What was your viewpoint regarding firearms, their uses and misuses, and legislation coming in to the project? I have always been anti-guns and very pro gun control. I was always scared of gun violence and think they wield too much power. - In what ways was that viewpoint challenged by our class conversations, your research, and the exhibition? My ideas and beliefs were never really challenged, everyone was very respectful of our differences and what I researched only made my beliefs and arguments more iron-clad. - In what ways did you contribute to your group and the class as a whole? I always gave my point of view and opinion if I was asked, I worked hard on my section of the project. - What can you point to in the exhibition that is yours (e.g. something you made, researched, etc.) The hall of heroes plaques are all of my research.
Justice For All
Reflection
In the beginning of the year we learned about the different moral philosophies and what that meant to people of all different backgrounds and found the ones that resonated the most with us. We also researched various concerning issues in Durango and we settled on basing our project around homelessness. We heard from multiple organizations that aided the homeless, including food not bombs, the veteran homestead project, and axis health. Our class also took a tour of the test-tracks homeless camp. A few students went on their own time and volunteered at the Durango homeless shelter, cooking a meal for it's residents. We got to decide on our own projects and design the concepts. For my project I decided to create a free box to hold clothing for our exhibition. I also held a clothing drive and distributed the clothes to the homeless community that attended. Our final exhibition was one of the most successful that I have ever seen at Animas High School. It was an incredible mixture of influential organizations dedicated to helping the homeless. students, teachers, parents, and the homeless community. I spent most of my time at this event helping a family of seven children get clothes to start school for the first time after winter break. I tried to help as many people as I could and in the end there were an appalling amount of clothing, which I donated to the homeless shelter, and the humane society. The most memorable experience I had at this exhibition was giving a jacket to Zeke the oldest boy (8) of the family of seven and him being so grateful that he cried. It really put into perspective how appreciative the people at the event were that someone really cared. I feel like despite the effort I put into my project I could have worked harder and started faster. I didn’t get my actual free box done until 2 hours before the exhibition. I feel like my anxiety got the best of me and I didn’t try early enough because I was scared that I wouldn’t live up to my own standards. Also my final shelf wasn’t the width that I needed it to be. But despite all of my issues I received many compliments on my work and really felt like I did something important. This exhibition really showed me that it was the little things that counted. I made myself a better person and I have become more considerate when it came to the homeless community. I no longer look at these people with fear and I go out of my way to make conversation, especially with those who attended our event. This project also made me very appreciative of the way I live my life. When I was younger I couch surfed for a long time. I also recognized that I fell short on a lot of the developmental assets, which identified early childhood abuse and trauma as a cause of homelessness. This experience certainly changed my outlook on how lucky I am to live the life I do, attend the school I attend, and love the people I love.