Task #9 Completed: Make a dessert for friends and family (Kim)

9.  Make a dessert for friends and family.

My brother and I decided to make crepes.  We decided on this recipe: 

http://duhlicious.com/2011/03/red-velvet-crepes/

It wasn't the simplest recipe to choose because it has three parts to it (the crepe, a filling, and a chocolate ganache sauce).  It also had a few things we had never heard of before, like mascarpone cheese (which turned out to be a light, fluffy, and sweet cheese used to enhance the filling).  

Because it was red velvet, our batter turned out bright pink.  The crepes themselves were the correct red color.  

Admittedly, our first attempts went poorly.  My brother Kevin described as a trial and error task that was "more error than trial."

This was our first crepe.  To say it went poorly may be an understatement.  

Our second attempt didn't go much better.

After two failed attempts, we headed to Bed Bath and Beyond to get the supplies we realized we couldn't succeed without: a non-stick pan and a no-stick skillet.  

The chocolate ganache sauce.

My dad decided to really over-chocolate the crepe.  

But after we had the right materials and made a few mistakes, we were successful.  My brother mastered the ability to flip the crepes while I made the ganache sauce, rolled and filled the crepes, and poured confectionary sugar over the cooled crepes.  

Task #8 Completed: Do It Yourself Dunkaccino (Kim)

8.  What's known as a "DIY" project: Do something yourself that you typically buy.

My favorite drink from Dunkin' Donuts is a Dunkaccino, a mix of hot chocolate and coffee.  It's just around $2, but that can add up quickly.

I stole a few suggestions from this recipe: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1730041  but I changed it a little.

I used:

1/2 a packet of Nestle Cocoa Powder
4 oz. Folgers' coffee beans
1 dash of salt
1 tablespoon of vanilla
Filled up the rest of the mug with 1% lowfat milk

I warmed up for a minute and forty seconds in a microwave on high power.

Using half-and-half is probably better than milk to get a more similar Dunkaccino taste, but what I made still turned out pretty well.  

Task #7 Completed: Conduct Interviews and Compare Responses of Different Age Groups (Kim)

7.  Conduct interviews on a topic currently impacting society, and compare the responses of different age groups.

One of our inspirations for Project 52 was Humans of New York.  Photographer Brandon Stanton became famous from photographing portraits on the streets of New York City.  He interviews his subjects and posts a snippet from the interview as the picture's caption.


You can check out Humans of New York here: https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork


Since one of our original ideas was to conduct interviews similar to Humans of New York, we decided it should still be part of Project 52.  So, we made it one of the 52 tasks.

The place to find people of different age groups for me is Thanksgiving.  My grandma hosts Thanksgiving, and you can find friends and family of all ages in her house - from babies to my awesome 94-year-old grandma.  I brought my camera along and conducted interviews.  I edited the footage, splitting the clips by questions, and I came up with this.

As for the comparison of different age groups, older people tended to view the act of taking a selfie as selfish.  The very young children saw selfies only as an act of fun and a way to remember special moments.  I asked several teenagers, and most of us had taken selfies but still were willing to admit that it was a selfish act.  

Thank you to all who participated in the video!  

Task #6 Completed: Write a Letter to a Veteran (Rachael)

6. Write a Letter to a Veteran

Even though this is my second patriotic task in a row, and it seems as if I may be creating a trend, I would like to state that this portion of our project was not planned. In fact, it came to be due to a lack of recognition of our veterans on Veteran's day.

 A few years ago the School Board decided that due to excessive snow days we should have school on this particular holiday. On the first year this occurred every single one of my teachers made a point to do something to honor those who serve be it a moment of silence or having us write letters to veterans. However, I am shocked and disappointed to say that all but one of my teachers neglected to even mention this holiday this year. Later that day as Kim and I were talking we realized that we both had relatives that served and were awarded with the "Purple Heart." As we continued talking we came to the revelation that we should not fail to recognize those who fight for our country just because we were not asked to do so in school. Thus number 6 out of 52 was born.

 Happy Veteran's day!

Task #5 Completed: Trip to 9/11 Memorial (Rachael)

5. Document Trip to 9/11 Memorial   

As Kim and I created our list, task Number 5 had originally been dictated as "A Trip to New York City." However, we both soon realized that we had been to New York countless amounts of times so unfortunately, it could not be used as a part of our list. 

Yet as I passed 180 Greenwich Street in Manhattan I came across a totally new aspect of the "City of Dreams" which in fact was a place that symbolized much that was lost, the 9/11 memorial. 

The 9/11 memorial was built in honor of the victims of a terrorist attack in 2001. The sight of the memorial is breath taking and there were mass amounts of people gaping in awe at the beauty as well as checking for the names of their loved ones.  It was very interesting to me that there were many security guards and furthermore they were not letting anyone smoke or speak on the phone while on the premises. I believe that shows a huge sign of respect to those who were lost in this tragic event. The memorial means so much to the families that lost members so it was very touching to experience to be able to see the amazing structure. 

