Magazine Reflection

I did not learn several new ideas or topics during this project. A large majority of the work I accomplished relied on prior knowledge rather than newly acquired skills and understanding. My submissions to the magazine were revised versions of previous assignments that required only sentence restructure and layout redesign.

I learned two new aspects of sentence structure. 1) I learned to place the subject noun and the verb at the beginning of the sentence. 2) The reader may not be able to form a visual image depicted in the sentence if the descriptive details of that sentence are not placed in a logical order. These revisions to sentence structure transformed the overall flow of my pieces of writing so that the topic of the sentence was established immediately at the beginning.

I spent a large portion of my time revising the layouts of my photo essay and my editorial. I learned how to make a spread visually appealing by constantly resized images, allowing images to bleed off pages and rearranged the writing into different positions on the pages. If the layout of my spreads did not appear eye-catching than the reader has less temptation to read my section of the magazine.

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 improved the clarity of the sentences in my photo essay so that the reader was able to easily visualize the surroundings of my work space environment from my own perspective. The adjectives of several of the sentences were reorganized into different sequences. The verb and subject noun of each sentence was placed at the beginning of the sentence to establish a more assertive voice for the writing.

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?

The third and final caption in my revised photo essay did not establish an environment for the reader to visualize, unlike the preceding captions. The third caption should have some description of a specific environment so that the consistency of a visualized setting exists in each caption.

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.

I struggled to create a clean layout for pages 5 & 6 of my photo essay that did not have too much white space. I directed a large portion of my layout-revision-time toward balancing the image and captions so that the amount of white space occupying the layout did not become a focal feature of the design. I enlarged the image so that it bled across the gutter, thus horizontally compressing the caption while extended in vertically. I then placed a pull quote above the caption to reduce the white space. The current amount of white space present in the two pages is no longer an unsightly feature of the layout.

4. Describe something specific (or a few things!) that you learned about writing.

I learned two new aspects of sentence structure. 1) I learned to place the subject noun and the verb at the beginning of the sentence. 2) The reader may not be able to form a visual image depicted in the sentence if the descriptive details of that sentence are not placed in a logical order.

Magazine Reflection

1. What went well for you during the process of creating this magazine?

I did not encounter any significant problems during the course of this project. I completed the layout of my photo essay fairly quickly after finishing all of my writing revisions. I constantly pushed the members of my group to complete their contributions to the magazine as quickly as possible but not sacrifice quality along the way.

2. What challenges did you face as you moved from an early draft or idea to a final product?

The only challenge I faced during the writing portion of the project was rewriting several of the sentences in my photo essay so that the subject noun and the verb were at the beginning of the sentence.

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

When designing the layout of my photo essay on InDesign I often looked at Ana and Leo's layouts to incorporate some of there design features into my own spread. I observed some of the techniques that they used to give their layouts a cleaner professional appearance and applied them to my own article.

Radical Socialism is Absent from the White House

I believe that President Obama's political agenda does not qualify as socialism. This mislabeling of socialism was generated by the Republican party in order to gain more support for a future Republican leader. The party is attempting to convince voters that President Obama will cause the economic downfall of our nation by painting his beliefs of refining health care, rebalancing the distribution of wealth and improving the banking system as radical socialist ideals.

President Obama has failed to fit in the oversized suit of radical socialism that his political rivals have tailored. "He didn't move to nationalize the banks; he negotiated with them to buy up their toxic assets. He hasn't proposed replacing private health insurers with a government plan; instead, he talks of making the insurance industry a cornerstone of his new system." President Obama is combating the current economic recession by revitalizing social and economic institutions in America much like FDR did during his presidency, however the economic situation of the former's presidency has been relieved of harsher disparities due to the financial policies installed by the latter.

The historical examples of socialist nations transitioning into communist nations, as well as communist nations converting into facist nations are the basis for the Republican party's belief that President Obama will wrestle America into a straight jacket of social and economic instability.

Sources:
Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, Measuring Obama by FDR's Yardstick, April 21, 2009, http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-presidency21-2009apr21,0,1344141.story

