Creative Works

Mandala

Fictional Character

Diego is an overachieving sunflower, who yearns for a larger life of seeing the world and not being stuck in one place for the rest of his life. Due to this undying dream of his, he frequently gets bullied by the sunflowers around him who think he's a joke for thinking like that. “What's wrong with you,” his neighboring sunflower screams. “You are literally rooted in the ground, if you think you're ever leaving this patch, I just feel bad for you.” These types of conversations led to Diegos self esteem staying at a very low level for a long time, until he decided to change his life once and for all. Diego is a developing character in this story, as he once started out thinking that he could never fulfill his dreams, but ended up following through and found himself traveling the world, meeting the love of his life, and getting everything he has ever dreamed of. 

Short Story

The Perfect Sunflower

Diego was an abnormal sunflower. I know what you're thinking: what makes a sunflower abnormal? Well the answer to this is simple. Diego wanted to travel and see the world, all while being rooted into the ground. This can't be possible, is probably what you're thinking, which is what all of his “friends” thought as well. He made the grave mistake of one night, while they were all hanging out, to disclose his biggest and most passionate dream to his friends. This was a big mistake. At once, all of his friends stared at him incredulous. “What's wrong with you,” his neighboring sunflower screamed. “You are literally rooted to the ground.” That is what all of his friends thought, and he got no support for his once bright dream. After being made fun of, Diego was in shambles and his self esteem got lower than it already was. 

Diego was a shy sunflower growing up, who was always on the outskirts of everything. He tried to include himself, to which he was begrudgingly included. He could tell when he wasn't wanted, which did not make him feel good about himself. All Diego ever wished for was to be accepted, and once he discovered that he wasn't going to be accepted here, he decided to go somewhere else to look for the love he has been searching for. 

After telling his fellow sunflower, and them telling him it was stupid, Diego decided to stop trying to fit in with the sunflowers and to forget about whatever dreams he had. There was one thing he was certain of: it was never going to happen 

The next day, Diego awoke to the sound of footsteps. He opens his tired eyes to the bright sun and sees humans. Humans! Wow! There haven't been humans on these patches in a while, and he doesn't even know where they came from. Being very intrigued, Diego patiently waits and watches the group of humans walking around the patch. 

“What do they want?” Diego thinks. They are inspecting his fellow sunflowers. Interesting. Then they start approaching him. One human looks right down at Diego, smiles, and starts reaching his hand toward Diego's body. 

“What are they doing?” Suddenly, he sees himself growing taller. He looks down and sees that he is no longer connected to the ground. 

“OH MY GOSH,” yells Diego, as he is confused and doesnt know what is happening to him. He is sitting in one of the human’s hands, as he starts to walk towards a big black box. Diego wonders what this box is, but that is the least of his concerns. His main concern is that he is being taken inside of the box.

While he is being taken into the big black vehicle, he tries to listen in to the humans conversation. 

“My cousin in Europe is going to love this sunflower, I can't believe I've been looking all day, and I just now found the perfect one.” 

Diego shuts his eyes and tries to drown out the words he hears, he is too exhausted for this and maybe it's all a dream. 

When Diego opens his eyes, he finds himself in a brown box. He looks all around him and is surrounded by this brown material. Just as he begins to panic, the box opens, and he is pulled out into the sunshine. Green eyes look down upon him, the most beautiful eyes he's ever seen. 

“Wow, Greg was right. This is the perfect sunflower,” the mysterious woman says. Just as she says this, Diego feels at peace and decides to not panic and to just accept what is happening to him. She takes Diego, puts him in a vase on a table, fills it with water, and just looks. Diego looks back and instantly knows that his wish has been granted. He knows he will see the world and he has found someone who loves and accepts him as he is. The perfect sunflower. 

Meditation Reflection

I chose to participate in the 5 minute Guided Morning Meditation for Positive Energy on youtube. I began the meditation by closing my eyes and facing my palms upward on my knees. I started breathing in and out for a couple of seconds before beginning the meditation. After this, I started with gratitude and thought about everything that I had to be grateful for today. I thought of my family, friends, school, and the fact that I have a healthy and whole body that I could exercise and meditate with. I then imagined positive energy entering my body from the top of my head and flowing through my body all the way down my limbs, while washing away negative thoughts. During this meditation, I let go of all of my pats thoughts weighing me down, and just focused on the present. This mediation really helped me invision my future and let go of past mistakes. I was able to create a positive mindset, by being grateful for everything that I have instead of focusing on everything that I didn't have. All of the regrets that I had have vanished, and I focused on myself in the present, and just enjoyed living in the moment. I really enjoyed this experience, as it gave me a different perspective on life and allowed me to slow down and just breathe. 

