Introduction

In this project, I reflected on my thoughts and priorities. Afterwards, I brainstormed in order to figure out how I should go about changing some attributes about myself.  I then went on to explain the importance of obtaining certain habits.

Thinking In Writing

After looking over my thoughts through out the day I was able to point out some of the thoughts that are always floating around me even when I fail to acknowledge them. On my day of my recorded thoughts I attended a auto show in Philadelphia. My first finding was that this was not at all my typical day of thoughts with a exception of a few topics. Something I fail to acknowledge a lot of the time is the fact that I am very concerned for what my future holds. It’s pretty difficult these days to survive and the thought of the possibility of not amounting to anything is very frightening. There are a handful of college graduates in America with degree’s but cannot find a job within there major and some are forced to work at very low paying jobs because of this. I am very concerned about this because it can very easily become a reality even for me and it would absolutely have no reflection on me, it’s just a reflection of the times we are currently living in. Another thought I found myself being consumed by is the thought of not believing that I could be successful in college. By successful I mean meeting my own expectations. It’s very effortless to lose focus on what is your overall goal in life. I tend to briefly forget what steps I am currently taking to complete that goal and by not completing these steps I could forfeit my goal. I also found myself thinking about irrelevant topics to my life. I would even say that this thought sometimes discourages me from doing what I need to do daily.

I would like to start thinking about steps I could take every day to become more self disciplined. My priorities have to be straightened out and I need to be able to acknowledge what is and is not important to consume my concerns with. I will also like to start making it a habit for me to do all things school related first before doing the things I want to do for the day. Lastly, I would like to find a way to look at everything in a more positive way and be able to change my perception of situations because every situation is what we make of it.

Thinking Visually

1: Officer Ramos was a member of the church I have attended since I was born. I think a lot about his tragic death because it hit close to home considering I knew his family and that I want to also become a Police Officer. These ribbons are all over my neighborhood to show support to the NYPD.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/16408719527/

2: I think a lot about the financial stability I want to have when I get older and have a family of my own. I understand that the people of America’s biggest problem is not knowing how to manage money efficiently.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/16614872521/in/photostream/

3: My passion for motorcycles is out of this world. I consume a lot of my time thinking and working to get a motorcycle in the near future.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/16616012875/in/photostream/

What I want to focus on

4: For some reason I am not able to put in the amount of time I want to in studying for the police officer exam. Between school and working, by the time I come home I’m drained. But I find myself thinking a lot about becoming a police officer and I do realize I need to make the time to study for this exam.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/16428839598/in/photostream/

5: My dog represents my family. My family is my rock and my support. Between everyone’s busy lives its hard for us to spend time together.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/16616038875/in/photostream/

6: I should be focusing on working as much as possible but that can only happen if I manage my time well by completing assignments whenever I can so that I could work the 10-12 hours a day doing plumbing with my step father on my off days from school.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/130746921@N06/15993881804/in/photostream/

Thinking Reflectively

It’s year 2020, and I am about to turn 26 years old. I am a Police Officer here in NYC. I moved out of my mother’s house about two years ago and so much has changed. My first two years on the job was a challenge. Being a rookie and walking the beat is not the best part of the job, in fact its far from it. Everyone has eyes on you, and in a way you are looked down upon as people do look for you to make the mistakes most rookies make. In this letter I am going to be pointing out to myself from 5 years ago what I should change about myself or work towards in order to achieve all the plans I had more efficiently. There are going to be ways to prepare yourself for the future by prioritizing college, family, exercising more intensely and managing your time. Focus less on the person you are now and allow the plans for your future become the center of your attention. You may think you prioritize these topics enough already, but I challenge you to be more critical with yourself to prepare for what the future holds for you. It is only going to get more difficult before it gets any better for you, I encourage you not to let any detoured paths you take disappoint you.

Before discussing what needs to be done in order to achieve your goals efficiently, you should take the time to understand all the aspects of being a Police Officer. I do not regret this job but there are a features of this job that should be realized, the pros and the cons. What I would recommend you to do is to acquire a relationship with a retired or current Police Officer from Christ Tabernacle. You are surrounded by very good men at church and you should take the time to meet them and allow them to be a mentor for you as you are becoming a young man quickly. Look back at picture number one, the death of Police Officer Ramos in December of 2014. If you can remember it was very difficult on his family and members of the church. By having a mentor, it will allow you to ask all the question you may have. For example how do Police Officers separate some of their personal issues from their job? How do they deal with the death of a fellow Police Officer? You should even find out how to manage yourself when others are not cooperating with your requests. Being a Police Officer is a difficult job, there is a lot that is unseen and unnoticed. Understanding as much as you can now will allow you to do your job well later on.

