get a little wild.
If you want to get wild though, you have to make sure you’re healthy, and that’s easy when your medicine is shining right at you, giving you that attractive tan. Besides getting that nice tan, the sun is also providing you with vitamin D, which can prevent many fractures and heart attacks. In Boston, researchers discovered that half of the women who walked into their doctor's’ offices with hip fractures had low levels of vitamin D, which can simply be boosted by sunlight. Ultraviolet light changes cholesterol to Vitamin D. That means that stepping out in the sun is a good way to lower cholesterol levels, which can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. In Canada, doctors ran tests linking the weather and migraines, and they discovered that sunny and clear weather lowers the attacks of migraines.
If bonfires, vacation, travel, and stronger bones don’t convince you, we’re also in for a pretty sweet and healthy treat in the summer. During the summer, we’re more prone to eat fruit than a bag of chips. We go for the berries over the fatty snacks, which can boost our immune systems. The British Nutrition Foundation also found that berries have phytochemicals, which can help prevent diseases like cancer. Water is also our best friend in the summer, because it's making sure your body is in the right place to jump out of that boring state of mind that we had during the school year.
Obviously the summer is a chance for you to explore yourself and many other fun things, but it's also giving you more access to living a healthier life, we just have to go out and enjoy the beauty of summer. Which is what I’m about to do now!
RD. Summertime. 2015
Work sited: "Ten Reasons Why Summer Is Good for You." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. "These Photos Prove Why Summer Is the Best Season of All." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015
