Task #49: Internship at The Hour (Kim)

49.  Internship at The Hour

I have been interested in writing since elementary school.  I wrote for the school newspaper in middle school, but I never pursued writing in the Paw Print at Norwalk High School.  When the opportunity to be part of an internship program rather than attend school for the last quarter of senior year arose, I was more than happy to contact the local Norwalk newspaper and ask to be a high school intern.

I began this internship on Monday, May 18.  I started with tasks like condensing press releases for the Community, Briefs, and To Do section of the paper.  I also began my first story - on a Celtic ceremony at a Norwalk Church.  When I woke up Tuesday morning and saw that what I had worked on was in the newspaper, I was ecstatic. Tuesday I was given my first big opportunity - to write a story on the lack of affordable housing in Connecticut and specifically the Stamford-Norwalk area. I had to call a representative for Governor Malloy, several president's of local business organizations, and dig through a report full of statistics about affordable housing.  It was my first day staying relatively late at the internship, but I was more than happy to do it because I knew there was a good chance the story would run the following day.

On Wednesday, both of my stories were on page 3 of the Hour and featured on the paper's website!

http://www.thehour.com/news/norwalk/norwalk-church-to-kick-off-celtic-celebration-thursday/article_2bb0a549-7a97-5f41-a118-673fc89b7941.html

http://www.thehour.com/news/norwalk/connecticut-ranks-eighth-in-nation-for-most-expensive-housing-stamford/article_2076eed8-70da-58b7-b5ae-13627d4986a5.html

On Wednesday, I headed out to an elevator opening at Lockwood-Mathews Mansion in Norwalk.  The elevator was a 15 years in the making project, so the mayor was leading a ribbon cutting ceremony.  I also drove my fellow intern to an event on the Norwalk Green with the Norwalk Gardening Club.  Then, I spent my day finishing this story, which was published on the website today.

http://www.thehour.com/news/norwalk/lockwood-mathews-mansion-museum-reaching-new-heights-with-elevator-installation/article_00223fb8-ffcd-11e4-9156-afa445dabea8.html?mode=image&photo=0

I did not expect to see my stories featured so soon in The Hour.  I expected to be mostly working on the Community section and Briefs section.  Even though it was slightly nerve wracking at first to call so many people, it is an absolutely incredible learning experience so far.  I'm so happy I decided to be part of the internship program, and Project Explore was one of many motivating forces in being part of it.

Task #46: Bouldering (Kim)

46.  Try Bouldering - Indoor Rock Climbing Without a Harness

I headed to Caribiner's, an indoor rock climbing facility in Fairfield, this past week to try bouldering.  Well, I didn't last very long on the bouldering part, but I attempted it a few times and took pictures of my friends' attempts.  The facility was an interesting place.  We stayed mostly on the lower levels - V0 and V1 - because those were tough enough for us as inexperienced rock wall-ers.  Anything that involved a jump from one part to another was risky because you don't wear a harness, so if you fall, you fall to the ground.  

Pieces of tape designated each path on the wall.  We purchased one chalk bag and had our first experience wearing rock climbing shoes.

Since the facility was practically empty when we went, the instructors helped us figure out how to maneuver different paths.  

My friends are considering returning again because it wasn't a very expensive adventure.  I would come again but mostly to witness their progress - it is fun to watch but I would rather just watch.  

Task #36: Meet an Optimist/Hear Tracie's Story (Kim)

36.  Meet an optimist and hear her story.

As Rachael and I stressed throughout this project, not all of our tasks had to be planned.  We expected the unexpected - for people to suggest a few tasks that could become vital to our project And that's how I found myself interviewing Tracie this afternoon at Norwalk Community College.

My mom works at NCC teaching students how to become medical assistants.  She knew all of the obstacles Tracie has recently faced, and she suggested that I interview Tracie as part of my Project Explore.  Because teenagers are considered the most self-absorbed generation, my mom believed Tracie had valuable advice and experiences to share for my project.  And she was absolutely right.

Though this is the only part of Tracie's life that I learned about and this was the first time I had met her, I could see how amazing she is.  My mom told me how great she would be to interview, but I had no idea what to expect.  Since I didn't know her, I didn't have a lot of specific questions to ask.  Luckily, Tracie knew exactly what to address, and I could form questions as the interview went along.  She was very open about all of her experiences.

This interview was an incredible experience for me.  Her grateful attitude despite the hardships she has faced was refreshing.  I am often surrounded by people complaining about how tired they are or how unfair life can be, but Tracie was not at all bitter even though she faced a cancer typically associated with people over the age of 50.  Tracie was only 37 when she was diagnosed.  Her advice about being able to push past anything with a good attitude was invaluable.

A huge thank you to Tracie for being so open and willing to share your story.  I loved creating this video.

Task #23: Writing Experience (Rachael)

23. Writing Experience 

Kim and I are reaching the mid point of our project as we are coming up on our twenty third idea. Project explore had been pretty slow over the break, and we started to brain storm another batch of ideas in choir when we reached the conclusion that not every blog post had to be planned. This notion sparked when I began to tell Kim about what I had done the previous weekend. I babysat for an Orthodox Jewish Family and being the curious critter that I am, I bombarded the little rascals with questions regarding their faith and way of life.

When I walked in all of the children were cleaning up from what seemed to be the evening prayer. They were putting away the "Gartel" which Ellie explained to me as a mini Torah or a Prayer tool similar to a Mazuzah. It is used during the ritual of night time prayer. This was intriguing because I have never experienced anything like that.

It was also very obvious that God has a major presence in these children's lives.  When I asked the boys to sleep, Ellie remarked "But Hashem's not sleeping right?" This comment took me back in two regards. First of all, I did not realize that the word Hashem was a reference to God. I was also very shaken that this little boy had expected me to know the answer to a religion specific question. All though I do not remember what I responded I do remember that this comment put me very off guard.

It is very important to note the fact that even though there is such a difference in culture the children I babysat were very much children indeed! They begged to play games on my phone, asked me to read them books and fought with me when I asked them to go to bed up to the very moment their mom got home! The experience as a whole was very eye opening and interesting to be able to look at a home so rich with culture and religion.

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 #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