Now, my other suggestion to you is to learn how to manage your money so that you may live comfortably when you get older. It may not seem as urgent as I say it is but it’s important to build habits that will benefit you in the future. Picture number two is a representation of how important is to manage your money now. Once you have a car, motorcycle and place to live it will be difficult to save money. You are now able to understand the worth of a dollar and how strenuous it can be to earn money. As you may also know, NYC is not becoming any more easier city to reside in. In fact, they say for someone to live comfortably in NYC their yearly income must be about $175,000. Between the salary of a Police Officer and $175,000 there is a huge gap so I suggest you take this seriously. You have been told persistently to take the time to watch some of Dave Ramsey’s video’s on youtube by your mother and uncle. He encourages people to get out of debt and living within their means. Living by this is the reason for his own financial success. A good start for you will be understanding the difference between what you need and what you want. By doing this, you will be doing right by your future family.

Time management could be arguably be the most ideal skill for anyone to learn. While in college you had a wake call in your second semester. Trying to balance responsibilities at home, school work, working and down time it got pretty challenging. Within a month of starting your second semester you found yourself not prioritizing and slacking off your academics because at times college was discouraging. The load of work you were receive was nothing compared to high school. For that you have the NYC public schools to blame but you can not allow it to define who you are. If you are capable of managing your time, more responsibilities will be fulfilled in a reasonable amount of time. The only one able to invest in you is yourself, the public school system fell short but you have to find ways to fill that void. As silly as it may seem to have each hour of your day on a schedule, it is the only way to move forward at a decent pace. Also, consider technology will continue to advance and you will find yourself being consumed by it without realizing it.

Lastly, and most importantly build a unbreakable relationship with your family. The fifth picture which is picture of Ares is representation of your family. It is very effortless to take them for granted. Undeniably they are the only people that will always been  in your corner cheering you on. Not only will your immediate family strengthen you but so will your extended family. As time goes on, it seems as if the cost of living in NYC gets the best of everyone. The thought of the amount of support you will receive will make everything you have ever dealt with worth it. Many New Yorkers are prideful for no good reason. The environment of NYC makes people feel as if they have to do everything on their own. As young as you are, you have already developed that pride and it could sabotage you in the end.

Take these few tips I leave you with and take it to the heart. Strive for what is yours, you and you only determine your future. At times you may want to settle for less because the school work could be difficult. I may sound cliche for saying this because I know everyone is telling you this, but all this hard work will pay off in the end. Keep the thought of your future family near because it will help clear your mind when you have thoughts of giving up. Instead of dwelling on the strenuous obstacles, grow and learn from them. Those very same obstacles are the exact occasions that will shape and mold you as a man. For what it’s worth, have more confidence in yourself because you are capable of more than you know. Part of the reason you do not have faith in yourself is because you tend to look at past experiences and look upon yourself negatively. As long as you are doing that, you will not grow as you would if you looked for the positive in each disappointment you face. Seek advice from those who are qualified to mentor you. Specifically those who are accomplished or content with their own current success and their knowledge will point you to your own favorable outcome.

Reading this letter made me realize how serious these topics are to me. Even now, these are attributes that I think I should grasp because I am somewhat aware of what I need to work on. By doing so I have be my worst critic. I intend to buckle down and work towards these topics so that I may have good habits for my future family. Every experience I face will be looked at differently, in hopes that I become a positive person.

Ashley Perez

English 1101

Project 1

What do I want to tell myself five years from now? In five years I will be 26 years old. If we were living in some dimensional world where I could actually talk to my 25 year old self I would say I hope you are doing better than your past self. I would say you made a lot of mistakes in the past that you could make up for or hopefully already have. Also I would tell myself to strive to do better and not to doubt myself the way you did when you were younger. I would also say you should’ve followed your true pursuit and if you didn’t that you still have time to do considering I would only be 26 years old.

