Project Three Volunteer Log

Project Three Volunteer Log
Eckerd College

Name of Organization: Happy Workers


Location of Organization: St. Petersburg, FL


Volunteer Opportunity: Spend time with young children


Review of Volunteering:

What did you do? I worked with the 2 year old. For the first hour they were napping and then one-by-one they each slowly woke up. When they were up I played with them until it was time for them to be picked up.



When did you do it?
Wednesday December 3, 2008 12:00pm-3:00pm


What did you learn? I learned that every child grows and develops on their own time and how much peace is enforced within the Happy Worker community.


What are your future plans? I like working with Happy Workers and hopefully I will have the opportunity to volunteer with them again.

Reactions to our readings

There were a few stories that I actually enjoyed reading this year and did not make me fall asleep why reading them. To name a couple, I enjoyed the Metamorphosis because the story had meaning behind it which we realized as we read. I also enjoyed a Good man is Hard to Find. That was my favorite story we read because the plot kept my attention the entire time. I did not know what the man was going to do at the end, if he was going to kill everyone or keep the grandma alive because she kept telling him that he was a good man.
Indian Camp was not one of my favorites, but I can't say I hated it. The story really did not do much for me and it was a little sad. The reading that I hated the most was the Bell Jar. The plot and details were a little disturbing and sad. I would have definitely enjoyed reading more happier stories and ones that did not drag on and on.

Last Vogler

Rhianna Lebedz
November 24, 2008

Vogler, Christopher, and Michele Montez. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. Boston: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. pg. 293-312.

Summary

In 'The Writer's Journal', Vogler begins to summarize his whole book. He states that the Hero's Journey Model is "the accurate map of the territory one must travel to become a human being" (293). He also says that the Hero's Journey and the Writer's Journey are the same in that we all experience the tests, trials, ordeals, joy, and reward of the Journey (293). Vogler then goes on to say that words have the power to hurt or heal us and that writers have the potential to be healers through their work (294). Not only are writers healers, but they are Shamans as well. They create space and time and travel to worlds of their own imagination (295).
For the last section we read, Vogler explains how "Stories are Alive". He says that stories have the healing power and can help us through tough times (299). He feels that stories have an agenda and that there is something on their minds in which they want to share with us and have us look at them much deeper than just words on paper (300-301). Vogler then continues on and explains how wishing plays a big role in the hero's journey. He says, "Be careful what you wish for" because a wish is a powerful act of the imagination (309). Sometimes, in good storytelling, the audience will make a wish along with the hero (306). Good stories have the effect that will have the audience feel as though their wish can help the hero in many ways and have them hoping that it will come true.


Reaction

Now that we are done with reading Vogler, I will forever have a Hero's Journey embedded in my mind, not saying if that is a good or bad thing. These last two sections that we read were definitely my favorite. The reading dissected the Writer's Journey and explained the last elements of what the reader should understand about the Journey. I liked how Vogler brought up the point that a hero will wish for what they want at that moment, but they learn to see what they really need (306). I feel that this is true for anyone. Sometimes we will wish for something, but we really don't need it. Somewhere down the line we learn to see what is important and what we truly need.

Questions

1. Do you agree that the Hero's Journey model is a map of the territory we must travel to become a better human being?
2. Have you ever been hurt or healed by someone's writing, like a book or an article, etc.?
3. Have you ever wished for something that came true, and when it did you regretted that you wished for it?

Reflection/Action

1. I have started to look for places to volunteer at. I know the place where I volunteer as well as my interview, will not exactly relate to my topic because I am finding it difficult to find somewhere to volunteer that relates to human trafficking. Some how I am going to have to find a way to relate the volunteering and my interview to human trafficking.

2. By Wednesday the 26th I am hopeful that my volunteering and interviewing will be completed. Over the Thanksgiving holiday I will then work on my visual.

