Reflection

       Honors colloquy was never a class I expected to enjoy. Although I typically love English, the whole idea of "colloquy" frightened me at the start; I can not say the same now. I gained a lot from the class, including confidence. I was surrounded by highly intelligent individuals who shared the desire for learning that I do. I particularly enjoyed how the class was set up. By allowing us students to choose our own topics for both projects I believe it fostered deeper learning.
       I also enjoyed how we explored both critical and creative thinking. I believe you need both to be a well-rounded individual. College courses have tendencies to focus all of their energy on critical thinking, which is frustrating considering both are important.

Introduction 

       Hello, My name is Surena Urban. I am freshman at Delta college. My major is pre-med and my current plan is to receive my prerequisites from Delta and then transfer to another university to receive a Bachelor degree in Biomedical Sciences. My long-term career goal is to become either a geneticist or a genetic counselor. I have also taken an interest in the human body and absolutely love biology, anatomy and physiology, and genetics. I had a younger sister who passed from a rare genetic disease; she sparked a desire in me to help others who have gone through similar situations. 

       I am creating this blog because it is a requirement for my honors colloquy class. The reason I am taking this class is because it is a requirement for the honors program at Delta College. 

Project Two- Précis

            For my project two topic I have chosen the idea of Creating Reasons to Live. In order to execute this idea, I plan on making a video compilation of reasons why I live/love my life and why everyone should seek out the positivity in their life as well. Hopefully by creating an uplifting vibe, I will inspire others to be kind and to continue the trend of showing others why they should live, why they matter, and why they are lucky to be here.

            My video will have a couple of different songs playing in the background while I show slide shows of pictures of me, my friends, my family, other families, and other things I like and/or find important/of value to my life and others. It will hopefully (fingers crossed) work out that I am able to transition back and forth between photos and videos; I just have to figure out the technology I will make it with first.

            The video is a spin-off of Drake’s God’s Plan; his kindness and creativity sparked an abundance of my own. To make the video I will use my iPhone and special effects on it through editing technology. I will write a three page descriptive account of how and what I did for my video, My intentions are to spread happiness and spark a chain reaction of kindness and appreciation for life.

Surena Urban

Drake—God’s Plan—Music Video

Double Entry Log

Writer and/or director

Aubrey Drake Graham, known as Drake, wrote the lyrics.

The director of God’s Plan is Karena Evans.

Executive Producer is Director X.

Rhetorical Information

Describe background information about the writer/director.

Drake originally is from Canada. He was recognized first on a teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation until he went on to pursue a career as a rapper with the release of his debut mixtape, Room for Improvement, in 2007. Drake has won three Grammy’s to date; his first was for Take Care and the other two were for Hotline Bling. Drake has been very generous in donating to portions of his earnings to meaningful causes.

Describe background information about the story or film.

            Drake, the director, and those involved in the production of God’s Plan, truly executed a beautiful idea when they gave the money that would have otherwise been used on a very expensive video to those in need. The moral of the story is to spread positivity and allow others to rejoice in your success as well. Drake described God’s Plan as “The most important thing I have ever done in my career.”

Describe the story or film’s genre.

            The genre of God’s Plan is Hip Hop/Rap. Although a negative connotation typically comes along with rap, this video tears down those inaccurate stigmas and shines a whole new light on a genre some people are typically leery of.

Describe the audience. Who is the audience for this story or film? What expectations do they have about the story/film? How do you know this?

            The audience of this video could really be anybody; it could range from Drake’s fans all the way to those who want to share a positive idea with others. Typically, from a rapper’s video people might expect more demonstrations of violence, heartache and profanity (which they might have guessed from watching other rap videos), however this video is truly eye-opening because of the kindness and happiness demonstrated/represented in it. 

Describe the social context of the story/film. When and where was it published/released? Describe any significant social events during the time.