 

Task #4 Completed: Attend another student's Project Explore! (Kim)

4.  Attend and participate in another student's Project Explore.

Today, I traveled to a nearby assisted living facility and attended Olivia DiMarco's dance therapy class.  I was not allowed to take pictures or videos of the residents, but I took pictures and videos of Olivia to show her accomplishments.  I ended up talking in front of the residents, too.  I told them about my Project Explore and why I was attending this session.  In addition to dancing the Macarena with the residents and watching one of my closest friends perform, I got to listen to a few fascinating stories.  

Olivia's class was not just about stretching and doing dance moves with the residents.  She also provided them with great entertainment.  Olivia brought Margo Libre as a guest dancer, and the two of them had the residents clapping and complimenting them endlessly for their grace and dedication.  They both performed dances from The Nutcracker.  Next month, Olivia will participate in The Nutcracker for the seventh time.  Before saying goodbye, Olivia shared the classic story of the ballet she knows so well.

Watch this video to see excerpts from Olivia's dance therapy session!  (Be sure to click the square button next to the word "YouTube" to make the video full screen)

The most fascinating story we heard from one resident was about Sally Hansen, who founded Sally Hansen Beauty Supplies.  The resident brought her up because Sally Hansen was a ballerina before she had anything to do with cosmetics.  She became involved with nail polish after she retired from ballet.  

Olivia's project was a great experience.  Having Olivia and Margo perform immediately lifted the mood in the room, and that was an amazing thing to witness.

Task #3: Drive By Raking (Kim)

3. Participate in the volunteer "Drive By Raking" project.  

The youth of St. Philips took to the community streets today to show support and rake leaves.  "Drive By Raking" is a service project; the youth group surprises members of the community by raking their yards.  People are chosen to be Drive by Raking victims because they have recently suffered a loss or tragedy, and the youth pick up rakes to show them how much we care.

This sign was left at the yards we raked.

Everyone was surprised to look out and see a group of young people raking their lawns.  But we were surprised, too: several times, hot chocolate and cookies were brought out as a thank you!

NHS students Sabrina Imbrogno (left) and Rachel Ranieri (right)

 The activity was a great success.  Six groups of youth raked twenty-four yards.  And gained a whole new appreciation for leaf blowers.

Task #2 Completed: Write A Letter to Your Future Self (Kim)

2.  Write a letter to your future self 

Okay, I'll admit it.  Writing a letter to my future self was a little weird.  But in about five months from now, I think I'll be glad I did it.  If I'm not moved by what I've written to myself, at least I'll be amused.

When Rachael and I first came up with this task, we thought it would be interesting to write a letter to ourselves in September and open it on graduation day.  For Project Explore, that is not realistic because I would not be able to open it prior to the presentation.  Instead, I wrote a letter to myself to open just before my presentation.  I think that will be a nerve-wracking day, and I'll need some of my own sage advice.  Maybe sage is too strong a word....oh, well.  Here are a few excerpts from my letter.

What Is Project 52? & First Task Completed (Kim)

What is "Project 52"? 

Seniors at Norwalk High School are given the chance to participate in an experience program called Project Explore.  Students can choose to explore any topic of their choosing and work on this project throughout the school year. Recognizing this unique opportunity, Rachael and I decided we wanted to be partners for Project Explore. We sat in Panera at the end of our junior year and began to brainstorm.  What did we want to explore for an entire school year?  Surprisingly, our problem wasn't that we couldn't come up with any ideas.  It was the opposite: we came up with too many.  A few Panera trips and headaches later, Project 52 was born. Rather than pick one topic to focus on, we decided to involve ourselves in a small aspect of each thing we wanted to try.  The 52 symbolizes each week of the year.  Over the summer, we came up with our list of 52 tasks and have begun our journey.  We have no idea what we're going to learn from this experience, so our theme for now is simply discovery. Or, if you're feeling ironic: exploring.

Task #1 Completed 

1. Kim: experimentation with photography.

Social media has greatly increased the significance of pictures in today's society.  But Facebook and Instagram made me realize I don't just love posting pictures; I love being the person holding the camera and taking them.  You know, that relatively obnoxious person at Christmas pleading for you to pose just "one more time" while you are still blinking away the spots from the last unnecessarily bright flash.  Well, I want to be that person, believe it or not.

My parents helped me purchase my first DSLR camera in September, a Canon Rebel T3I. I have not been able to tear myself away from it.  It has quickly become my "claim to fame" among my friend group. They have no qualms about yelling across the room for me to come take a picture with the "pretty camera!" Although I will continue taking, posting, and learning about photos and camera settings, I consider my original "experimentation with photography" task completed.

Cosette, September 2014.

Portrait of Allison Latour taken after the Norwalk High School Pep Rally in October.

Sarah Laverty and Daniel Devine, September 2014 at Shorehaven Golf Club.

EDIT AS OF 12-11-14

I have continued this task since my original experimentation.  In fact, today I held a photo shoot for my cousin who wanted pictures for her Christmas card.  I faced the challenge of shooting in the dark, and I also had a difficult time trying to get her dog to look at me.  But I ended up liking some of the pictures were her dog wasn't looking.  He kept looking at her as if for guidance, and it was so cute!

EDIT - JANUARY 2015