Introduction

For the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to reflect on my thoughts and plan on how to direct my thoughts towards my future career. This project allowed me to take a step back and actually see how I think and what my thoughts are focused on. At the end, I realized that my thoughts were very random and not all of my thoughts are relevant to my career. However, my thoughts are focused on big ideas and topics that are important to me which I believe will help me develop my personality as well as enable my future success.

Thinking in Writing

Friday Log :

6:30 ish – should I get up now? it’s too early but I cant sleep.

7:00 – I love cheerios. I should watch a movie or should i just finish all my homework so i don’t leave it for Sunday? ehh..I’ll just watch a movie.

7:30 – Movie!!

8:00 – I have to grade my students paper for the tutoring center! stop the movie!

8:30 – Grading. I think grading keeps my mind working. it’s good for me.

9:00 – it’s so boring grading! but I have to do it!

9:30- finally finished grading. what can I do next?

10:00 – I should finish reading my book. but lets see what’s going on in Facebook..

10:30 – I miss high school. teachers there let you off easy which isn’t good. students struggle in college because its so different from high school teaching.

11:00 – thinking of drawing a new portrait of one of my idols iisuperwomanii

11:30- I honestly really need to gain more confidence and try to find myself. need to know more about who I am and what I really want in life.

12:00 – I don’t know if graphic designing is for me because it’s so competitive. there’s so many creative people out there.

12:30- thinking of changing my major to become a registered nurse. the feeling of knowing you’re saving people’s lives would be great. I would want to know that people in need of help look up to me.

1:00 – I need to find a way to eat healthy. I’m way too small for a 18 year old.

1:30 – My book for English class hasn’t arrived yet. I need it for Monday! I hope I can share with someone for now.

2:00 – I wish I could help all the people in need out there. you don’t really know what this person may have gone through.

2:30 – Got to go tutor the little kids. I like teaching.

3:00 – 6:30 – creating tests for my students is hard work! the upcoming tests are getting harder and harder each year!

7:00 – I need to have a full meal but I feel like having fries and soda..

7:30 – I wonder how people who make funny vines get their ideas. they really go far to show something funny. but it makes people laugh so I’d call it a talent.

8:00 – I’m not sure how to finish my art project. lost the sheet for my measurements!

8:30 – time to catch up on my shows!

9:00 – I sleep too early. I don’t think I’ll be able to stay up when I need to study for finals! this is bad.

9:30 – I wish I could dance.

10:00 – I really need to do good in all my classes. I want to make my parents proud. they’ve worked really hard to raise me. Enough of thinking about life. I should sleep.

Day of Thoughts: Saturday, September 27

9:15 – I was supposed to wake up early today! Damnit! I have to go to the post office now to renew my passport. ugh why do I always leave everything for the last moment!!! I have today and tomorrow for hw. watch me leave it for tomorrow….

10:00 – its interesting to see so many kinds of people on the train. I wonder what their occupations are. there are a lot of unique people out their. unique personalities interest me. uhh why is this creep staring at me?! ok look away.

10:30 – this worker at the post office is really rude :/

11:00 – cant even say anything right now. I did not know they did not take credit cards at the post office and I had no debit card or cash. I have to come back later on this week. my morning has been wasted!

11:30 – thank god I’m noting down my thoughts for today. had a really bad weekend, didn’t think I’d do it. but I have to retype this on openlab!

12:00 – I should do my hw right now no time tomorrow. but my best friend wants to hang out. I’ll do hw later. I’m going to quickly run to her house to watch a movie! yay!

12:30 – loving the movie so far and the food

1:00 – the Bollywood movie we’re watching is so sweet. only if things like that occurred in

1:30 – the movie was great. now time for a second one! should I go home and get started on my hws? its okay I got all day tomorrow.

5:30 – got caught up in the movie! forgot to note down my thoughts :/

6:00 – why am I laying down? get up! get up! I walk to the refrigerator but close it and come back. these vines are so addicting!

6:30 – thinking of opening a new page on fb where I will post some of the little artworks I’ve done. I need a really catchy name though..im not so good at that.. lets see what my friends say.

7:30 – I honestly feel if a guy loves a girl that means he’ll respect her way of life. if she’s a good girl he shouldn’t try to change her to what he wants her to be like. relationships are way too complicated.

8:00 – so I didn’t do any of my hw yet. this break went by really fast.

8:30 – some people need someone to help them take a step back and tell them to breathe and live for once!

9: 00 – I think Facebook is where all the nocturnal humans live lol

9:30 – dinner! no matter how much I eat I never gain. which is an advantage but I’m too tiny!

10:00 – doing this project for English really reminds me of how much I actually think. wow I think about a lot of stuff. What if we were to write what we thought of every minute? wow that’d be crazy

10:30 – so many people texting me.. so many notifications!

11:00 – I play too many games on my phone and this phone’s battery dies too fast

11:30 – I remember from psychology class in high school. our brains combine different kinds of memories in our brain to create a dream. no wonder I have such weird dreams!

12:00 – sleep

Thinking visually

Working on my Raster & Vector Graphics class homework.

The finished piece of my first art project.

My drawing of an eye.

Me watching a YouTube video of a magician helping a homeless veteran.

Thinking Rhetorically and Reflectively

At the age of eight, my family and I migrated to the US in hopes of a better life. I come from a very small, not so wealthy and densely populated country known as Bangladesh. Growing up in an underdeveloped country and then moving to a developed country was life changing. It was like a whole new world. This affected the way I viewed life and the way I carried myself before and now. Many people in Bangladesh struggle but here it’s all about freedom. This advantage always made me want to do something more and something big using my artistic talent. I wanted to be successful and end poverty and make my country a better place. I’ve recently started college at city tech and my first project for English was to reflect on our thoughts for a few days. After examining my thoughts, I argue that my current thoughts are random but they allow me to grow and think freely.

