In today’s age there always seems to be issues of climate change, dishonesty by manufacturers, and the alarming rate at which landfills are filling up with plastics. In the ted talk shown to us at the GSD orientation Patrick Woodward attributed these problems to things which we take for granted every day, and the answer will probably surprise you just like it surprised me. The clothes on your back and the shoes on your feet. More specifically their production and disposal, in addition to the people’s lives who are affected by it, including your own. It may seem obvious that this topic would fall into identifying issues, but it could fit into many competencies and any one of them would work; however, identifying the issues associated with fast fashion and the race to find cheaper and cheaper work forces to exploit stuck out to me. This along with the ever growing increase in the consumption and production of clothing and how people are stuck in a never ending loop of poverty and being tied to a job for the rest of their lives—some with their whole lives ahead of them—really made me think about how I and many others have contributed to this. And while ignorance is no excuse, the amount of people that unwittingly contribute to the corruption of the world’s natural resources is astounding. The most valuable lesson I learned from this and I encourage others to do the same, look at the clothes on your back or the shoes on your feet before you look beyond to the world and all of the challenges of today that seem larger than life. 

Much like many other young kids I found art to be stuffy and boring when I was little. However, that has changed, and I now like to visit museums and art exhibits when I am able. One of these visits that I enjoyed was to the Charlotte International Art Festival. Not knowing what to expect made the works of art even more breath taking and there was a sense of wonder and joy in the air. There were two art pieces which I enjoyed in particular, those being the octopus like sculpture to the left and two resting giants below. These two exhibits stood out to me in different ways; the resting giants seemed relaxed and calm amidst a sea of milling people and a cacophony of noises. In a different way "Lotty" the red octopus, created by the group Moradavaga, stood out to me because of its creators and their story. In addition to finding it really cool to find that I could talk through some of the tentacles. Most of their work focuses on a theme of requiring the user to engage with the work for its full display to be realized. Both of these pieces of art really stood out to me and while this reflection could fall into many categories, appreciating culture is in my mind the best fit. Walking away from the art pieces I had a better understanding of the very different yet in some ways similar styles of art from all over, and on a deeper level I felt an appreciation for the nuance and effort which went into the pieces. 

Before the summer of ninth grade I had never been to another country, let alone one whose language was unfamiliar. Leading up to the slightly daunting 10 day trip with my grandparents, mother, and brother I began learning Italian phrases and important words as well as helping to organize some events to partake in. Before I knew it the day of the trip had arrived and it was time to board the plane. Upon arriving in Italy, the transition was almost immediately apparent. Among a few things which surprised me was the difference in cultural norms- such as an increase in smoking, a different currency, etc.- as well as the large absence of English being spoken. 

Throughout the trip, although there were many experiences which were different from what I was used to, I found that I was having a great time and at times I even forgot that I was in a foreign country. The food being amazing didn’t hurt either. Some unique experiences that I will remember for a long time are swimming in the strait of Messina and getting stung by a jellyfish (at the time it hurt a good bit), jumping into a hot spring fed pool likely also used by Roman Soldiers at one point, and visiting a small town that some of my distant family had once lived in. 

Overall, the trip to Italy was very informative since I experienced the culture of the regions I visited and it was my first international trip. In addition to this, I learned about my family’s past in Italy and met several of my Grandfather’s Italian friends. 

Recently I attended the Identity Walk event with other GSD students and these are some of my takeaways and thoughts from it. The experience itself was rather unique and made for an interesting lunchtime. The walk consisted of eating lunch and filling out two charts with several aspects of our identities to be used later. One of these charts was for physical characteristics and the other was one that related to how we viewed ourselves. Once we had finished the two charts we all got up and a series of questions were read and everyone moved around the room to different plaques related to the charts. 

I believe that this event was important for all the participants to partake in because there were many different answers to each question. Furthermore, this experience created a friendly and safe environment for everyone and fostered open and accepting minds. Additionally, some observations that stuck out to me were how some questions caused large groups at a few categories and how others were more split up. 

For the Charger Impact Challenge, the 9th grade traveled to several organizations and schools to assist with activities and provide aid. Specifically my advisee along with two others, traveled to Winterfield Elementary School. While there, we helped the teachers and faculty with many tasks. Some of these tasks were being a classroom assistant, helping with a book fair, preparing classroom materials, and others.  

I believe the impact of the volunteers was very beneficial to the schools and organizations involved. In addition, this service project opens the door for continued partnership between the establishments and people helped.

The service project was an example of how important working with others in our community is and taking action to affect change. 

As part of this year’s Global Civics curriculum the ninth grade participated in MUN. The conference focused on humanitarian issues and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. I represented Germany in the Ukraine portion and my partner covered humanitarian issues. To begin, the representatives of their respective countries read their opening statements. Here is the speech I prepared: 

“Good Day delegates, peers, and the honorable chair. I stand before you as a representative of Germany. As you all know, the ongoing war of attrition in Ukraine has caused hardships the world over. Resulting in displaced families and kidnapped children, along with food shortages and energy crises. That said, Germany and her people stand firmly in support of Ukraine. We will look favorably upon action which supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty. In addition, Germany will seek steps to condemn the illegal referendums and annexations staged by the Russian Federation in occupied regions and Crimea.” 

Once all of the delegates had finished their opening speeches we had a few rounds of moderated caucus where each nation figured out where others stood on different issues and who they would most likely work with. Later on in unmods we fleshed out ideas for resolutions and sponsors and signatories came together in support of these fledgling solutions. Finally the sponsors of the proposed resolutions presented their ideas and each country cast a vote in favor of or against a proposition. Some solutions which were presented involved the relocation of refugees and the allocation of funds to member states and others were possible ways to end the war in Ukraine. 

Reflecting on this activity, in my view it best fits in this category as the students involved came together to explore these issues that are still occurring as I am writing this.

Among my other passions, all kinds of science are greatly interesting to me. Given this, when I heard about a virtual tour of the Hadron Collider I had to jump on it. For those who aren’t familiar with the Hadron Collider, it is an apparatus of gargantuan proportions. To add some bit of scale, it lies 100 meters underground and draws roughly 200 Megawatts from the French Electrical Grid. This amount is about the same as a third of Geneva. In recent years the Collider has gained notoriety after discovering the “god particle,” more specifically named the Higgs Boson. On an entirely unrelated note, this same particle had its mass almost predicted by the Simpsons, 14 years before its discovery. But back to CERN, one of the campuses which monitors Hadron, the true scale of the collider was astounding; as shown by a to-scale lego reconstruction. Another aspect of the tour which I found intriguing was that given the great amount of power required to run the particle collider, it isn’t run during the winter. This goes back to the enormous amount of power required for the collider to be fully operational. And I also find the infrastructure surrounding Hadron very cool.     

The reason I have placed this in Living Sustainably is because hearing about the constraints regarding power and the impact it has made me look into it further. 

Recently I attended a presentation given by Mr. Dickson. The focus was on the connections between memorials in the American South and the holocaust in Europe. The most notable part of the presentation to me was the information given about Stumbling Stones. The stones are a memorial to those who were impacted by the holocaust and each is researched extensively and produced by hand. The stones can be found all over Europe, from France to Poland. Each stone is positioned with care and in a place of significance to the person it represents. In the same line, I also found it amazing that as of May of last year, the 100,000th stone had been placed. Additionally, the stones makeup the world’s largest decentralized memorial. 

This constitutes thinking glocal since one of the main premises of the presentation involved comparing how the American South and Germany have dealt with the rather dark events that have occurred in their histories.