            Drake’s God’s Plan music video was released in late January of 2018 as a sneak peek/single of his Scary Hours album. Recently we have been surrounded by such negativity: racially charged issues, school shootings, just violence in general. God’s Plan is (to me) a light amidst all this darkness. It demonstrates how generosity and love still exist in our society.

Log your close reading of the text

What do I see?	What does it mean?
Describe an interesting or thought-provoking scene. Describe exactly what’s on the page or in action in the scene. Make sure you include page numbers and/or time markers.	Discuss how this scene is connected to literary devices such as plot, setting, character, theme, and/or narrative point of view. Discuss how this scene is connected to society and culture such as race, class, gender, environment, and/or history
At the beginning, 0:02-0:05 they state the budget for the video at nearly 1 million dollars. They then state how they gave it all away and not to tell the label.	My first thought was how much money that really was and how many different ways it could be used. It connects to the theme that giving the money for the video to people in need was far more important than making yet another main stream music video. I am not sure whether the part about not telling the label was a joke, but either way it kind of connects with how big corporations/production companies are greedy in today’s society and have been throughout history.
At 0:58 Drake tells everyone in a grocery store that whatever they load their carts up with is on him and the people making the video.	The music video is set in Miami and this takes place in a local Miami grocery store. It relates to the theme of doing good deeds and paying it forward.
At 1:17 Drake gives a $50,000 scholarship to an incredibly hardworking and determined young woman.	This shows how Destiny James, scholarship recipient to University of Miami, had a similar character to Drake. They are both extraordinary individuals and her hard work was recognized by Drake (he could relate because they shared similar character traits).
At 2:37 Drake donates money to a disabled girl and her mother.	It is beautiful that Drake takes the time to treat the girl as if she is simply a girl; he does not act as if her disability defines her. It relates to the theme of how kindness is everything; more people need to understand that being different is not always a bad thing—just because someone looks different than you doesn’t mean they aren’t normal.
At 4:15 he gives $50,000 to the Lotus House of Miami—a homeless shelter for women and children of the area.	To me, this teaches the children of the shelter that there are kind men out there and that they deserve toys just as much as other kids do, if not more. The mothers who were given shopping sprees were given some faith that their lives were going to be ok and things would get better.
At 5:28 he donates $25,000 to Miami Senior High School.	This shows how important education is despite race, class, gender, etc.
At 3:38 The lyrics go: God's plan, God's plan I can't do this on my own, ay, no, ay Someone watchin' this sh*t close, yep, close	I interpreted this lyric to be the entire theme of the video; Follow God’s plan—it is great. We are successful with the help of our Lord and savior. God is love, God is good.
Other vital lyrics: I been movin' calm, don't start no trouble with me Tryna keep it peaceful is a struggle for me It's a lot of bad things That they wishin' and wishin' and wishin' and wishin' They wishin' on me	These lyrics relate to how Drake has found peace through God, and following his plan. It is a struggle for him to remain peaceful due to all the hate people throw at him.

Summarize your findings

What is the central theme of the story/film? Describe how the writer/author uses creativity to communicate this theme.

The central theme of Drake’s God’s Plan music video is how love is everything and we should love the life we were given and rejoice in it by giving and being kind to others. I absolutely adore how Drake has chosen to fight negativity with what he has found to be his truth—God, love, and generosity. By donating large sums of money and tearing down stigmas of rappers/labels Drake creatively communicates this theme. Love is everything, stop hating and find happiness in God’s Plan.

Describe at least two creative ways you could communicate this theme to your audience.

            One creative way I could communicate this theme to my audience is by writing about it—describing how God’s Plan reinstated my value that love and everything that it entails is what life is all about—and inspiring others to follow in Drake’s generous footsteps.

            Another creative way I could communicate this theme to my audience is through a remake of Drake’s video in my own style. I would compile reasons why life is great and why we should love the life we were given. This compilation would include videos of myself, things that make me love life, my family, friends, and anyone else I could get to volunteer in it. I think it would be a great way to show people the positivity and love that exists around. My intention would be to spread joy through love, considering I do not have the money to do it the way Drake did.