One of the many thoughts that I’ve reflected on was related to what I would want from the classes that I am taking. On my post I wrote,” I don’t know if graphic designing is for me because it’s so competitive. There’s so many creative people out there.”(Rahman,”Working on my Raster & Vector Graphics class homework”). One of the classes was Raster and Vector Graphics where we learn to use Illustrator and Photoshop. It is a very long class and there’s a lot that you have to take in during that one class. While thinking about this class, I began to question weather I really wanted to do graphic designing. I love drawing and everything about it fascinates me but I keep thinking of how much I enjoy it. I realized that if I wanted a career in graphic arts, I’d have to be very serious and I would be only doing things as someone else wanted them to be. I wouldn’t be able to create something out of the random and the joy I get from making something with my bare hands would be lost. I am stuck between pursuing a career in art while being serious or keeping it as one of my special talents and as a hobby so I can enjoy it. Thinking of all of this, a thought came to mind that if I really was sure I wanted to do graphic designing I wouldn’t be questioning myself. I am not a professional yet but I know what I want to do with my talent. My talent describes me and its a part of me and I don’t want to sell that to a job that may or may not make me happy. In the future, I want to be happy and successful.

Another thought I reflected on was “I’m not sure how to finish my art project. Lost the sheet for my measurements!”. (Rahman, “The finished piece of my first art project”).Thinking of how specific my professor was with the project, I think it was hard and it didn’t let everyone show how creative they can be. We were only allowed to use four squares all of the same size to show what the words bold, congested, playful, and etc. means in art. After we were done, the professor was very strict with the grading as well. I believe that when someone puts their best in to their drawing, the drawing is the best they can do and its perfect for them.

Another thought that I had during my graphic principles class was that why does art have to be perfect? I understand the measurements should be exact and the way you do it should express an idea clearly, however, what you make or paint has a different meaning to everyone. People look at it differently than you do and that’s why others should understand how you chose to express yourself with the artwork. When all the students finished the project, everyone had similar work because there were so many restrictions set up. Mostly, everyone had the right idea but the best were chosen from the artworks and others showed no importance. I realized then that, that’s how Graphic designing would be. Any job is stressful but if you are trying to please someone through art, they should have an open mind which may not happen all the time.This may lead to many times where I will feel like giving up and I wont be happy. Learning to express yourself is important but people will always misunderstand you.

While watching a video about a magician helping a homeless man, I thought ” I wish I could help all the people in need out there. You don’t really know what this person might have gone through.” (Rahman, “Me watching a video of a magician helping a homeless veteran”). In the video, the homeless person was a veteran who wants to make people smile. It’s very hard for me to not give them money because I know they may misuse the money for drugs but they need to live. We cant just assume they will use it in a wrong way. We need to do something for them and try to give them a second chance in life. If we don’t do it, who will? We need to stop passing our responsibilities on to the next person. This really got to my head and I thought why poverty exists even now? So many of us can keep people off the streets and maybe try to help others to get back on their feet. However, those kind of people aren’t around anymore. We are so busy in our own lives that we forget many people need a hand and that someday it can even be you. We have many opportunities in America that lets you get up on your feet. There are tons of jobs, even if its something small, that get you started. We need to step up and show others the importance of life. Some people get off track but that’s because we had influential people in our lives to guide us while they didn’t. So we should reach our hands out and try to guide those people to make a change. If I had the power, I would help everyone as much as I could. It’s sad how we let poverty grow and only give importance to people who are higher than us. We get so caught up trying to reach higher that we forget that we also start from the ground just as the others.

Of course homework is not fun and I have complained many times about it but when it has to do with sketching, its not homework. It is a great feeling when you realize you just hand drew an image that was in your head and that you gave life to an idea. I drew an eye and made it in different shades of green and blue to symbolize my love for plants and the earth. This reminded me of why I wanted to go for graphic designing in the first place. Despite the negative sides to it and not being sure if a job in that field will make me happy, I know I’ll be able to draw, develop many ideas and skills that I can cherish for the rest of my life. (Rahman, “My drawing of an eye”).

I am still undecided about my major and I have yet to experience the many things that I am capable of doing. My personality and who I am as a person drives me to success. I am sure I will be very successful in whatever I put my mind to. I believe my strong beliefs, they way I view life, and my background will definitely play a huge role in discovering who I am meant to be in the upcoming future. I may have to change some of my views, take up many challenges and will be disappointed and put down but I know I’ll gain more confidence as I begin to understand more about what I am doing. I am happy about the way I think because it lets me have many options open for me. At last, it’s all about being happy with what you have accomplished by yourself.

Work Cited List

Farzanarahman ( Farzana Rahman). “Re: Project 1: Thinking in Writing.” Open Lab. ENG 1101 D346 English Composition 1, FA 2014, 5 Oct 2014. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.

Rahman,Farzana. “Working on my Raster & Vector Graphics class homework.” Flickr. 5 Oct. 2014.Web. 6 Oct. 2014.

Rahman,Farzana. “The finished piece of my first art project.” Flickr. 5 Oct. 2014.Web. 6 Oct. 2014.

Rahman,Farzana. “My drawing of an eye.” Flickr. 5 Oct. 2014.Web. 6 Oct. 2014.

Rahman,Farzana. “Me watching a YouTube video of a magician helping a homeless veteran.” Flickr. 5 Oct. 2014.Web. 6 Oct. 2014.