March 30, 2016

During Spring Break I got to go do a photoshoot with my friends at Lake Brandt. I would say I was practicing the IB learner trait of an inquirer. I really am interested in learning all the different kinds of visual arts. I learned that pictures are cooler when they are not posed and you get the person in action. Also, I learned about taking pictures from different angles to get different points of view. So here are some of my pictures I took of my friends as I learned how the camera works and how editing can make a difference.

March 23, 2016

During march I have officially started school soccer. It takes up a lot of time and has made doing homework more challenging because by the time I get home from soccer I am so tired I just want to go to sleep.  This has brought a lot of effort out of me to get all my work done in time. So far I have succeeded. My team has set a realistic goal to win the state playoffs.  We call it ring-chasing. We have only lost one game so far in overtime. After losing that one game we realized that there is more to soccer than just skill and speed. It calls for desire and pure passion. After losing my team has given the seniors the opportunity to really step up and lead us out of the downfall we were in. I have been watching them closely and have already been planning for next year on how I can be the best senior leader. As a junior that has been on the team for 3 years, I have gained some respect and I have tried to be a good role-model to the many younger players by staying positive and reminding them that it is just a game. I think my team has showed a lot of character and I think we will come out of this one loss with many more wins.

February 21, 2016

Every Sunday this month I have volunteered for an organization called TopSoccer. It is an organization where teenagers help young kids with disabilities play soccer. The disabilities range from ADHD to Autism to everything else. Every teenager volunteer is paired with a child and they become "buddies". I had a 7th grade girl help me and we had an adorable 4 year old boy. He had trouble speaking and his mother told us he was not able to run when he was younger, but he can now. He had braces on both of his ankles, but he could sure run fast and for a long time. He was not very interested in the activities or soccer. He just liked to run back and forth on the turf field we played on. After his mom told us he was not able to run at one point in his life it made me realize how much I take for granted the little things in life, like walking/running. Although running is tiring and I complain about it a lot, I am very grateful for my healthy legs.

February 14, 2016

I am super excited because I have finished the first "real" assignment I have had for art. I have been collaborating with Mr.Bunch who has been teaching me and assigning me art projects. This piece has taken a long time (almost 3 months), but I have thoroughly enjoyed the process. I cannot wait for my next assignment. I have noticed that when you enjoy doing something time goes by super fast and it does not seem like work. I am working on making an art portfolio for college applications. I want to study design and work in a studio. I am one tiny step closer now! Working on art definitely increases my creativity. It challenges me to think differently, use my imagination, and persevere when I make a mistake. I have discovered that when working on a serious art piece it is a very methodical procedure. While I work, I have lots of time to reflect not only on my art, but I think about the day and the good and bad thats happen in my life. I am super excited to continue expanding my mind by making art.

January 28, 2016

All during the fall, I played club soccer. I practiced 3 times a week for a little more than 3 months and played games on most weekends. This is a very time consuming sport, but it definitely makes me happy and helps me clear my head from the stress of school. It has taught me how important time management is. Also, being on a team sport really helps me be a better person because I learn that it is okay to let other people help you. I will have tryouts for my school team in a few weeks.  I have been and will continue to work to be prepared to do my best at tryouts. I have been playing indoor soccer this winter. If I make the team I will have to work really hard at time management. If I make the team I will have practice or games every day of the week. It is a lot of time, but it is worth it because it is my main/basically only, source of exercise other than running. I mostly run so I can play soccer. From soccer I have gained and am gaining many of the IB learner profiles including: inquirer, communicator, well balanced, reflective and thinker. I learned to become and inquirer by wanting to know how to improve at soccer. I have become a communicator because it is a necessity for success on the field. Also, well balanced because I am playing soccer, going to school, working on an art portfolio and doing service learning. I have become a thinker and reflective from soccer because with soccer the mental game is just as important as the physical part. Ultimately, much of my time has been spent playing soccer and thats okay with me because it does make me truly happy. It is a great Action to participate in because I learn and grow from it all the time.

Experience	Creativity (hours)	Activity (hours)	Service (hours)
Total Hours Overall:	Total Creativity:1 hour	Total Activity: 15 hours hours	Total Service: 6.5

January 25, 2016

This past week I worked with the Grimsley Key Club to prepare advertisement and boxes for a Book Drive at Grimsley. The book drive will go through February and all the books collected will go to Wiley Elementary. This was a very hands on activity and I enjoyed making posters and boxes. During this time we got to distribute the boxes and posters throughout Grimsley. This activity showed me that the more people work together the faster activities can get done.