An Evaluation

I have done so much in these past two years.  I delved into new interests and revived old forgotten activities.  These are the accomplishments I have reached in each section in the duration of IB.

Creativity:

• Improving guitar skills
• Singing with guitar accompaniment
• Writing my first full length songs
• Recording music
• Learning how to work with iMovie and making music videos
• Exploring deeper into photography
• Writing my first heartfelt poem
• Art (Drawing, coloring, mixed media)

Action

• Learning to ski
• Learning how to play water volleyball
• Learning how to go snorkeling
• Running/Jogging
• Working out using equipment at home
• Swimming laps
• Training with a soccer team
• Learning to snowboard
• Learning to play innebandy

Service

• Ambassador for the IB program
• Volunteering at an animal shelter
• Volunteering as part of the schools choir for the Lucia show
• Tutoring for IB exams
• Teaching guitar

I think that CAS is actually a great part of the IB (this isn't a suck up statement, I promise!) because we spend so much time focusing on school and because of the requirements by the programme, are sort of forced out of our small bubble.  We all have hobbies, but I think because of CAS I started new things that I probably not have done otherwise.  I have gone from thinking "Can I get CAS hours for that?" to "Oh, that would be fun!" for different activities.  For example, I learned how to snowboard last year initially because I knew I would get CAS hours for it.  After a couple of months of thinking like that, it began to slip and my thoughts began to be more about how much fun it would be to try something, and the CAS hours were just a bonus.

Likewise with the Service and Creativity.  Playing guitar used to be a hobby of mine.  Now I'm so much further into it than I was before.  I have actually recorded music, something that I have always wanted to do, but never actually went through with.  I have never written my own music (I have written a few lines, but could never get past that).  I discovered my passion for making music videos and small fun films because of Creativity.  My passion for art that had been buried deep for the past 5 years re-emerged and was brought back into the light.

I also began to break out of my shell by being an ambassador.  I am usually fairly shy and uncomfortable with strangers, but now I feel that I can be in charge of a situation and not feel compelled to be shy or withdrawn.  Tutoring has also shown me that helping others does not have to be donating a mass of money to charities but can be as simple as helping anyone with anything.  True, there are people that need help and they shouldn't be ignored or dismissed, but everything has a time and place, and since I cannot go out and save the world right now, I can start with my community.  It has led me to research into volunteer organizations in Dallas for when I return next year.  I am really interested in helping people the best that I can no matter where I am.

Running Totals

Service: 50 hours 00 minutes (Completed)
Action: 50 hours 30 minutes (Completed)
Creativity: 50 hours 50 minutes (Completed)

//Always being edited//

Guitar Lessons

Jennie is showing great improvements since yesterday :)  We played for an hour yesterday.  Time goes so quick!  I thought it would be difficult to teach for an entire hour, but she seems to be having fun so it makes it much easier.  Plus she's getting much better!  She can now play Em, E, Am, A, G, and C by memory, but D is still causing problems.  She complains about her fingers hurting, but that should go away after a couple of days of continuing to practice :)

She is here now again today and we are getting ready for another hour.  We are both busy tonight so we figured now would be the best time to do it.  We can have another lesson tomorrow maybe?  All I know is that she WILL play that song :)

Service - 2 hours

I Could Be A Teacher

It has now been an hour since Jennie arrived and I began to teach her how to play the guitar.  She has told me that she has always wanted to play an instrument but never had the time or the opportunity so I took it upon myself to be the one to break that "habit."  I didn't really draw up a lesson plan or anything, but when she got here, I realized I probably should have.  Fortunately, I remember my music theory very well and gave her a crash course.  She has now built up her vocabulary with certain music terms (i.e. Octave, fret, major/minor, etc.) and can play several chords (with guidance so far).

I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others, and especially when I can save people so much trouble that I have gone through myself, it feels wrong not to do all that I can.  In this case, tutoring and teaching has served me very well, as I can do my part and help people and they can benefit as well.  I know I am not exactly saving the world or feeding the hungry, but music is a huge part of my life and I cannot imagine anyone not knowing the power behind musical expression.  It sounds cheesy, I know, but it is completely true.  I think it should be required for every child to learn a musical instrument.  Even scientific studies show that those students who play instruments during their school years usually do better in academic standards.  It increases intelligence, creativity, and provides an outlet for emotions.  I do not see any downside to that.

Unfortunately, not everyone gets to take part in this, so I'm all for volunteering my time and energy (and equipment) to share my passion for music.

With three hours of service left, I will complete those hours this week.  However, we have set a goal for her to be able to play one full-length song and will not stop until we get there, no matter how many hours it takes :)  We do have a four-day weekend ahead of us :D


Service - 1 hour

Working Out

Andrea has some gym equipment at home and so I've been doing a bit of training over the weekend.  Just an hour all together, nothing big.  But it's nice feeling that strain when you work really hard.  Later this week I plan on going on a good run, but I'm not at home right now and I don't have the right shoes to do any running where I am.  But I think I'll run on Thursday, probably in the morning.  It'll help me start my day.  (I have now fulfilled my Action hours, but I plan on doing it anyways...)