           

Project One—Final Draft

LOVE: Language of Various Emotions

            From the beginning of time, it has been human nature to express, desire, and attempt to understand love. The oldest of all love stories began with Adam and Eve and has progressed into more modern tales (i.e. Romeo and Juliet, A Walk to Remember, etc.). Love is an incredibly complicated topic; after all, what does the word love really mean? There’s self-love, romantic-love, parent-child-love, plutonic/friendship-love, and so on. We meet an individual who we like, begin a relationship with them, and ultimately decide if we “love” them. It’s crazy to think that a seemingly simple, four letter word, can play such a major role in our lives. 

            Have you ever realized how sensual an experience love really is? Our five senses are highly involved in our love affairs. Love involves each sense in so many different ways. It’s something a lot of us don’t realize, I presume because it comes so naturally, however, I believe it is why we desire love. Love awakens or enhances our senses and thus excites our bodies physically and emotionally in turn. Think about it, love can make you feel so alive.

            According to the Dictionary, Love can be defined as a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. If you have ever considered yourself to be in love or to have been loved, I am sure these words spark some sort of image in your head; bringing in one of your senses—sight. Love involves our sense of sight in a remarkable amount of means.

            Just seeing one you love can evoke such joy. If you truly love someone, a simple smile from them can turn a rough day into a decent day or even a good one at that. I have watched firsthand how seeing someone you love can completely turn one’s mood around. I work in a nursing home and one of the most heartwarming sights for me is witnessing residents light up when their family members come to visit. When residents recognize the individuals who have walked into the facility as their loved ones, nothing compares to the elation of mind and body they experience. What’s funny to me, is that although their family members are there to see them and not me, I am glad as well because it is so great to see the ones I care for on a daily basis know they are loved and cherished.  

            Another aspect of our sight involved in love is in romantic taste in looks. Many have a romantic type and when describing this so-called type its crazy to actually think about how heavily this “type” relies on site. Typically, the first thing people explain when they state their type is a physical description—a.k.a. what’s visually pleasing to them. A certain build, eye color, hair color, etc. all things that would not matter if we did not depend on our sense of sight. In contrast, people still rely on their site when describing personality traits in their type. I mean, how do you know someone is really who they say they are if they do not exhibit, for say, kindness, generosity, etc. in their actions and words. If you do not actually see them exhibit your desired traits, how can you be sure they ever will? Seeing is believing (in this case)!

            In conjunction with taste-- as in someone’s partiality for something (dictionary.com) -- comes our physical sense of taste and how it consociates with love. When you love someone romantically the way they taste becomes more and more familiar to you. If you are in love with someone you become fonder and fonder of their kiss and their kiss becomes such a positive in your life. The taste of your lover can be ecstasy.

            The sense of hearing plays a large part in love as well. At the start of our lives, one of the most soothing things to an infant is their mother’s voice. After developing for nine months in their wombs, a mother’s voice can astonishingly sooth a child. The love exhibited by a mother to her child is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. Oftentimes, even when a mother disciplines her child you can hear how it aches her to have to be unkind to one she has endless love for; but, because she has such immense love for her child she knows that showing tough love will ultimately allow her child to grow into the best individual he/she can be.

            When people love each other, you can hear it in their voices. The most endearing terms are shared between those who love each other and just like I discussed with sight, hearing the voice of someone you love can instantly change your mood. In my case, hearing familiar voices of those I know who love me can relieve my anxiety. Coming home and hearing a family member, a close friend, or my boyfriend tell me everything is going to be okay is one of the best things for me. I am a person who needs reassurance and without hearing things laid out for me, I experience a great deal of anxiety. Knowing someone loves you because of the way they speak to you and talk about you is one of the most amazing feelings in the world.