3. My planning is contributing to reaching my goals of completing Project 3 on a timely fashion.

Four Modes: Paragraphs

Four Modes

Book: The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek

The Natashas is written by Victor Malarek who illustrates the harsh realities of human trafficking throughout the world. He touches base upon many countries that are involved in the sex trade, including America. This book relates to my topic because throughout my paper I explain the realities of human trafficking in North Korea and ways that one can help fight for the freedom of many young girls, as well as boys. This book will help educate many people of the sex trade who have no idea what human trafficking is. There are many people who did not know that modern-day slavery is in existence and is threatening to many people.


Film: Human Trafficking (2005) by Christian Duguay

There were not any films I could find aside from Human Trafficking which was made into a lifetime movie. However, this film is about 4 girls, all from different countries, who are abducted and forced to work in the sex trade. These girls are brought to New York and forced to prostitute or strip. I'm unsure if this is based on a true story, but it is very common for women to be trafficked into New York and sold around the tri-state area. This instance has happened in my hometown in New Jersey, where Russian women were forced to dance in a strip club in my town. Trafficking is kept such a secret that no one knew what was going on until the owners were caught, and my town is only 2-square miles. Films on human trafficking are a great way for the public eye to become knowledgeable about the sex trade without having to read.


Song: Constance By: Mr. J Medeiros

Constance is a hip-hop song that tells a story of human trafficking. In the first verse Mr. J tells a tale of a girl who was sold by her father for sex. They are in the Philippines and the man who bought her for $6 a visit is going to make a porn so he can make a profit. In the second verse the story goes on about how he will make a profit from the porn. Constance is another work of art that is helping to spread the knowledge about the sex trade. Porn is watched by many people and there is no telling how old the girls are and if they were trafficked for sex. The ideal audience for this specific piece is anyone who feels the need to engage in watching porn. In the first verse Mr. J said the girl was 13, but it will be ok for people to watch if they believe she is 18. It's hard to imagine how many porn sites are taking advantage not only of girl 18+, but also of underage girls.

Visual Piece: "Human Trafficking Installation Piece"

This visual piece displays a bed spring with a bra and ladies shoes. Next to the piece is the wording "Bed of Traffic" with a map of the world next to the phrase. This piece gets you thinking and gives you a visualization of the reality of the sex trade. Seeing a bra on a bed spring, shows only that the reason the bra is there is because of sex. The visual is not an ideal setting for sex, so it shows that this person was most likely forced to have sex. This piece is trying to raise awareness and hope that while looking at the visual, you will obtain some knowledge about human trafficking and its horrors. "Human Trafficking Installation Piece" is an ideal way to shower the observer the unsettling setting of the sex trade and prostitution.

Vogler 10

get out of jail freee!!

Missing Work - Four modes & Bell jar

Four Modes

Book



The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade by: Victor Malarek

Movie



Human Trafficking (2005) by Christian Duguay



Visual Piece



"Human Trafficking Installation Piece"





Song



"Constance" By: Mr. J Medeiros


The Bell Jar

In chapters 19 & 20 of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, we read of 2 young girls trying to live with emotional strain in an asylum. Esther will be attending college in the winter and wants to do something that will make her feel normal again. Esther left the Ordinary World when she entered the asylum and by sleeping with the professor that she just met, she was hoping to be Resurrected before returning back to the real world.
Esther has a run-in with her Tests, Allies, and Enemies when she finds out the Joan has hanged herself. Esther questions if she had anything to do with the death of Joan, but is reassured by her Dr. This was a depressing story to read and see how these girls were struggling to recuperate in this asylum. There is only the question of, "will Esther end up back in the asylum?", and if she does "how long until her insanity returns?".

Extra Credit

Week 1: FreeRice

I couldn't get enough of FreeRice so I decided to donate 2000 grains of rice. I learned that I knew a lot more words than I thought I did. The game was fun because even if you did not know the word you could somehow take an educated guess. What I really like about FreeRice was if you got a word wrong, they would give the answer to you and then retry the word after a couple of times. Others should play FreeRice not only because the game is for a good cause, but because you can expand your vocabulary and learn different words that mean the same thing.