In this project I was told to set some time aside for a ‘‘DAY OF THOUGHTS’’. About halfway in my day of thoughts I realized how young minded I am. I didn’t want my recorded thoughts to be unauthentic so actually did write what I was thinking every hour on the hour. My first thought for that day February 7^th 2015 was I have to get up and make it to my five hour class. My second thought was maybe I shouldn’t go cause I’m so tired and I won’t be able to concentrate but if I don’t go ill have to wait and I hate being a procrastinator. My third thought was glad I made it to my 5 hour class, even though the instructors a complete asshole. Fourth thought it was god I cant wait to get out of this class, it seems like a waste of money. Fifth thought was boy this instructor is a jerk and he wouldn’t let me eat in his class, he actually made some sarcastic remark about only being able to eat in his class if you’re diabetic. My sixth thought was as soon as I get home I want to pass out. Seventh thought was yes almost time to leave. Eighth thought was about the instructor again, he said he would let us out early, he lied. Ninth thought was I’m finally out of this class and on my way to my bed. Tenth thought was now all I have to do is get some driving lessons and take a road test and I’ll finally have a license. Eleventh thought so sleepy can’t believe I was able to open my eyes long enough to write this. Twelfth thought was I’m so hungry, I’m going to order some ribs. Thirteenth thought was those ribs I had were really good. Fourteenth thought was I must’ve been really tired because I fell asleep and didn’t throw away the containers before I fell asleep. My fifteenth thought was there’s never anything on TV on the weekends. Sixteenth thought was I can’t wait to quit my job at Wendy’s and receive my can license so I make some real money. My last thought of the day is I think I’ll attend church tomorrow.

My day of thoughts actually had nothing do to do with my visual thoughts. My visual thoughts were deeper, more about my future. My days of thoughts were non sense.

1)https://www.flickr.com/photos/131792890@N03/16814364305/

Current thought # 1:

This picture is from a couple of weeks ago, I was at my internship for my certified nursing assistant course. Being a certified nursing assistant isn’t something that I wanted to do as a child it’s something I realized would be easy for me and I would make a lot of money for a person who lives with her parents and has no responsibilities. My thought for this picture was I can’t wait to be a ‘CNA’ and be able to pursue my real dreams as an actress.

2)https://www.flickr.com/photos/131792890@N03/16813308572/

Current thought # 2:

This picture is from my birthday week. I had just turned 20 years old, young and dumb as my older friends would say. My thought for this image was what’s in my future. I wasn’t doing anything at that time, just some stupid part time job. I didn’t know where my future was headed. College wasn’t on my mind at all, and my job was just that a job not a career anything I could be proud of. If my acting career doesn’t go as planned what will my future be like.

3) https://www.flickr.com/photos/131792890@N03/16813332682/

Current thought # 3:

This is an image of my college logo. The reason for this image is because I find myself thinking about school a lot, wondering will I pass or fail. I’m confident in myself for my English and my psychology class but math has never been a good subject for me and unfortunately it’s a mandatory course. My thought for this image was will I succeed or will I have to repeat that course, I get discouraged easily so if I do fail that math class which is kind of not an option for me since I need it to take my major I feel like I might just drop out all together.

4) https://www.flickr.com/photos/131792890@N03/16607163887/

Future thought # 1:

You’re probably wondering why I used this picture twice, there is a reason. The reason I am using this image again is because I feel in my future even though I won’t still be a certified nursing assistant it will be something that crosses my mind more than it should considering I will be a successful actress. I honestly feel people usually want something that they should not have. As badly as I want to be an actress, I sometimes wonder is that really what I need or what I want. My thought for this image is is what I want really what I want.

5) https://www.flickr.com/photos/131792890@N03/16607190887/

Future thought # 2:

This reason for this image is because in my future I believe I will live in a house as nice as this. My thought for this image was when I reach my goal and when I am actually able to afford a house like this, so big and beautiful will I be happy in it. Will I feel fulfilled? I am actually not really sure.

6)https://www.flickr.com/photos/131792890@N03/16607218857/

Future thought # 3:

This image is me in the 10^th grade. The reason for this image is because as adults we always dwell in the past and wonder what could have been. I sometimes think about all the mistakes I made and all the wrong choices I made in high school, and that was only a few years ago. My thought for this image is will I still think about my teenage self as an adult who made it so far from those corrupted times.

