Introductory Art Blog Post

Hi, my name is Taylor Stevens and I’m currently a senior attending North Broward Prep. I’ve been going here since middle school and been involved in the art programs ever since. I’m currently involved in an AP art class with Mrs. Weiss. I really love her and the class. By the end of the year we have to create 12 pieces all with a common thread. In the start of the year, I went around campus and asked 100 people the question, “If you could have anything by the end of today, what would it be?” I video taped all the responses and picked the twelve most interesting ones. I’m doing one piece per person from the selected twelve. I use a lot of bright colors, and all my pieces are cut into circles, with a layer of painted plastic on top. I really look forward to art class because its something I really enjoy. I love bright colors and painting people so it’s a good combination for me and I never get bored of it. I think with each piece I do for her class I improve more and more. I don’t know if its something I would want to do later on in life but its fun for right now. 

This is the only picture I have of any of my artwork from this year, 

It was one of my most recent projects and wasn't 100% complete when i took this 

It was of Sebastian Ascano 

The Things I Carry

After unloading my backpack I found,

• My wallet - with money, gift cards, credit card, license and school ID
• Iphone 
• Headphones 
• Pens, Pencils 
• Makeup 
• Gum
• My car keys - with my house keys and a Panera Bread card attached 
• Scientific calculator 
• Notebook
• Computer 
• Giant eraser

Iphone 

My phone is definitely one of the things I can never leave my house without. I'm not big into downloading apps or surfing the web on my phone but I always have a conversation going with someone through text. I also have things to do and appointments to attend left and right, which are all logged into my phone. I have SAT prep about twice a week, along with working for my dad, clubs to attend, yoga classes, tests to take, and doctors appointments to make. I have them all plugged into my phone with the times and places, along with a reminder that rings about an hour before hand. So without my phone I would be forgetting just about everything I need to do. I'm also terrible with directions, I don't know the names of most roads. As lazy as it sounds, I can easily plug an address into my phone and get there with no problem. Without my phone, I would never know where I was driving. 

My Wallet 

My wallet by itself is actually something I forget all the time, which is a problem. I either leave it in my car, in my backpack or in my room. It has a lot of important stuff in it though such as my license. Now that I think of it I think I tend to leave my license at home more then my wallet. I'm really indecisive about clothing that I buy, and I buy clothes all the time, which means I am making returns - all the time. Most stores don't allow me to make the return unless I have my license, so without it I end up driving to the mall for nothing. It's also practical of course incase I were to get pulled over or something. My school ID is also in my wallet, which allows me to go out for lunch when I leave campus. Other then leaving campus for lunch I don't use it very much because I don't like the school food here. It's all really unhealthy and gross to me so I typically bring my own food. Besides my school ID and license, the obvious things such as money is always useful. 

Headphones 

Headphones are another thing I always have to have with me. I have terrible ADD, so when we have in class assignments listening to music blocks out all the mindless noise in the background. It helps me focus a lot better, and it also sometimes puts me in a good mood. Its almost impossible for me to work on art work without listening to music. Not only do I have art class and a study hall, but I'm in the art room until about 5 o'clock everyday working on my projects so headphones are a huge priority for me.

Important Leaders

Ho Chi Minh was a Communist leader who led the Viet Minh. Also, he led the rebellion against the French and other occupying forces that the vietnamese people did not like. He led the North Vietnamese government and wanted to destroy the South Vietnamese government and its supporters. The largest city in Vietnam is named after him.

Ngo Dinh Diem was the first president of South Vietnam. Worked with the US to create the Republic of Vietnam. The US supported him because he was not a communist. He was assassinated by the end of the war.

Truman gave aid to the French in the 1950s to fight the Vietminh. Then he sent military advisors to South Vietnam to train the army there.

Eisenhower sent the army there more equipment and weapons, and also he sent more advisors. Eisenhower refused to send combat troops.

 Kennedy strongly believed in fighting communism. Kennedy sent more money to fund the army in Vietnam and rose the number of advisors to about 16,000.