Week 2: Six Word Memoir

I posted my six word memoir which was "I would be anywhere but here...". I picked this memoir only because I get homesick at times, but in reality I love it here at Eckerd. With this website you can just have fun thinking of things that sum up how you are feeling, or words that are put together to be goofy. Everyone could do this one and have fun with it and maybe learn something about how they are feeling.

Week 3: Story

Get out of jail free

Week 4: Web of Language
"Illinois bans male pronoun"

For this extra credit we were to read a story about the use of language. I specifically chose the article about using the male pronoun when referring to both male and female, because it brings up the issue we had with Vogler. In Vogler's book when referring to the hero he will sometimes use she/her which took many of us in the class by surprise because the words were uncommonly used. This website was interesting and everyone should browse the articles to see what kind of controversy we have over many different languages as well as our own.

Week 5: YouTube

Get out of jail free

Week 6: Random act of Kindness

I liked the act of kindness website because it showed how people can do little things for people to be a better person or to just have fun doing something nice for someone else. All of these acts of kindness were fun and selfless. I liked the Drive-by Flowering act of kindness because it was free and for everyone and the flowers are a nice gesture to shower an individual that someone is thinking of them. I think if I had some free time I would get together with some friends and do the same random act of kindness because it seems fun an awesome way to do something nice for somewhere. Everyone should do some kind of random act of kindness even if it is for just one person who deserves an act of kindness.

Week 7: YouTube links for project 2







Week 8: E-mail one of your sources

Get out of jail free


Week 9: Halloween

THE BANANDIT!




For halloween i was a banana bandit = The banandit. I believe that I took the role of the Trickster because the whole costume was funny. I was not only the Trickster, but also the Shadow because I had some secrecy and darkside to me with my mask on. 8-)

Week 10: Vote

On November 4 I voted for the first time which was exciting. With Obama as the president elect I really do hope we see change because our country is in need of change. I'm excited to see the transition that our country will undertake within the next four years. Voting was important for everyone to do and I hope that everyone went out and voted. Voting is a right that everyone should take advantage of.

Week 11: Eckerd review

get out of jail free

Week 14: www.1000000monkeys.com

get out of jail free

Vogler 9

get out of jail free.

Vogler 8

get out of jail free :)

Peer Review: Strengths and Weaknesses

S: the subject can spark many paragraphs.
W: Try to narrow down the points you are trying to make about trafficking.

S: Good intro and topic.
W: focus on 3 topics so you're not all over the place.

S: interesting topic and unique.
W: might be a little broad.

S: great topic with a good start.
W: lack of observations and support.

S: unexpected topic, interesting, keep with the topic.
W: remember to stay focused.

Vogler # 7

Rhianna Lebedz
October 21, 2008

Vogler, Christopher, and Michele Montez. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. Boston: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. pg. 143-173.

Summary

In stage seven, after "Tests, Allies, and Enemies", the hero approaches the inmost cave where they will encounter wonder and terror (143). Here is where the hero makes final preparations for the adventure (143). This is the preparation stage right before the Ordeal (145). While making the approach you will encounter obstacles, illusions, and threshold guardians. When the hero is trapped and cannot turn back, is when the "approach to the Inmost Cave" is complete and they can move on to the "Ordeal" (152).
The "Ordeal", which is stage eight of Vogler's interpretation of a Hero's Journey, is where the hero will face their greatest challenge and hardest opponent (155). Heroes will always face a death and rebirth stage whether it is physically or mentally (155-156). This death and rebirth stage changes the hero (156). Vogler describes the Ordeal in Star Wars when Luke Skywalker appears to have drowned in a sewage, however out of no where he comes up the the surface and shows that he has cheated death (162). The most common Ordeal that the hero faces is confrontation with someone on the opposing side (163). In the Ordeal stage the hero comes face-to-face with death and usually will walk away to talk about it (172).


Reaction

Vogler continues to explain the next two stages of the Hero's Journey. The Approach to the Inmost Cave was really boring to read. I felt as if this stage dragged on with no real point to it. The Ordeal however was a little more interesting because you learned that in this stage the hero faces death and is like they "dance with the devil". I did like how Vogler explained that everyone is a hero in their own story, whether it was a villain, a lover, an Allie, a guardian, or even a sidekick.