Reflection

I am Ashley Perez from Brooklyn, New York. I’m a 26 year old successful young actress. I live in long beach, California now and I have a lot of important things to inform you on about your future in order for you to try and put things in perspective and maybe fix whatever you need to so you can be fulfilled in all your endeavors. I have never been the type of person to analyze my actions to the way I go about because I am so self centered. So take some time out and listen to what I have to say to you because it will be beneficial to you in the future.

I had to observe the things that I thought about in the past, present, and the future and how it reflects on me as a person and where my thoughts would eventually lead me and my future endeavors. Ever since I was a young woman I always knew I would be destined to do great things. Somehow I always seem to doubt myself in many different aspects of my life and a lot of other situations for some deeper reason that took a lot of time and patience for me to understand. When I was a young woman I went through life half stepping into everything I did, I was a major procrastinator. I have always wanted certain things in life but never attempted to put in the full effort in to achieve my goals. From my future self to my present self I know that you are a very confident and strong person, however I know you may have many questions that can benefit you in the future.

I am a famous actress now and I am unhappily married to Antwone Perez who is a cosmetic surgeon and we have three kids, two boys and one girl. Their names are Jacob he’s five, Enide’s three, and Tommy’s six months old. I honestly did not want any kids, but my husband was adamant to build a family together. I felt he just wanted to secure his future with me since I am the main bread winner. In the first year of our marriage he was unfaithful and had gotten me pregnant with our first child Jacob. I did not want to be a single mother as I had just began my acting career so I forgave him.

In the past I made a lot of bad decisions that I thought I couldn’t recover from. Reflecting on my past I actually realized that those choices made me who I am today. Certain situations made me stronger and more resilient to the life choices I made. When I was a teenager I dropped out of high school and began hanging with friends basically being a loser. I had my first reality check when my best friend died of drug over dose, she had been laced with a drug called crystal meth, it would not have killed her, but she had a heart problem so she ended up dying. I still did not start getting my life together until my ex boyfriend also died. He was gun downed in an alley somewhere, it was ironic because I actually did not care when he died. It only made me sentimental because I felt like I knew too many people that had died.

Some advice I would give to you is not to trust a lot of people that you did in the past, keep your circle small because a lot of the people you trusted in the past ended up screwing you over. I am assuming by now you are smart enough to realize who you can trust and who you can not, but hey what do I know I married a bastard. I am pretty sure by now you know true potential. Another thing I should tell you that would have benefit you more and made you achieve your goals quicker is to stay in high school. Number one thing you should not have started drinking and smoking so early, because Jacob seems a little slower than the other kids and he’s always starting fights with the other kids and is very aggressive in school but that’s another story. I learned a lot from them; even so I am still a neglectful parent. I do not really enjoy being around my kids, that is probably why me and my husband hired three nanny’s including one that looks exactly like me just in case one of the kid’s have a nightmare in the middle of night and want a hug from me . I spend most of my time with my husband Antwone and the only thing we have in common is our fake love and all the prescription drugs we do together. Reflecting on my life now I realize I should not have gotten married at such a young age. I feel trapped sometimes when we are together.

The life lessons that I learned, were not only from my kids, but from other people as well. The way I was brought up was to always respect your parent’s and your elders. My kids are respectful and have good manners but I can feel the resentment. I sometimes wished I cared enough about them to get to know them better but I have not. I do not know why, It could be because I resent them so much since I never wanted them. My career is the most important thing to me, it has always been. As a child I did not respect my elders as well as I should and my mother always told me that when I had my own kids they would treat me the same way. I do feel that I got some bad karma with my kids, not in a sense where they disrespect me, but they do not care about me just as much as I do not care about them. To know my kids feel unworthy of my love makes me feel unworthy of myself. Therefore I must change my attitude towards them and life in general. We do not have any kind of relationship; they are mostly close with their grandmother and their father. The most important thing in my life is my acting career; it is the only thing that gives me any joy. The last time I remember really being happy was when I was a certified nursing assistant. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I was so care free at that time, no kids, no husband, no paparazzi, and no stress. I sometimes wish I could just go back.

Reflecting on my past made me realize that it is not all about me, but my kids and family. I should not have been selfish but more caring and nurturing to my kids. Also I should have been more productive as a parent and a supporter. I thought I was the best parent because my kids got everything they wanted, but what they lacked was the emotional bond between a mother and her child. I have learned as a young adult that I can be pretty naïve, but I am striving to be the best mother that I can be to my kids. It is not too late to win their affection. Being a mother and an actress is a full time job that I was not prepared for and did not take serious , but I did take the initiative and necessary action to maintain them both and now both me and my family are finally happy.

