What I Did This Week (3/23-3/27)

My film group consists of Kenia Varela, Jesus Lizarraga, and Joe Cisneros. At the start of this week we decided that we would make a short documentary on seniors in the Magnet program. In my group, Joe and I are the editors, Jesus is the man behind the camera, and Kenia is the one asking questions. Throughout this week, we got all of our planning down. We decided that we would interview our fellow classmates Redani Diaz and Alexis Cuellar, Joe's cousin, and Kenia's friend Leslie Sandoval. We also decided that we would like to go with a serious tone with our documentary that makes the Magnet program a good image. We didn't have to worry about writing a screenplay or a storyboard, so we focused on which kinds of things we would use. In the end, we felt like it would be most effective if we shot field footage of Magnet classrooms and played it after cutting from an interview without having  the person being interviewed stop talking. In short, we will have talking plus light music playing over silent field footage. Since two out of four people being interviewed are in our class, we came to the conclusion that we could shoot a good chunk of our film in this period. We are now ready to shoot our film.

What Music Means to Me

Music means a lot to me. To me, it is a form of self-expression, a means of escape, and a good time. When I feel down, I find that I can feel at least slightly better by putting on my earphones and listening to some tunes. There are certain albums I like in particular that I can always listen to. These albums are Sublime's 40 oz. to Freedom, Beastie Boys' Check Your Head, and The Strokes' First Impressions of Earth. When I'm hanging out with friends, we're always bumping music as a ritual of sorts. Music allows people to be themselves and be open. When their are problems I am faced with in life, I listen to music about people who have it much worse than I do and that usually makes me feel better. As a means of entertainment and a way of passing time, I listen to music most chances I get. If I'm not listening to music, then I usually have a song or two stuck in my head. Although music does not have a huge impact on me, I believe that it is something powerful that can change people's lives.

Problems and Struggles

There are many students here at Bell HS that face serious struggles on an everyday basis. Some of these struggles are poverty, having no one to talk to or rely on, and feeling overwhelmed with school or work. These become serious issues because most people fail to recognize the problems that students are faced with. As a result, students grow to become incapable of building lasting connections, bonding with others, progressing through life, and being mentally/emotionally stable. The major problem that is never addressed at school is being open and welcoming of others. We come to school every day with our minds set to learning, getting homework done, and chatting with people we know and we  are extremely hesitant to have anything to do with people we don't know. This leaves many students leaves with no one but themselves. I think many of the issues here at Bell and other high schools could easily be avoided if students were more open and welcoming of others.

The Most Interesting Person in the World

In my opinion, the most interesting person in the world was Adolf Hitler. The reason I feel this way is that Hitler can easily be considered the worst person who has ever lived. This leads a person to wonder how someone can commit such heinous crimes against humanity. Hitler lived a life where he was constantly prevented from pursuing his dream. Because of this, he grew to become a very hateful person. His hate manifested into the form of a superiority complex that caused him to seek the complete annihilation of the Jewish people. I find this characteristic to be extremely interesting because it makes me question both myself and those around me. I sometimes wonder how those who are angry, vengeful, and hateful will live their lives. Will they use their negative traits to reflect on themselves and grow as a person or will they succumb to their hate and become another Hitler?