The Magazine Reflection

During the course of this project I learned a lot about different aspects of my writing and how they differ from the guidelines of writing we were taught. One of the most important aspects that I have learned and improved on is creating an intro. I would always change my mind when it came to my intro. It started off as just two sentences then ended up with a full paragraph

Magazine Reflection Part 2

1. Overall, when you think about the big picture of your writing, what improved? How did it get better? Why?
- I believe that I have improved some aspects of my writing, for instance rewriting sentences so that it’s short and right to the point. Most of the sentences in my story were turned around, I could’ve easily shortened my sentences in the beginning by cutting off some words and setting up the sentence to the verb then action form. Through lots of critiques, I learned that writing in that form makes it easier for the reader to understand and it flows a lot better.


2. Overall, when you think about the big picture of your writing, what still needs work? What do you think will help you improve? Why?
-I think one thing I still struggle on is getting all my ideas and point structured before actually writing the whole paper. The hardest part about writing is starting everything off. I usually want to start all my writing with the main point and I feel that it's kind of hard making that point precise and clear, for instance in my magazine article, my intro changed from a whole paragraph to three sentences. I can't make up my mind when writing an intro. I'm not sure what I can do to improve, but maybe just pre planning my writing may be helpful as well trying to be more precise and using concert sentences other than pancake sentences.

3. Specifically, show us something that improved and describe the path it took to get better. You can quote your article, your drafts, link to evidence, etc.
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4. Describe something specific (or a few things!) that you learned about writing.

Magazine Reflection

1. What went well for you during the process of creating this magazine?
I think that most things went well in this magazine. The quality of my work increased with every time spent on it. What worked very well was all the critiques done on my paper and how much time I actually spent on them. I have had so many critiques and I would change something then people would say to change it again. In the long run it helped me shape my article into a well written piece. I used a significant amount of my time helping my editor with the indesign layout. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out what worked and what didn't. I was proud of my layout because a lot of people said that the designs were really good.


2. What challenges did you face as you moved from an early draft or idea to a final product?
One of the challenges I faced was trying to create a well written introduction. I felt that it was hard trying to make a precise into without leaving out too many details or not putting much in. If you looked at my drafts at one point I only had two sentences as my intro, it was difficult trying to let the intro create the mood for the reader to get the relaxed vibe as if it were a story being told. I ended up writing a couple more sentences to make a little intro that incorporated my personality so that the reader feels my story the whole time they read it.

3. What other examples of work—student and professional—stood out as exemplary and served as a good model for your own work?

Lit. Group Relfection

The only thing I would've changed was the amount of pages we decided to read by the lit group meetings. We sometimes set goals that we couldn't get to by the time so I think we should've paced our reading so that it wouldn't be too much reading or too little.

What worked with our lit group is that we actually got into our book and we would talk to each other to see what happened, it was like recap sessions. I think that I would do that again in my future groups just to make sure everyones keeping up and just to have conversations about the book.

I highly enjoyed my book "The Grapes of Wrath" because it was really detailed and just plain fun to read.

Photo Essay

“California Center for Sustainable Energy”
The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) is a non-profit organization that educates and promotes the idea of conserving energy and the drive for sustainable and renewable energies in California. They have been a big part in California’s way in having a “greener” future. CCSE has held workshops, as well as tours and events to educate and spread the cause for a more sustainable and greener future. They have programs such as the California Solar Initiative (CSI), Shade Tree Program, Fueling Alternatives, and the Solar Water Heating Pilot Program. During my stay at CCSE, I interned for the climate change program. I did such things as calculating the carbon footprint of the employee’s commute as well as their air travel carbon
footprints. One of my projects was creating a lesson to be taught at the Del Mar Tech Fair Event.




“Tech Fair”
The Tech Fair took place at Del Mar Fairgrounds and lasted the full day. The Tech Fair was a coalition of different companies and programs who present different technologies that may be seen in the future. There were a variety of topics and technologies introduced. One of my internship projects was to create a variety of hands-on lessons to educate the public of different aspects of their daily carbon footprint. We created a wheel that contained topics that we would introduce to students, teachers, and the general public. In the photo above I am teaching a couple of students about “Vampire Appliances”, which are energy sucking appliances at your home that you usually don’t think consume energy as much but they do. It was fun teaching others about what they can do to conserve energy. The next day we were featured on the Union Tribune Newspaper and I saw myself in one of the pictures. It was a fun learning experience for me.