• Introduction
• The purpose of this project, is to develop our critical awareness. First of all, I spend a day writing down what I have been thinking about. Secondly, I spend another day reflecting my thoughts visually: taking photos around the city. Thirdly, I begin thinking ahead to my supporting details and brainstorming in general ideas of my day of thoughts. Therefore, I did this project because it was necessary to talk to my present self.

• Thinking in Writing
• More often, I think about far away looking at myself changing. Progressing, growing up or moving forward to life. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing or who I am with, I would see myself in the future. However, family problems take my attempts holding me to the past. Sometimes, this is what stop me of seeing myself in the future. Sometimes, It erase or change the image in my mind. Here is when I blame destiny until the day I hear ” we create our own destiny”. As an immigrant, I know that I have a lot of opportunities. As time passes, passion and vision becomes one.

• Meanwhile, for me success is the result of the amount of time I spend pursuing my ambition. “Does that mean that doing what I have to do because I have to is my destiny or if I stop receiving what life is giving me and choose my own path is also my destiny”. In other words, for this thought I was thinking that destiny and future might be the same. I give little attention to myself. I rather give more attention to other people than me. I choose to satisfy people with my time and I think is because I am to good to say no. However, I got it do the opposite in order to see that change on me. For example, ” why does it feel so wrong to reach for something more, to wanna live a better life and what am I waiting for?”. In my mind, this thought should receive less attention because it will just keep me stuck in a circle with the same answers. Thus, time is the key to a better landscape of myself and my life.

• Thinking Visually

1. https://www.flickr.com/photos/130623173@N03/16564508312/in/photostream/
2. This Mosaic that I found at 86th street and Lexington subway station around 8pm, reflects my current thoughts. First of all, it reminds me of the artist’s color wheel that I bought for one of my classes. Secondly, for me this design of an eye reflects my future of seeing myself as a designer. Thirdly, in this mosaic we can see different shapes and colors specially the different animals around the white. Therefore, this photo that I took reflects a part of my current thoughts.
3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/130623173@N03/16379332769/in/photostream/
4. Also, I took this photo of a poster at the train station on 125th street and Lexington. This represent my current thoughts of becoming a graphic designer because it illustrates the type, vector images, and the nike logo. Besides that, there’s a complex design of a city created in a praline system of semi dark and light sides.
5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/130623173@N03/16565640865/in/photostream/
6. This poster at the train four, is one of my top current thoughts. This is how I see myself in the future. In other words, this poster represents successful students at cuny. Therefore, in five years I also want to see myself graduated from cuny.
7. https://www.flickr.com/photos/130623173@N03/16565643675/in/photostream/
8. This is another poster at the train four. It represents the different races of people taking the train. There’s repetition and contrast in colors. So I compare this to my thoughts because people are looking at different directions and that vision is uncomfortable sometimes.
9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/130623173@N03/16379341429/in/photostream/
10. I took this one at Jay street subway station. There’s only two colors black and white and it contains three bulbs. For me, this bulbs represent my brain where all my thoughts are.
11. https://www.flickr.com/photos/130623173@N03/16379351989/
12. This photo is my daily life routine. At first it was hard to climb the stairs but now it is easy for me. Every morning I see it as a challenge, everyday I want to climb it in less time. I took this photo with snapchat near my house and add a little decoration.
13. https://www.flickr.com/photos/130623173@N03/

• Thinking Reflectively
• On the first page of my story when my life first started, the future seemed dark with no glory. Being from a poor, small village in Dominican Republic, I thought my destiny was set until I learned that we create our own destiny. As Nelson Mandela once said “There is no passion to be found playing small in setting for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living”. In other words, we should not stay in the same spot if we have the chance to move on.

• My name is Miguel Santos, a graduate of the New York City College of Technology. Time goes fast and now I am working at a studio as a graphic designer in 2020. In this job, I work in a group creating layouts, designs, ideas and helping around as a visual communicator. I turned 24 years old this July but I still live with my mom and siblings in Manhattan. In this essay, I am making an argument to myself about how to change my current thoughts and actions in order to achieve and see the progress I want five years from now. In this argument, I am going to discuss how to manage my time, increase my skills as a designer, and how to maintain a stable life as an adult. These are the three topics that I will explained in the following essay.