Yesterday (Monday) I also went out on a weird adventure with Hanna L.  It was interesting.  We took it upon ourselves to play in the snow, as I come from Texas.  We don't get snow there.  Or, if we do, it melts by the next morning.  So as part of my "cultural eduction," Hanna and I went to a park and just played for 3 hours.  Literally.  3 hours.  We were exhausted but also even more energetic than before when we were done.  I was freezing but I went down so many hills and climbed mountains of snow.  I'm a bit sore today in my arms and legs, but it was completely worth it!


Total: 4 hours action



I also tutored Hanna L the weekend before mocks.  It was a long time ago, but I haven't been back to this blog in a while, so now everything is coming out.  We reviewed mostly Business but also a bit of Environmental Sciences for about 2 hours.  It was kind of fun.  She made a list of things she didn't understand and I would read about it beforehand and then teach it to her.  I hope I helped her.  She understood at the time, but I know the feeling of understanding something and then forgetting it on the test.  It's an awful feeling.  But I plan on continuing to tutor her if she needs me all the way to finals.  I want everyone to get a really good grade on every subject and when I tutor others, I actually learn a lot myself.  So it kind of helps everyone.  A Win-Win situation :)

2 hours Service




Note:
I have gone through my past posts and recounted, and apparently I had miscounted some hours and I had much less than I thought.  There were instances where I did not finish adding hours so that has been edited.  The Running Totals are now entirely correct.

Art Revisited

It ended up going much longer than I had planned.

Over 5 hours actually.  I was just googling images and drawing and coloring them.

The first one was the piece I mentioned in the last post.

The middle pieces are googled images that I drew by looking off of  the computer screen and adding my own fonts.

The last one is actually a picture I took on Thanksgiving last fall of Dea and Hanna G that was very difficult to draw but I think I managed okay in the end.

Creativity - 5 hours

Art

When I was younger, I used to be incredibly into art.
I went to summer programs, recreational art classes and I went through a new sketchbook what seemed like  every month.
I was in Honors Art in 8th grade and unfortunately that was my last year taking an art class and I haven't really had the time to do any art projects pretty much since then.  Very depressing.

Anyways, as I was filling out my CAS sheet about what activities I had completed so far, I realized that I hadn't done so much with art, only music.  Suddenly I was getting a stream of creative ideas and I knew that now was my only chance.  If I have creative flow then I cannot ignore it or else I never know if I will get it back :(

So I found travel photos from a place in India (Victoria Memorial) and make a small drawing.  I then placed my drawing in a pan with coffee and then blow dried it.  Then I dropped more coffee on the paper.  After it had dried, I used matches to burn off the edges.  I messed with some scrapbooking paper and it turned out as follows:


(Will upload picture later)


Creativity - 2 hours

I had to rerecord my second song but I think it was worth the effort.  In comparison, the first recording was awful!  All of my songs are of course only demo versions and not at all in a complete produced form.  After rerecording (several times as at one point I accidentally deleted all of the vocals!) it came out as such:













Creativity - 2 hours

Insanity!

Yesterday I had made up my mind that I would work on school things all day.  I managed to go from about noon until 17.30 when I decided to pick my guitar up again.

Three hours later I had another song in the process of being recorded.  It was insane how quick it went.  It is almost as if I have opened a doorway to creativity that was never there before.  I have always written songs but never a full song with lyrics or anything.  I have many songs that are just unfinished because I drained myself in writing them.  But now it feels like I drain myself if I don't finish it...

Either way, Between 17.30 and 00.30 I was just recording.  I had to pull myself away around 21.00 to eat something but i just made spaghetti and came back and ate extremely slowly between recordings.  There was a pause around 18.30 for an hour where I skyped my parents back home, but other than that, it was pretty much straight through, which makes it just about 6 hours! :O

But I got two songs and I've practiced for a third that will actually only be a cover.  I will post the songs later today :)


Creativity - 6 hours


//Edit//

Hard Work

After 5 hours today, it is FINALLY done.
I've put my heart and soul into this today.  I was supposed to work on some English assignments but this was bugging me.  It was something I felt had to be done before I lost the melody in my head.  That has happened before and I get so upset when I feel like I've made something that I like and I can't remember how it goes because I didn't sit down and do it.  So now I've recorded my song.

And I realized what its name was.  This version is the one where I sing.  I would like Hanna L to sing it for me because I'm not really a singer, but I think I got the main idea.