“Where is the wheel going to land on?”
One of our projects during immersion was to create a presentation for our booth at the Del Mar Tech Fair to educate people about different aspects of their carbon footprints. We created a wheel in which each portion would be a different topic to teach, so depending on which topic it lands on we would have a hands-on lesson. Some of the topics included the carbon footprint of fruits, transportation of goods, biodegradable material, vampire appliances, fresh vs. frozen food, and other various topics. We educated many students as well as teachers and other companies about the different aspects of their carbon footprint, and I enjoyed it. The feeling of being able to teach students such as myself, about things that you would never think about was simply amazing. Seeing the reactions of the students after telling them that they can contribute to a greener future was highly rewarding. I felt a sense of accomplishment.



“Madden during internship? NO WAY!!”
While at the Del Mar Tech Fair, I was able to see different developing technologies as well as experiencing and trying them out. In this photo Chandler and I tried on these glasses that enhanced game graphics by getting rid of some of the blue light projected. The picture was more in depth and enhanced the high-definition TV’s picture. The best part about it was that I was able to play Madden o9 on the big screen and I beat Chandler in the game. There were many different enjoyable and educational booths going on in the Tech Fair and it was fun being able to go there and see all the different things going on. Other hands on lessons that I went to were about topics such as static electricity, tidal energy, wind energy, water treatment, and many more lessons that I enjoyed during my stay. It was actually a fun way to learn about the different developing technologies that may be seen in the future.


“A day with a scientist, Albert Einstein”
Chandler and I took a picture with one of the many scientists at the Tech Fair and this one happened to look like Albert Einstein. He taught us about the different states of matter which are gasses, solids, liquids, and plasmas. We were able to see different forms of the states of matter and I learned quite a bit. I also almost touched liquid nitrogen but luckily Mr. Einstein stopped me before I touched it. He said that if I were to touch it I would have gotten frostbite so I consider myself very lucky. There were many other scientists, students, teachers, and companies at the tech fair with different topics to teach, from green jobs to nuclear energy, from electricity to greener more energy efficient fire trucks, there were in fact different things to learn at this fair. I didn’t even know that this fair had ever existed and now that I was a part of it I plan on spreading the word and attending for the next ones to come.

“Getting out of the office”
Exercise is important! The picture above is me stretching so that I don’t hurt myself running. Almost every day during our lunch break Ana, Chandler, and I would go for a run around to stretch and get a little exercise. We would run to local shops to buy lunch and just to get out of the office. It would get a little crowded and boring sitting in one place all the time so we decided to make it a daily thing to go running because it isn’t fun staying in an office for seven hours straight. I learned that it can get pretty crowded and boring sitting in front of the computer for hours, though I enjoyed the work that I accomplished, the process of getting to that point was more difficult.



“Business Men?”
There was a difference between the professional work we did in school and internship. First off the dress code was different, at CCSE the dress code was business casual with no jeans. I enjoyed dressing up, it gave me a sense of professionalism and I felt like an actual “Business Man.” On top of the dress code was more importantly the business work. School work and business work were not close to being similar. I can honestly say that business is straight work, work, and work. It seemed as if there were no breaks and that I had piles of work to do in such little time. This brings me to the next difference which is “time”. When there was a deadline at work it had to be done, no excuses and no extensions. Deadlines seemed to be coming toward you every minute at the rate of a speeding bullet that you know you can’t dodge. After leaving the office there would still be work that needed to be done so I would go home and do it. Being a business man truly is difficult.

What am I bringing to the Magazine?

1. What article(s) would you like to write for the magazine? What photography could you contribute? Art? List three different ideas for your major contribution.

Immersion

What did you learn during immersion? How did you learn it?

I believe that I learned a lot during internship through my project as well as just showing up to work everyday.
I had a big project last week that was exhibited at the Del Mar Tech Fair. Along with the other interns, we had to create a hands-on lesson plan for different aspects of everyone's daily life and how it contributes to their carbon footprint. We split up the topics and I ended up with Biodegradable Materials, Vampire Appliances, Energy-Water Connection, and Transportation of goods. It was fun being able to create a lesson plan completely from scratch and actually seeing people react to it.