• First of all, time is essential to build myself for the future. The more time I spend doing my work the efficiently I will get it done. I remember what inspired me to manage my time during the first semester: Gladwell’s theory of 10,000 hours in his book “Outliers”. According to Gladwell, it takes roughly ten thousands hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field. Therefore, Instead of doing everything random, planning is essential to start managing my time. A lot of frustration is usually the result of poor time management because of doing everything at the same time. I need to create a schedule that allocates time for exams, reports, essays and recreation.

• This is productive, because I wake up at 7:00Am and go to sleep around 1:30Am which means I spend a lot of time awake. However, half of this time is wasted using social media and sometimes doing nothing or complaining of feeling tired. In reference to Thinking in Writing, “I choose to satisfy people with my time” meaning that it doesn’t matter if I am doing my work, I will go out, if a friend or family member needs me during my time. I chose this thought, because it is not a matter of self discipline for me in order to be fair. Therefore, This thought reminds me to avoid all interruptions. Thus, achieving my goal for this semester of completing tasks on time.

• In order to improve my skills as a designer, it takes a countless number of hours practice and patience. I am attempting a major in communication design, where I have to direct the viewer’s attention. Equally important, communication is key which is one of my biggest weakness. A good communicator persuades with his work and gives a variety of ideas by speaking to the clients or audience because the work is already visually there. Therefore, I have to look around since there are great designs everywhere around me. In reference to Thinking Visually, I took a photo of a poster at the train station on 125th and lexington that represents my current thoughts of becoming a graphic designer “because it illustrates the type, vector images, and the Nike logo”.

• I chose this thought, because it teaches me that I have to learn to identify good designs, study it’s theory to find the message it convey, and that I have to find my own style that I will feel good with because sometimes there are different roles depending on the project I am working on. Another way to increase my design skills, is to join the design club at my school and take advantages of any other events around my community. Experience is everything, instead of brainstorming at the computer, I have to use paper and pen to sketch my ideas and spend minimum two hours just on drafting and craftsmanship with the work. As the professor explained at the beginning of the semester, good communication allows any business to reach its goal and avoid misunderstanding keeping in mind that communication is rhetorical and multimodal. Finally, I always need to spend some time reading the design elements until reaching my own definition while the ideas flow.

• My own definition of being an adult, are responsibility and self independence. In other words, I need to consider myself matured, not only physically but psychologically and financially. However, it is very difficult to maintain this stable life. One responsibility, is to be the caretaker of my parents. Although, now I’m in no rush to become an adult because I am taking advantage of my mom’s guidance, housing and rules for as long as I can. Therefore, I have to start socializing with the environment and each new people I meet.

• Happily, my ambition is the same as confucius’s idea “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”. So, I portray myself in a senior graphic designer since I love the visual presentations by designing art. I will enjoy the moment I am in and embrace my life when i am adult. Right now, I should get my driver’s license and be mindful that having connections is necessary in the adult life. Also, Love play a big role and find it early, its productive for a better future life since it motivates a lot. As one can see, maintaining a happy life as an adult is a long process of self awareness. Thus, time is important for a better landscape of myself and my life.

• These are great advices, I am putting it into action. I am more dedicated to myself than usual. Right now, I already decrease half of the time I spend in social media and is like seeing my life flashing before my eyes. Instead of spending time with people of my age, I would like to have an adult friend from who I can learn from. Besides that, I am going to tutoring and office hours to engage more and benefits from time. In addition, I need way less money than I think to survive, stop obsessing about it and just spend less. I feel happy now, creating art every once in a while. Remember, that I always wanted to go back in time and now I did. In other words, not regrets I am always here in my hundred percent. As one can see, a true personal advice are the best lessons to move forward in life.

• Introduction
 
In this Project, I was able to reproduce some positive thoughts that I have accumulated within my “Day of thoughts”, which enabled me to plan and think with a brighter focus going into the future. In addition, I have divided this project into the following categories: Introduction, Thinking in Writing, Thinking Visually, and Thinking Reflectively, to give you a clear understanding of the steps I took.

• Thinking in Writing 

“Day of Thoughts” is a valuable exercise that helps one realize that you could not begin to imagine the amount of thoughts and tasks that you can do within a day without making notes. This is a wonderful exercise teaches you so much about yourself. To add icing to the cake, this kind of writing is like a diary.

