Explorations Project
For the explorations project, all Juniors in freestyle were tasked with exploring their passions, related to their selected elective. For my project, I chose to explore and learn skills related to editing films. I decided to explore the adobe application After Effects.
Here is a link to my slides presentation!
Music Recording Project
The objective of this project was to explore all the amazing tools we have in our recording studio to create music. All group members had to record/play an instrument as well as vocals. We also all had to man the computers and controls in the control room.
My group and I were inspired by the song Riptide by Vance Joy. None of us are particularly musically inclined but we all played instruments we felt most comfortable with. I played ukulele because I used to play guitar. Mallory played piano because we learned a little piano together while working on a previous music recording project. Jessie played the tambourine because she has the best sense of rhythm. Together we created an interesting and slightly disturbing cover of Riptide. I'm proud of our collaboration and ability to troubleshoot during the recording session. I feel inspired to learn how to play the ukulele better for the future. Overall, we learned valuable technical skills. We learned how to record the instruments we played as well as our vocals. I think the coolest part of this project was sitting behind the computer and controlling the control panel. I'm super lucky to have been exposed to the awesome technology and tools that were used for this project.
This is what the pro tools session looked like!
Lyrical Essay Project
A lyrical essay blends elements of poetry and prose, often incorporating personal reflection, vivid imagery, and a poetic sensibility to explore a particular theme or idea. We had the freedom to choose any topic for our project. Before starting, we studied lyrical essayists like Maggie Nelson, Ryan Van Meter, Claudia Rankine, Ross Gay, Heidi Czerwiec, and also read creative nonfiction by Ander Monson and David Foster Wallace. This helped us grasp the essence of lyrical essays and generate ideas. I decided to write about the power of our minds and used psychedelic wisdom to convey my message.
You woke up this morning, staring into the abyss of yet another day in your seemingly meaningless life. The weight of monotony and negative thoughts presses down, and you know it’s time for a change, a breakaway from the chains of despair. You check your surroundings, take a deep breath. Youāre ready.
Sprinkle some yellow crystals into your bowl, the ritual begins. Spark the lighter, a flicker of flame ignites the path. Inhale deeply, hold your breath as if capturing the essence of existence, and close your eyes to the world you know.
Watch as your familiar world dissolves like mist in the morning sun. Fractals fill your vision, an endless cascade of overlapping geometry, twisting and turning into exquisite art. A slight buzz emerges in the back of your head, swimming through your brain and whispering out of your ears.
You start to notice the disconnection from your body. You try to move your arms, but they are as heavy as a ton of bricks. You surrender. You let yourself lose control, submit to the experience, and let your ego dissolve like sugar in water. A familiar voice speaks, echoing through the chambers of your mind. Suddenly, everything makes sense, as if your brain has been put through a wash cycle, tumbled through a dryer, and ironed out to perfection.
The words you hear are nonsensical yet profoundly clear. You have never perceived things this way before. Every unrelated thought you’ve ever had blends into a magnificent tree of wisdom. You take a deep breath, a smile spreading across your face, and open your eyes.
Slowly, you start to feel your body again. The strange buzz traveling through your ears transforms into the sweet sound of chirping birds. The fractals dissolve softly, and you teleport back to reality. Everything makes so much sense now. You’ve come back home.
You look down at your phone and begin to write. Words flowing like water from a hidden spring. Enlightened, or so you believe, this magical drug has bestowed upon you the key to understanding. But as you type, the question lingers ā is this enlightenment, or just another illusion in the endless quest for meaning?
You will never find the meaning. There is no meaning. There is only experience. The meaning of life is whatever you make of it. The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ĻĻ ĻĪ® (psyche, āsoul, mindā) and Ī“Ī·Ī»Īæįæ¦Ī½ (deloun, āto manifestā). These substances are not inherently powerful; your brain is the true marvel. Remember, we are tripping every day, navigating the intricate landscape of our minds. By applying the wisdom of āset and settingā to our daily existence, we can transform our lives into a continuous journey of discovery and growth. In embracing this perspective, we realize that the power lies not in the substances we consume, but in the profound potential of our own minds.