Happiness and Meaning Project
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What does it mean for you to be happy? What does it mean to have meaning in your life? These are the questions that we have explored as we begin planning our lives after high school. We studied the different ways that people find happiness and meaning, from transcendentalism to existentialism. We studied religion, or lack thereof. We then delved into what makes us happy. We even studied food and used that as the vehicle for studying what makes America happy. This kept with our political theme of the year.
To the right, you will see the quote that drove my project forward. On my LINK Internship I came across a notebook that had this same graphic on the front. It was hand stamped by a family in the middle of the Nantahala Gorge, and it only seemed right that I purchase it while I was wandering more than I had ever wandered before. From that moment I began thinking about how I live my life in a very structured way. I don't like to wander, break rules or not know what the outcome will be. I learned through this project that I really do enjoy wandering, being lost for a bit as long as I have a drive. If I trust myself, which I do, I can wander and not be lost in the traditional sense. As I wrote in my essay, I have been wandering for a long time without even knowing it. I do not have a traditional job, I do not go to a traditional school and I don't live in a traditional place. I live in a town where wandering is encouraged. As mentioned above, I am just beginning my adult life. I will be 18 this summer, I will be off to college in exactly a year. This project will continue to carry forward as I find out what gives my life meaning. My work ethic, which I didn't mention during this project, makes me extremely happy. I love working, I love my job and I know that in my future I will continue to develop that feeling as I gain more work experience. I need to learn how to balance wandering with my convictions about having a plan and following it. How can I find happiness in being a little scared about the outcome? I've got a long life ahead of me and I plan on working hard and playing hard. That is what makes me happy. |
Rhetoric and Ideology Project
Our political world, as well as our daily lives are controlled by rhetoric. People are always going to convince us of something, or at least try. it is up to us to master the art of convincing language... the art of rhetoric. Through a study of America's current political sphere, we delved into the world of understanding rhetorical discourse and how our world has changed through it. Our end product was an exhibition designed around convincing someone of something.
How do we fix Amtrak?
For my project, I learned about the political topic of our nation's passenger rail operator. This for-profit company is supported heavily by the government and operates at a heavy loss. My exhibition was a TED style talk about how we solve the problem of Amtrak.
Find below my letter to the CEO of Amtrak and the slides to my presentation. |
Presentation
Letter to Amtrak's CEO |
Project Reflection |
Voices From the Animas Project
The Animas River is the soul of Southwest Colorado, which is fitting as that is what Animas means. It flows from the upper reaches of the San Juan Mountains, touching the lives of thousands as it makes its way into the New Mexican farmland. This year, an event took place that shook the very core of our community. 3 million gallons of water poured from an abandoned mine and grasped national attention as it moved downstream. Over the past month since the spill, we have studied the river, its history and most importantly, thought about its future.
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Our class teamed up with members of the Southwest Colorado community and Storycorps® to document the voices and stories of those affected by the spill. Storycorps. is a nationwide movement to record actual Americans about their lives and historical events as they happen. It is now the largest collection of human voices ever collected. Animas High School joined in and traveled around Durango, Silverton and the Four Corners Area to collect the voices of those connected with the Animas River and the Gold King Spill.
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Below is the interview that I held with Jonathan Thompson,
a Senior editor for High Country News.
a Senior editor for High Country News.
Click here to read Jonathan Thompson's article about the Gold King Spill, When Our River Turned Orange
Click here to go to the Voices from the Animas Storycorps® Archive
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Project Reflection
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