As I was wrapping up my “Day of Thoughts” on February 8, 2015, I stopped and read the five pages of what I had written so far. Surprisingly, the amount of thoughts surprised me. I could not believe it. Nevertheless, while I was going over my notes, I came across some patterns in my thoughts that were occurring at a regular interval. It appears to be, every time I found myself trying to focus on what I needed to accomplished for that day, I was interrupted every 30 minutes by either an incoming called or someone needing my assistance. These interruptions caused me to think: “Why every time I find myself trying to focus on my studies or try to get my work done, my phone rings?”, “Why can’t I just win the lottery and moved far way?”, and “I wonder if I’ll will be able to finish doing all I wanted to fulfill today?”

“Why every time I find myself trying to focus on my studies or try to get my work done, my phone rings?” Time is a very important factor in life and yet many people just do not respect it; at least other people’s time. As an example, I try my best to manage my time wisely so the day will not slip away. I would normally separate my family time from my school’s work time and my chores time from my relative’s time. Yet, at the end of the day, I am still expected of to do favors at any given time.

The smell of fresh air, the sound of the wind blowing through the top of the tall coconut palms, and the amazing scenery of the beach behind the back yard of my beautiful uniquely design house are all visions I get whenever I asked myself, “Why can’t I just win the lottery and move far away?” Moving somewhere far is a thought that would strike me whenever I am interrupted unnecessary by relatives and others and I cannot seemed to find enough time to do what I have to do. In addition, I believe that moving far away to somewhere new and not having be bothered by relatives, friends and, others can turned out to be a good thing at times.

When I thought to myself, “I wonder if I’ll be able to finish doing all I wanted to fulfill today,” I was frustrated with the fact that to fulfill a day’s work and not being able to do so is frustrating, especially when there is a deadline. While I was doing my “Day of Thoughts,” I was distracted on countless occasions by my mom, dad, siblings, or two of my friends. The funny thing was that they all needed me to do something for them even though they were fully aware that I was busy getting my project done. For example, my mom was calling me after 10:00AM that morning to take her shopping and my sister wanted me to braid her hair that afternoon.

In the end, instead of me asking myself, “why every time I find myself trying to focus on my studies or try to get my work done , my phone rings,” I should have put my phone on silence or turned it off until I was through studying.
• Thinking Visually 

“I wonder if I’ll be able to finish doing all I wanted to fulfill today.” Trying to fulfill a day’s work and not being able to do so could be frustrating, especially when there is a deadline. This project shows the drawings of a plan and section for my Building Technology 1 class that has to be complete with 2 hours.

“What my next drawing project is like?” This image is the lobby in the Voorhees Building that was assigned to my class as project “A” starting on February 28th, 2015.

“I hope Professor Gordon likes my house design.” This image is a house that I am presently working on in my design class. It is a glass house design for a computer engineer, his wife who’s a painter, and their two children.

“Types of projects I would like to be involve with in the future .” This image is a CityTech building that is presently being constructed opposite 300 Jay Street (Namm building).

“Why every time I find myself trying to focus on my studies or try to get my work done, my phone rings?” This image represents some of my text books that I have to study for this semester. They require a lot of my time and effort. Yet, many people just don’t respect that time is a very important factor in life; at least other people’s time.

“I’ll like my office to be here after I am through with school.” This is an image of Freedom Tower that I always admired and would like to have an office there sometime in the near future.

• Thinking Reflectively

From my future self to my present self,
I know that you are a very strong, healthy, physically fit, and a talented drafter/designer. In addition, you have questions about what our future will be after you are through with school. Moreover, you have concerns about whether you would find the right job. Present self; do not be too worried about what is forthcoming, for I am about to give you insight into our future.

Now, it is the year 2020, and I am an architect and I am presently working for William Rawn Associates as a junior architect in suite 14 D, Freedom Tower, New York. This company is one of the best architectural firms in New York. They offer great benefits, they are environmentally friendly and they are well organized. Also, I am working on some great projects, such as designing schools, hospitals, and commercial buildings.

It is really a pleasure to work here. In order for us to attain these achievements, there are three thoughts you should give serious consideration to be successful. These thoughts are not what I originally wanted to use as my day of thoughts, but I believe that they are more suitable for this essay. First thought: “Where you would like your office to be after you are through with school?” Second thought, “Types of projects you would like to be involve with in the future.” And, final thought, “What your next drawing project will be like?”