Touch is incredibly important in loving one another. Although, many think solely of romantic-love when they hear the word touch, touch is more vital to all kinds of love than many seem to realize. Almost all humans crave touch. It is practically bred within us to give hugs, to give kisses, etc. to physically comfort and show affection for those we love. Chemicals in our brain play a role in our desire to touch and be touched, however I believe it is more than this, which is one of the main reasons I choose this topic for my project.

Every human emotion can be relayed through touch. Humans need this interconnectedness that touch displays. When words fail or are not enough, touch can say it all. According to Psychology Today, a study performed by psychologist Matthew Hertenstein shows humans have an innate ability to decode emotions via touch alone. The study involved blindfolded individuals and experimenting whether or not they could communicate emotions solely through touch. Seventy-five percent of the time, no matter in which country the experiment was performed, the emotion intended to be interpreted through touch was guessed correctly.

This is incredible to me and proves how love relies on our sense of touch. Without touch, it would be harder to distinctly exhibit signs of love. Love is directly linked to our emotions as our emotions are to touch—thus they all go hand in hand.

The smell of a loved one plays an immense role in love. Humans can recognize loved ones by their smell; Whether that be because of a favorite cologne they wear, a certain brand of shampoo, or just because of their natural scent. It’s funny how we may not even be fond of their scent, but because we love them and use scent as a connection for memory we can remember them/they can come to our minds when we get a whiff of a certain scent.

The best example I have of this is how after losing someone you love, it is so soothing to smell something of theirs. For example, their favorite blanket, a shirt, etc. can bring back so many memories. As one of my sources for this project, I decided to interview my mother and father about how certain scents bring back memories of my sister Brooke. (My younger sister Brooke passed away in 2012 from a rare genetic disorder.)

Both of my parents discussed how a scent from Bath and Body Works --Japanese Cherry Blossom-- reminded them of my sister the most. Any time my parents use that particular lotion they remember all the times they held my sister in their arms. That was Brooke’s signature scent, and even now, six years after she left us, the slightest hint of that lotion can bring back a flood of precious memories.

From this project, I have explored so much about love and how it relates to our senses. I never expected myself to become as interested and emotionally involved as I did with this project. The value of this project I suppose really derives from understanding how lucky we are to have the gift of love. In my eyes, humans are able to use our senses to the best of our abilities through love. Love encompasses all emotions and ties in all of our senses for the most beautiful, eye-opening, and elating experience(s).

Works Cited:

Chillot, Rick. “The Power of Touch.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 11 Mar. 2013,     

       www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201303/the-power-touch.

“Love.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/love.

Urban, Rose M. and Gil W. (Interviewees). Urban, Surena M.E. (Interviewer).

PROJECT TWO

Creating Reasons to Live

            For my project two topic, I chose the idea of Creating Reasons to Live. In order to execute this idea, I made a video compilation of reasons why I live/love my life and why everyone should seek out the positivity in their life as well. Hopefully by creating an uplifting vibe, I will inspire people to be kind and to continue the trend of showing others why they should live, why they matter, and why they are lucky to be here.

            My video has two different songs playing in the background with a slide show of pictures of me, my friends, my family, other families, and other things I like and/or find important/of value to my life and others. I made the video using my iPhone and special effects/editing technology on it.

            The video is a spin-off of Drake’s “God’s Plan”. In “God’s Plan”, Drake gives away thousands of dollars to local charities, shelters, schools/students, and a variety of individuals who are in need; his kindness and creativity sparked an abundance of my own. I appreciated how someone of great wealth and power took it into his own hands to remind the world that love and goodwill should be of the utmost importance. He used a genre stereotypically tied to violence and profanity and made something beautiful. My intentions are to spread happiness and spark a chain reaction of kindness and appreciation for life by creating a video of what God’s plan has been for me so far.

            I began my video with images of my biggest supporters, my immediate family. No one on this planet loves me to a stronger degree than my parents do. My entire life they have gifted me with more than I could have ever imagined, and I do not mean that solely in a physical aspect. They continue to shower me with kindness, positivity and encouragement, and most importantly their teaching. I would not be the strong-willed, kind-hearted, extremely passionate individual I am today without my mother and father.