Collaborative Art Piece

I have drawn the New York City skyline, including some of New York City's biggest attractions, like the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge. I have incorporated Vincent Van Gogh's swirling technique into my drawing, and also used his technique of positioning a tall object near a shorter, wider object. Where he drew a cypress tree and a village, I drew the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge. 

Graffiti: Blight or Bright?

I believe that graffiti is a way for artists to express themselves in public places, and have seen some amazing works of graffiti. Artists can also use public spaces to tell a message and to make sure that the public hears it; an example of this is Bansky's "Girl With Balloon." This mural showcases innocence in the shape of a young girl, and symbolizes a loss of dreams by the balloon being blown out of her hand. This simple imagery can provoke deep reflection, and forces the viewer to delve into the meaning of this scene. I believe that graffiti is an important form of art, and gives a voice to the marginalized. 

Flash Film

African Cinema

I chose the film Tsotsi, which was made in 2005. This film follows a young gangster who finds himself with a baby after a violent incident. In this film, there we see this young mans journey of redemption as he fights with his past.

power and representation: This film was directed by Gavin Hood, an African filmmaker, which allows us to see true perspective. This film represents complex characters who fight against stereotypes, as Tsotsi is not a villain, but a character seeking redemption.

setting: This was set in Johannesburg, and this was important to the narrative, as it showcases the poverty and crime that Tsotsi had to deal with.

plot: The plot is shown as the characters internal conflict after he is forced to care for a baby, and he is forced to confront his violent past. 

conflict: This film depicts Tsotsi's internal conflict and the conflicts of his society and the impact of crime and poverty on the community. 

characters: Tsotsi develops from a gangster to a compassionate person, as well as the mother of the baby, as she shows strength all throughout the film. 

theme: There are large themes of redemptions, consequences of violence, and complexities of humans. These themes force the audience to look beyond stereotypes. 

genre: The genre of this film is crime/thriller, and has a large emphasis on character development.

title: the title of this film is "Tsotsi" which means gangster, and showcases the main characters initial stereotype.

Philosophy/Message on Life

Philosophy is the pursuit of knowledge, and is a very important branch of humanities that involve arts, science, and religion. A particular branch of philosophy, which comes from the Eastern world and outer Europe, is called Confucianism. Confucianism is a philosophical and ethical teaching created by Confucius, and is a humanistic philosophy that has a very large emphasis on family and social harmony. The large belief of Confucius was that human beings are inherently good, and that society flourishes when individuals in a society practice wisdom, righteousness, and propriety.  

I have a personal philosophy that states that peace, hope and unity are the key to being a kind person, and these must be upheld in order for anyone to be a good person. I have created a symbol that portrays this exactly, with the connected hexagon symbolizing unity, the ribbon in the middle displaying hope, and the olive branch on the top of the hexagon illustrating peace. I feel like when these three factors come together, one can be the best person they can be. I feel like my personal philosophy ties in to Confucianism, as my personal philosophy is also a humanistic philosophy, and also has an emphasis on family and social harmony. 

I believe that both Confucianism and my personal philosophy are the correct way to work a society, and are the only way to keep harmony and peace in a society. I have the belief that by using these tools, people can be the best versions of themselves, and can therefore allow society to move smoothly and calmly. 

An example of peace and unity being required in order to have a good society can be seen in South Africa. South Africa has faced decades of racial segregation and oppression, and then realized that peace and unity were essential in order to create a stable and prosperous society. Africa underwent a period of reconciliation, which helped heal the deep wounds of the oppression, and was a very necessary step in creating the peaceful and united society that my personal philosophy calls for and confucius.

Personal Symbol

My personal philosophy is that peace, hope and unity, are the key of being a kind person, and these must be upheld in order for anyone to be a good person. My symbol portrays this exactly, with the connected hexagon symbolizing unity, the the ribbon in the middle displaying hope, and the olive branch on the top of the hexagon illustrating peace. I feel like when these three factors come together, one can be the best person they can be.