Present self, since you were a young child, you have always had positive thoughts about what you would like your future to be. As I remember, one of those thoughts was “Where you would like your office to be after you are through with school?”

Present self, I must say that I am so proud of you for having such a terrific thought towards our successful future. I say this now, because I have come to realize that there is potential as an architect. For example, you can work for any architectural firm, or once you can master all the software that requires getting the job done in a professional manner, become your own boss and dominate the architectural industry.

Present self, this is what I need you to do. Knowing that you are pursuing a degree in Architecture Technology, and you are in your third semester at City Tech College, please make every effort to pay keen attention to the remainder of your courses, especially your major courses, including design, building tech, site planning, and structures. Present self, the classes that I mention above are necessary for achieving our brighter future. In addition, try to master the software, such as, AutoCAD, Rhino, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Revit, and other software, because you knowing them will be an asset to your success. Also, please make as many notes and videos to keep for future reference, because they will help your memory, when you are studying, and increase your designs techniques as you move towards your goals and throughout your life. .

Finally, instead of you working at the nursing agency Partners In Care, try to get a part-time job at an architecture firm as a drafter or designer, because the experience you acquire there will be useful when you transition from City Tech College to NYU to earn your masters degree. Moreover, these things will get you to where I am now and take you beyond.

In the streets of New York, almost every few blocks that I walk, all I could see and think about is the different kind of building projects that are being erect, that I designed. Present self, this reminds me of the thought we had in our third semester as an Architecture student, upon observing the construction of a City Tech building, opposite the Namm Building at 300 Jay Street. That thought was, “Types of projects you would like to be involve with in the future.”

Present self, it brings so much tears and joy to my life each time I see buildings that I designed glowing through the streets of New York, because I know of the struggled that we have been through to get here, and now that I am here, everyone likes my work, including my boss. Also, our architects friends, we have back home in Georgetown, Guyana.

Present self, even though we have made it so far, I still believe that there is so much more that we can do for ourselves and other parts of the world. Think about what kind of designs we can do for our country, Guyana, and other Caribbean countries.

Present self, in order for us to explore the third world countries, I would like you to keep in contact with our architect, and engineer friends from our hometown, because they have friends within our government that can help us to get acres of land and other resources that we will need. Moreover, they have friends in other parts of the Caribbean that can help us productively towards becoming successful.

Casinos, Skyscrapers, housing schemes, hospitals, and my own homes are all projects that I am working towards being erect in Guyana and in other Caribbean countries. Present self, all that I have mentioned above was originated from our final thought, “What your next drawing project will be?”

Present self, remember, Guyana is 83,000 sq. miles and it has plenty of undeveloped land and reserves that need the right kind of development. The skills and knowledge that we have attained over the past years, and being aware of the state of our country, I believe that we can be a great asset to its development. And, assist in bringing it to the standard it needs to be, because if we do not try to help who will, and besides, I believe that our government and our people will be impressed with our design techniques.

Present self, in addition, to all the projects that I have stated in sentence one in the first paragraph, we can use those projects to develop our father’s 45 acres of land to start with. Those building can be the beginning of a well-developed Guyana. These buildings will show our people the kind of designs we produce, as well as the quality of work they should be expecting from us. Furthermore, as they view the buildings, they will also be experiencing the interior and exterior spaces.

In conclusion, living and going to school here in Brooklyn, New York has been a great experience for me, because being here in America has made it possible for me to pursue my dream in Architecture Technology and to become one of the best architects in the world, and to view and understand another part of the world. Also, being here has exposed me to things that I thought I could only see in the movies. Such as, the beautiful sceneries of skyscrapers, bridges, landscape designs, The Bull of Wall Street, The Statue of Liberty, and the other places that are too numerous to mention.

As I remember, since in my early childhood I always had a passion for sketching anything that I found to be interested, or designing dollhouses and sneakers. Then a thought came to me “Knowing that you like designing dollhouses, you should become an architect, and to try to make a difference in Guyana.” Since then, I spent quality time focusing on what I needed to do in order to make that thought a reality.

Here I am today, attending City Tech College and working very hard to achieve my Bachelor Degree in Architecture Technology so, that I can transition to graduate school to get my Masters, and become the architect that will make a huge difference in my country, Guyana.