My parents mean more to me than the world and are one of the major reasons I continue living, and loving life. They give me so much support that I’d feel ashamed if I did not attempt to make them proud. I want to continue on in life and go somewhere in life, to really demonstrate how important everything they have done for me and continue to do for me is to me. I hope that from my video, parents out there gain an understanding of how their hard work does not go unnoticed, even though us young adults may have trouble saying that to their faces.

I then transitioned into pictures with my grandparents. My grandma Sue, from who part of my name was derived from, has always been my rock. Whenever I need anything, something even as small as a baking ingredient, I can turn to my grandma Sue. My grandma Sue is the type of woman that lights up a room when she answers. She is classy, yet silly and I love everything about her. I hope that she stays in my life for quite a few years to come because she is truly a beautiful human and a blessing in my life.

My grandpa Gil, also Sue’s husband, has played a very strong role in my life as well. He is kind and intelligent. He taught my dad so much about the outdoors and instilled a love for the outdoors in my dad, and in turn me. My grandpa is a quiet man yet contains this vast body of knowledge; this fact has always befuddled, yet amazed me. I will always love and cherish the times I spent with my father and his dad outdoors and hope we can continue to do so for many years to come.  

The video then transitions into pictures of my cousins, aunts and uncles, and extended family. I included these pictures because any time I feel down about life I can see them and speak with them and they make me feel important and cherished. They are uplifting and always acknowledging even the smallest achievement of mine. They are a major part of why I love my life; everyone should have a support system like them in their life.

My best friends also make appearances in my video. The blonde in the video, is named Sara. Sara does not share the same DNA as me, however we are sisters. Sara and I met through dance and from the age of toddlers, we have shared an incredible bond. When my sister was sick (before she passed), Sara was at my house almost every day, and if she could not be there in person she texted or called. To this day, if I am ever feeling down about my sister I can turn to Sara and she will know just what to say in order to ease the pain. No words can describe the amount of love and appreciation I have for her, she was definitely a blessing from God and someone who I know will be there for me until the day I die.

My best friend Kate is the brunette in the video. She is wonderful. We met through our high school tennis team and have been close since. Kate would give anybody in need the shirt off her back; she is truly a sweetheart. Whenever I need a pep talk and for someone to lift my spirits, I call Kate. She puts up with my tendency to be slow and I love her for how understanding she is, she gives me yet another reason to live.

My boyfriend Anthony also appears in my video. Anthony Edward is my male best friend and the love I never expected to have. I cannot describe how he makes me feel. He forgives all my flaws and sees beauty in me, that I never knew was there. He is a source of physical and emotional strength for me and I pray we live happily together for many years to come. Because of the bright future I see with him, he gives me one of the most influential reasons to continue living and absolutely adoring my life.

My dog Casper also appears in the video. If you have ever been lucky enough to have a dog as a best friend, then I am sure you understand why. My Casper can instantly switch my mood from awful to joyful. He loves me and my family unconditionally; in my opinion, dogs are a gift from God because no matter how you treat them they love you.

The reason I consider the most important for me to continue living is to honor my sister Brooke and her life. My sister appears in photos with me and also in portraits inside of photos. My sister Brooke only lived to the age of six. She was my angel here on earth; the epitome of beauty and love. I miss her dearly and know that I have to continue appreciating life because we are not all the given the chance to live a long and healthy life. How can I take my life for granted, after watching hers fade away?

Thanks to my sweet sister, I intend on becoming a doctor. Brooke sparked a love for medicine in me and a passion and drive for life that not all are fortunate enough to have. I will persevere through the trials and tribulations of this life because overall the good outweighs the bad. I hope that after watching my video, that everyone will be inspired to remind themselves of reasons why they live and will continue to create a life they want to live.