Practice Observation

      For my practice observation, I observed the place where I work. I work at the Quincy YMCA gym  and when I'am at the desk it gives me a chance to observe people who are walking by all day long. The things that I had noticed were that mostly everybody was in workout clothes, getting ready to workout for the day. Also many people had basketballs to use on the basketball courts and some even had lacrosse sticks with them to play with their friends. I had also noticed and paid attention to the conversations that people were having as they walked by. The majority of the conversations were about what they were going to do once they left the gym, and others were random conversations about pointless stuff. People that had walked by were mostly middle aged, married with their kids but there were also a lot of of high school kids who go to Quincy high school which is right across the street that come over after school to work out.
       Many of the people who had walked by throughout the hour that I was on the desk, were using technology in the sense that they were all using their cellphones. Some were texting, some were talking on it, and others were listening to their music that they like to workout to on it. Some people even had their laptops that they brought and used at the tables to get some work done.
      This was a very interesting place to observe. At first I thought it would be hard to observe, but it got interesting for me as time progressed and I enjoyed observing especially because people had no idea that I was doing it!

Jon Stewart, Commencement Address

    Ending my senior year of high school and beginning to start my freshman year of college was a nerve racking time for me and I'am sure it was for alot of other high school seniors. I was scared of leaving my comfort zone. I was scared of starting the next chapter in my life. I think this article was spot on when discussing this guys freshman year of college, and so far I can relate to it. Leaving high school, you know that the next step was going to college, and that it would be an experience of a lifetime. I agree with the author when he states that "The entire place is an elective. The paths are infinite and the results uncertain." I agree because now that I am in my second semester of my freshman year of college, I know that there are so many paths that I can follow that will lead to my success, but finding the right paths is something that you have to be careful of and really take into consideration.        Being in college has really opened up the doors for me and for the rest of my life. Completing college in hopefully three more years is something that I look forward to every day, and having success is the best thing that anyone could ever ask for, but you are not going to get there without hard work. The author was very serious when he was discussing success, and I think it is important that high school seniors get a good insight on what to expect during freshman year of college. College most definitely  has many challenges that you are going to have to face, and I have already experienced some myself but I didn't give up and worked hard to push through those challenges. All together, this article was a piece of informative writing and I really liked the way it gave high school seniors the tips that they need to be successful in your freshman year of college. It is true that things are going to change rapidly, but most importantly life is going to get better.

Collage Explanation

     The main idea that I wanted to focus my collage on was family and friends. At first I did not know how I would be able to connect the two ideas of family and friends in a way that people would understand. As I thought more about it, I came up with the idea of also including my hometown of Braintree into it. The title of my collage is Family and the "Tree", which means that I focused on showing how my hometown, family, and friends have all helped shape the person that I'am today. In the top half of my collage I added images of my biological family, which includes pictures of my parents, my younger brother, and younger sister. On the bottom half of my collage I focused on my hometown of Braintree. In the center I have placed an image of the Braintree symbol, which is a Wamp head, surrounded by pictures of the sports I was involved in, in high school and some pictures of graduation and the last day of senior year. To wrap everything together in my collage I had inserted a quote that I had found online and replaced the town they used with my hometown. " I'am a product of Braintree, the love and passion that I commit, always knowing that my friends and family will be proud of me."
       Braintree High School, and the town of Braintree has really helped shape the person that I'am today and I'am so grateful that my family and friends were there with me every step of the way. This collage says a lot about my identity, and how it is mainly made up of  my hometown of Braintree, my friends, and my family.