Lyndon B. Johnson escalated the Vietnam War heavily. Johnson sent the first ground troops in 1965. Johnson increased US numbers from 16,000 advisors to 550,000 combat troops. He also told the public that everything was going well and that it was no big deal, this ended after the Tet Offensive occurred. Many protested against him.

When Nixon entered office, the war was extremely unpopular. He wanted to end the war quickly. He started bombing Indochina, particularly Cambodia heavily. After he was removed, the remaining troops of Vietnam were removed slowly by Ford (his successor).

Do you set your own course?

            Just about everything you do is in your hands and your hands only. Your parents might give you guidance or set you up for a certain life style but its up to you to take the course given. I think it all depends on motivation. You have to want a certain life style for yourself and you have to work towards it.  Sometimes things happen in life that interfere with something you’re trying to accomplish. But that still isn’t an excuse because you can still do what you can to control yourself with the situation. Whether you chose to take a path or not, they both lead you to different futures. I’m currently in a situation that's relatable to the topic. Freshman and sophomore year I didn’t care about school what so ever. I never did homework assignments, I didn’t study for tests and I ended my trimesters with mostly C’s. I was completely capable of doing well I just was lazy. Junior and senior year I realized that the grades I had been getting were really going to take a toll on where I go to college. The past two years I’ve ended my trimesters with mostly A’s and some B’s. But because of the first two years of poor grades my GPA is not as good as it should be, and I have to go to a community college for a semester next year. I set my own course for myself. I didn’t care about school so I didn’t do my work. Now my GPA is suffering which in turn has an effect on where I attend college, which could affect my future life. Such as where I live, the jobs I get, the people I meet and the choices I make. People set their own courses for themselves.

A Noiseless Patient Spider

by Walt Whitman

A noiseless, patient spider, 

I mark’d, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated; 

Mark’d how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding, 

It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself; 

Ever unreeling them—ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you, O my Soul, where you stand, 

Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space, 

Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing,—seeking the spheres, to connect them; 

Till the bridge you will need, be form’d—till the ductile anchor hold; 

Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.

Overall the poem is talking about the spider in his loneliness. He's sitting on top of a pond, trying to stay above the water. He takes time to think about where to go next and how to still stay afloat. I think the whole poem in general is speaking about the spider and his thoughts in the peace and quiet, by himself. 
My favorite lines are when the author says, "Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space". Although it is not said, you can infer that the pond probably isn't that big - to a human at least. But to the spider the pond is huge and endless. It also painted the image in my head of how alone he is. I also liked the part when he said, "Seeking the spheres, to connect them". When I first read this line in my head I pictured the spider sitting on a lily pad, and looking out to all the other lily pads in the distance; trying to find the best path by connecting them. I'm not sure if my thoughts were correct but thats just the first image that popped into my head when i read it. 

Christmas Post

         Every year for Christmas my family and I go to my grandparents house with everyone on my moms side of the family. I have two cousins who come as well, both guys and a few years older then me. I’m very close with them. We all go to my grandparents house on a lake in middle of no-where Georgia and spend about two weeks together. It seems pretty boring but it’s surprisingly a lot of fun. The time goes by very quickly, we usually sleep in pretty late, and then occupy ourselves with whatever we can for the rest of the day. When I say middle of nowhere I literally mean middle of nowhere. The closest airport is about three hours away, along with the closest mall being about an hour and a half. So we stay around the house, besides the occasional trip out into society. When were around the house, my two cousins, my sister and I have to occupy ourselves with whatever is in the house. We go down to the lake or the woods, or watch dumb movies, play board games or literally drive to Publix “for fun”. It sounds kind of silly but it’s actually a lot of fun... Like I said, the four of us are very close, so we share the same sense of humor and get along really well. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, great grandparents – they’re all extremely southern. So every meal consists of mashed potatoes, green beans and some form of fatty meat. It gets really repetitive REALLY fast. But my cousins and I always joke about it when were not eating it so I guess it’s not so bad. I love being there a lot, because since there’s really nowhere to go there’s a lot of family time. Sometimes all twelve of us sit in the living room and we’ll talk about just funny stories or whatever for hours and hours. My mom’s family is really funny and I don’t know why to be quite honest.