FiNaL

This class has helped me to realize that people are more alike than i thought before. We saw so many different facets of each other's personalities. People are like Day and Night. We see that in ourselves on a regular basis, and we also see that in the people we are closest to, but we hardly ever see that in people we don't know very well. The Fear assignment was my favorite, and that is really what brought out this change in my perspective. I'm very reserved and have trouble trusting people, but that assignment shoved other people's fears right into my face. Everyone else is just as afraid as I am, and they're all just as complex as I am, even though i rarely see that side of them.

We keep our Day side up front, and put that out for the world to see. But our Night side is kept hidden deep inside of us. It's just human nature, to hide our weaknesses. I know that i've been working on fighting my own fears since that assignment. It opened my eyes to the Day and Night inside of me, and showed me that my life has been ruled by my Night and my own insecurities. I'm starting to learn how to fight that. But unlike in a videogame where you aim to destroy your enemies, what I need to do is merge my Day and my Night. Kind of like a yin and yang symbol, they work together and make each other stronger. I need to find that symbiosis.



All of our emotions, and Day and Night, they're all completely natural. I tend to live in the realm of logic, and rarely look at my own emotions. I was always taught that they made me weak. But i'm starting to learn that it's okay to have emotions, even the bad ones like anger or fear, because we're only human. No matter how hard i try to be perfect, or to be "good" it doesn't really matter, because i'm guaranteed to make mistakes. By being such a perfectionist i'm really hurting myself more than helping, because i try to live up to standards that no human is really capable of, and i stress out about the tiniest details, and it just makes my emotional well-being much less secure.

I already know how to think, i've been an expert on that all my life. The lesson i need to learn now is knowing how to feel- and learning how to be okay with that.

So, for this project, I took 100+ photographs over the course of the week, just of things that triggered emotions in me (both good and bad). I later came up with the Day and Night theme, chose the two pictures that i felt were the most beautiful (Day- bright, clear blue sky with tree branches off to the side; and Night- a lamp illuminating part of the lilac bush behind it.) I remembered that fun blending modes trick Beth showed us a while back and played around with those two images. (Click on the photo to be linked to a full-size version).

I also wanted to write for this project. I wanted to write about how i felt, and what i'd learned, and what i'm still learning. So this is also a pretty wordy blog entry. But since i'm all about the words, the photos are kind of a visual representation of how i feel- though i definitely wanted to put the words here too :P

Here is the link to my gallery with some of the photos i took:
http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b313/PuppyNoelle/HowIFeel

class response... apr 26 2010

My guess was right, those things were bugs. Gross... especially when they started to come to life O.o

The movie we watched was great. Normally I can't stand documentaries, because they're too real, but these crazy people, and their crazy houses were all so out of the ordinary that it made the movie totally worth watching. I texted my boyfriend the title of the movie, so now i'm going to make him watch it too haha :)

I'm always up for a little fantasy, which is why i don't like most non-fiction, but these stories were so unrealistic that they almost seemed like they were fictional. You wanted for us to start thinking about what we like and why, well, i like fiction because it brings me back to my childhood and takes me away from my grown up problems for a little while. I'm pretty much a child at heart, and probably always will be. I like to be reminded that there can still be wonder and awe in the world, even if it isn't always real.

Class reaction 4/19/2010

I loved the duct tape experiment. It was a lot of fun, and the highlight of my day. It was really difficult though, trying to communicate without words. As i said while we were talking on the benches, I am all about words. Spoken words or written words, as long as i have words, i'm happy. But i'm a writer and a singer, so words are absolutely crucial to the way I live my life. I'm not very visually oriented, which is a bit odd for a new media student, so visual communication is harder for me. I did eventually start to catch on, but I was completely clueless when we first started out.

My favorite part of the whole experience was watching other peoples reactions. There were a lot of different reactions. A couple of teenage boys walked by us and were grinning from ear to ear at us. The family that we walked by was entertaining too. Some people just walked right by us, as if we didn't exist, but most people slowed down and stared. I love observing people's reactions to things. That experiment was a lot of fun! I thoroughly enjoyed it (plus it was good exercise too) :D

looking and seeing

It's funny how the most random things remind me of assignments sometimes... I was watching The Lion King 1 1/2 on Saturday night, and in the movie a quote came up that was perfect for this assignment.

Timon (the merecat) had just left his home and was looking for his ideal new home. He was lost, and bumped into Rafiki (the crazy all-knowing monkey), and Rafiki said to him: "Look beyond what you see."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkmMx0ddqt4




That really got me thinking. "Seeing" is a much simpler action than "looking" is. When you "see" something, it's right there. Your eyes take it in and your brain processes it and tells you what it is. "Looking" is also a synonym for "searching". It implies that you have to do so much more. Looking implies that there is a journey there as well. Having a journey, a story behind things, is so much more fun than just being passive.

class response (i am really losing track of these things...)