Characters From The Jungle

Jurgis Rudkus
1. Jurgis is an exceptionally strong young man with a large physical build.
2. Very little description of Jurgis' physical characteristics is provided by the text.
3. He always sports ragged clothes due to the nature of his back-breaking labor. During the cold Chicago winters he may wear a wool coat, if he is able to afford one.
4. All Jurgis seems to do is work his heart out in order to feed his family.
5. He is at the bottom of the social class; he is the honest, yet hardworking man.
6. He believes that if he continues to work harder he will eventually secure an economically sound future for his family. He realizes that he is the backbone of his family, so he holds himself responsible to solve all their economic woes.
7. Jurgis is viewed as the major provider for the family.
8. Jurgis is just one of the thousands of immigrants of whom lived in America during the early 1900s that devoted their lives to straining labor in order to feed their families.
9. "Jurgis" is a traditional Lithianian name. A large majority of the immigrants who journeyed to America also had traditional names common within their culture.
10. In the beginning of the story Jurgis firmly believes in the ideal that anyone can become economically successful as long as one continues to work hard, despite the hardships that one may face. The horrid conditions of the meat packing plants and the prevelent corruption in packingtown begin the ware down Jurgis' belief in his ideal that promises himself an economically stable future, so long as he works his heart out.

My Photo Essay

Before beginning any rigorous physical activity, it is important that one stretches their muscles in order to reduce the possibility of cramps or strains. I aimed to incorporate running in my internship immersion experience. I had roughly one month to regain my cardiovascular stamina and leg strength to their former glories before track & field season started. Whether I endured a rigorous 8.8 mile journey from my house to my internship site in the morning or a quick 1.4 mile venture to In-N-Out Burger and back during my lunch break, running became one of the most memorable experiences of my internship immersion. Traveling to internship by means of my legs jump-started my metabolism, keeping me fully alert and awake for the rest of the day. My fast paced travels to the local food establishments during my lunch break ensured that my body received nourishment whilst allowing my mind to take a healthy break from my assignments. The reason for this exercise was not solely for my own health benefits but to ensure my productivity output in the workplace.

The internship workroom became a second home for me during immersion, not in the sense that it was a place that provided me comfort but that there was no other place besides my house that I spent more time occupying in that two week time frame. Somewhat isolated from the other employees, this room, if you could call it that (this area resembled a short hallway that happened to meet a dead end), felt like a pen due a constant sense of containment I always felt whenever inhabiting this space. This “room” witnessed the completion of all my assignments as well as all of my habits. Overrun with clothes, papers and boxes, this area offered a reflection to my organizational tendencies that could not differentiate a house from a workplace. The clutter spread like a virus, infecting a new section of the room each day. However this pathogen of untidiness failed to latch on to the hard drive of my computer and disrupt the completion of my tasks.

One of the key differences that I noticed immediately at the start of immersion between my internship workplace environment and an academic environment was the amount of time I sat in front of a computer screen. I often use a computer three to four hours a week during school in order to finish my assignments; however that amount of time is far less eye-straining than the six hours I spent each day staring at a monitor during immersion. I felt that my computer was devouring my conscious state of mind, sucking all my thoughts into a vortex, emptying them out on to the formerly blank document before my eyes. By the end of immersion I viewed my computer not as a tool of convenience, but as a fascist vampire with a thirst for mental processing. Despite the monotony of investing hour upon hour of my tireless efforts researching and learning all the topics for my project, I ultimately emerged as a more environmentally conscious individual at the end of my internship immersion.

My project during immersion dealt with the several different aspects that form one’s carbon footprint such as: post-consumer paper products, recycling by the numbers, excessive packaging and the energy required to deliver products from their factory to you. I found it impossible to research each of these aspects of one’s carbon footprint without reflecting on the environmental impact of my own daily actions. Prior to this project I never considered the amount of energy that is invested into the generation and transportation of goods or that the multiple layers of plastic covering a product is nothing more than garbage in the eyes of a landfill. Learning about the issue is only half of the battle; I must now use that knowledge to reduce my environmental impact. Each individual that inhabits this planet has a carbon footprint; however it is the actions and choices that one makes that determine the size of their footprint.

The purpose of my carbon footprint project was to inform middle school and high school kids of how their daily action or choices impact the environment. Educating children at the High Tech Fair was an eye-opening experience for all the parties who participated in the event. Half of the students that approached our booth did not have an understanding of the term carbon footprint; however I was able to give them a quick lesson detailing an explanation of the term as well as numerous ways that they could reduce their footprint. The entire day I delivered lessons that were compacted down to short, yet coherent presentations. Seeing the wonder in their eyes empowered me with a large sense of confidence in my presentation skills. At the end of that day I arrived at a great realization: I want my future career to incorporate some form of public speaking.

My Contribution to the Magazine

1. I may choose to write an article outlining how my internship experience ultimately benefited the San Diego community. Another idea for a possible contribution is a reflection that focuses on how I have grown as a student and an overall individual. My third choice for a contribution to the magazine could be my photo essay.

2. Internship: Diving Head First into the Workplace Experience

3. I would like to read an article about how a student's internship benefited the San Diego community.