Here it is :)






Creativity - 5 hours

Creativity Resumes

Sat up for 2 hours last night just writing music.  I'm working on several songs but I've finished one.  I will record the final song tonight hopefully and then post it.  The lyrics are built of Pink Floyd song titles and talks about how there are some artists (in this case Pink Floyd) that are timeless and do not pass with each new club hit.  The following are the lyrics.

Thus Untitled:

Am I too old to touch the sky?

Am I too old to learn to fly?

With high hopes, like hell I run

I have become comfortably numb

The dogs cheer the hero’s return

I still have so much to learn

Followed through the gunner’s dream

Nothing is exactly as it seems

Love Gilmour, Love Waters

Just think of all the sons and daughters

That listened to their dads

Instead of following the fads

Sasha Fierce ain’t got nothing on you

Outside the wall and on thin ice

Yet I’ve never felt this nice

Breathe, we’re running out of time

Wish you were here to make you mine

Love Gilmour, Love Waters

Just think of all the sons and daughters

That listened to their dads

Instead of following the fads

Lil Wayne ain’t got anything on you

Yeah

Love Gilmour, Love Waters

Just think of all the sons and daughters

That listened to their dads

Instead of all these stupid fads

They won’t be eternal like you

No they won’t be eternal like you

No they won’t be eternal like you

So goodbye blue sky

Goodbye cruel world

The final cut has made its way

But I keep coming back to life

**Copyright Äffish 2010

The blue words are those I plan on changing 

Creativity - 2 hours 

Since our last

On January 4th I volunteered 2.5 hours at the Richardson Animal Shelter.  It was much better that time as I started to figure out where exactly I was needed and as I became more familiar with the animals who were still there.  I generally hate going to the animal shelter because I hate knowing that some of them will never be given a home and will have to be put down.  I wish there was a way around it, and the shelter says that they have a very low rate of those who are put down, but still...I'd like to find an alternative way.  I've been thinking about setting up an organization that pin points exactly what kind of pet someone is looking for and then finding a pet that fits with their home.  And for those dogs and cats that are older and maybe not as likely to be adopted, perhaps taking them out to different public places where people can meet them and fall in love with them would lead to their adoption.  It's something that I am passionate about and even if I have many other things to do at the same time, I'd like to put in my part.

On January 9th we went back and volunteered another 3.5 hours.  It was pretty much the same as the previous time, where I am finding my footing now and being able to do things without needing help or asking what to do.  However, this was my last time there since I was leaving the 11th to come back to Sweden.  There are no animal shelters here and I would suppose that is a good thing, but it also makes me wonder how stray dogs get adopted.  Are there any strays around?  What happens to lost dogs that never find their homes or whose owners have passed away?  This is something I can probably research or ask about.

Service - 6 hours

My friends Aivy and Alexis also came over 3 more times and we were working on our video.  We thought up a storm of ideas.  I love being able to share an urge to just create something.  All three of us love making these videos and even if I am away now again, they are going to send me videos they have filmed and I can add my own video clips until we finish our music video.  I spend a lot of time on it getting each audio and video clip to match perfectly, and so far, I am loving the result.  I can upload the first part of it when I am on my other laptop (I am on the school's laptop right now).  We were running between Alexis's and my house all three times and then going to the park and then sitting and working and editing for about 12 hours total during those three times.  My parents think we're crazy, I'm sure :P.  But I'm really proud of what we do.  Aivy and I have already decided that if/when I go back to Dallas (perhaps next year) we are going to start making music videos all the time and have them on YouTube and hopefully if we can get enough views, we can have a bit of side-income.  We will after all be living on a student's budget...


Creativity - 12 hours

Dea and I have also decided that we will make our own videos and parodies of MTV shows, so hopefully those will start rolling in soon :)

The day that I left Dallas was a sad one, for sure, but there was a bit of light in it as well.  About an hour before my dad and I left for the airport I picked up my brothers acoustic guitar and started playing the chords to Bad Romance by Lady GaGa.  I started singing and before I knew it, my brother and sister had come in and started singing with me as well.  My parents came in and decided to film us all singing together, as it would be the last time until summer at the earliest that all three children will be together.  So we played Lady GaGa and then played numerous encores of Morrissey, The Decemberists, and Green Day among others.  I can try to get a hold of that film.  My mom filmed with the camcorder but my dad filmed with his iPhone so hopefully I can just get him to send it over super fast.  I love that music brings people together.  It was a much better goodbye than just a hug and some words, maybe a few tears.  It was pure unity and happiness, something that reminds me of a news segment that ran a few weeks ago.  When many flights were canceled at the airports in northern USA, a man with a guitar began to play Hey Jude that slowly turned into a huge crowd of people waiting for the snow to ease off singing "Nanana na hey Jude."  It was magical :)  It is moments like these that really show people at their best.

Creativity - 1 hour

Until next time,
Hanna F.