It's hard trying to pin down exactly who we are. And I dont really think we can pinpoint exactly who we are and put it into words. We're just too complicated.

I thought that the "stereotyping" exercise was excellent. And I would agree with a lot of the words/phrases given to people, based on what i know of them. I honestly had no idea what my word would be. And i had to think about it for a minute: "The Mystery". I thought about it for a while after class, and I can see why that might be. I am a very private person. I like to keep my faults to myself so that I can keep them in check, and I like to treasure the good things in my life by simply remembering them and/or cherishing them. I don't like to flaunt my entire life for the world to see. I am sort of like Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice: "There are very few people I love, and even fewer of whom I think well of." I never mean any offense to anyone, but I like to be alone and independent. It's peaceful.

mE

Part I:

I am so many things. It's impossible to narrow down just one word to describe me. I'm also a big contradiction as well. Some people might say that I've led an easy, simple life. After all, I spent most of it living comfortably. As a child i had lots of toys to play with, lots of tv shows, and videogames i've enjoyed. I've had pets my whole life that i've been able to love and nurture. My parents have been happily married for almost 26 years now, and i've lived in the same nice yet modest house since i was 4. I've had the typical "American Dream" type upbringing.

Some people might say i'm spoiled or high-maintenance, because I love designer labels, and have a ridiculously nice set-up of electronics in my decent-sized bedroom. Yes, I drive a spiffy convertible, and always carry Coach bags, and cant live without my iPhone or Playstation 3. But i really don't think that i'm that much better than somebody who drives a fuel-economy car and only has one TV in their house. I've worked very hard, and shopped very smart for the objects i own. Almost every single thing I own, I bought myself- my parents really only buy me food anymore. I shopped around for months and finally found my car, and bought it for half of it's total value, without taking out any loans. I buy my Coach items on ebay, on clearance at department stores, or in the outlet stores. And I save up for and search like crazy for discounts and price matches on my electronics.

I love my stuff! My room is like one big amalgamation of everything that is me. I'm a collector, of many different things. I love pretty things, shiny things, amusing things. I also love things that trigger my imagination, things that get me thinking, things that i can take care of and nurture, things that have bold colors, things that are elegant, things that are comfortable, and things that make me feel like a kid again.

I decided to do kind of a comic strip showing off a few of my favorite things (and i've got the song from "The Sound Of Music" stuck in my head...) And maybe some people will still think that I'm materialistic or whatever for using my stuff to define who I am. But i don't care. The things we own are merely a tangible, physical representation of parts of our personalities anyways.





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Part II:

This is from my darling Laura:
"Ashley and I met through our love of music at IUPUI. I can still remember meeting her in music theory class a couple years ago. It took us until the end of the semester to have our first conversation, and then it was about Johnny Depp and Pirates of the Caribbean of all things. The next thing I remember was how stunned both of us were to find each other in scriptwriting class the next semester. We both had no clue that we were new media majors on the same track until that day! Well, that funny “coincidence” became the foundation that lasting friendships are based on. Ashley is a true friend. She’s thoughtful and caring, with a little bit of fun craziness for good measure. I know that I can count on her to lend a hand, or watch a Coach bag ;), when I need help. She’s the type of girl that will surprise you with a hug just to make you smile. She’s ready and waiting to stand by you through anything, even if it means doing the most bizarre things you could ever imagine (Hey, we’re new media people. This is life for us- LOL.). When it comes down to it, Ashley is one of the best friends that I have had. I hope that friendship continues into the future, even when our IUPUI days are behind us. :)”

This is from one of my coworkers who works overnights, so i only ever see her for a few minutes early in the morning:
"Ashley is a very sweet girl. She always greets everyone with a smile on her face, even when she is tired or sick. Her friendly greeting is always nice to see after a long shift. She is always happy to hear when we get finished with everything, and even when we dont finish on time, she says "No worries! That's what Im here for!" She always tries to make everyone feel happy."

class response 3/29/10

I thought it was intriguing to see so many different fears, and to see how many people had similar fears (the fear of heights, and public speaking being the two that came up). It was also interesting to see the different levels of depth to peoples fears: some people went with universal, run-of-the-mill fears, like heights, and some people really dug into their own psychological make-up. I also liked seeing the ways in which people expressed their fears: some of us physically faced our fears, while others used visual representations, and some people used words. I think how we express ourselves says a lot about a person, sometimes more than the what/where/when/why. Those of us that went for the more bold physical approach may have a greater desire to make an impact on other people. Those with visual representations may be a little more spiritual or abstract, and able to go with the flow more. And those who used words may be drawn more to the emotional connections they make with other people.