Questions

1. Can a hero still turn back once they've "approached the inmost cave"?
2. Give an example of the inmost cave from a movie.
3. In your own journeys, what was your greatest fear?

Rhianna Lebedz
October 14,2008

Vogler, Christopher, and Michele Montez. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. Boston: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. pg. 127-141.

Summary

Stage five of The Writer's Journey is "Crossing the First Threshold". This is where the hero will commit to the adventure (127). The hero may experience an external or internal event which will lead him or her to commit to the journey (128). At this time they are approaching the threshold and have a run-in with the threshold guardian (128-129). The hero must find a way around the threshold guardian in order to continue on with the journey (129). The hero then crosses into the unknown world which takes courage for him to do (128-129). After the hero takes this "leap of faith", there is no turning back and the hero must only hope to continue on safely (129).
Vogler's sixth stage is the run-in of the "Tests, Allies, and Enemies". The hero is tested to see if they are ready for much larger ordeals which will follow (136). Along the way the hero may make new friends who are referred to as allies (137). These allies can also be sidekicks who ride along with the hero and support their adventure (137). The hero also comes across an enemy who may perform as the Shadow, Trickster, Threshold Guardian, or even the Herald (138). It's common that the hero will have a rival who most of the time will want to defeat them in competition (138).

Reaction

Vogler described two very important stages in this section. Both of these give excitement to the story and get the plot rolling with adventure. I don't feel that the sidekick plays a major role in the journey. He is just someone there to get in your way. At times he may help fight off enemies, but serves no real other purpose. The only time Robin served a purpose to Batman was when enemies were around. I do however like the idea of having a rival. I believe this rival helps push the hero to better themselves and push them to be stronger.

Questions

1. Which has more impact on the hero, an internal event or an external event?

2. Will the hero always have both an ally and an enemy?

3. Does the ally ever become the enemy?

Vogler annotation

Rhianna Lebedz
October 6, 2008

Vogler, Christopher, and Michele Montez. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. Boston: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. pg. 107-125.

Summary

In the next two stages, Vogler explains 'Refusal of the Call' and 'Meeting with the Mentor'. 'Refusal of the Call' lets the audience know that the upcoming adventure can be risky (107). There's a few ways that a hero can refuse the adventure, which is avoidance, making excuses, or being challenged by the Threshold Guardian (108-111). Sometimes refusing the call can be positive if it helps save your life (109). The fear of proceeding with the adventure or challenge that lies ahead, is usually overcome with the help of the Mentor (113).
Vogler then went on to explain the stage of 'Meeting with the Mentor'. The mentor is there to protect, guide, teach, test, train, and provide for the Hero (117). Sometimes the hero and the mentor run into conflicts with one another and is usually because the hero is ungrateful or violence-prone (121). However, the mentor can turn into the villain and not all mentors can be trusted (121-122).

Reaction

My favorite stage so far is the 'Refusal of the Call' stage because this one adds a lot of drama to the adventure. This stage makes the audience question if the hero will continue on or refuse the adventure. I really like how Vogler is using The Wizard of Oz as an example for each stage because it's such a well known movie and almost everyone can follow along with the stages as he describes them.

Questions

1. If the Mentor is always wise, then do you think Wilson in Castaway can serve as the mentor, or is it someone else?
2. Do you enjoy stories more when there is a refusal of the call or when the hero gets right into the adventure without and hesitation?
3. Will the hero sometimes not refuse the call because they think the adventure is not dangerous or has no risk, or is it because they have no fear of what lies ahead?

Kafka Quiz

1. Connect the Ordinary World and the Call to Adventure to your reading of Book 1 of _The Metamorphosis_ Explain the connection.


In Book 1 of The Metamorphosis, Gregor wakes up and is not his self. He realizes he has turned into a monstrous vermin. Throughout the story he talks about how it was before he ended up this way and how he wishes he could just go back to the way it used to be. This stage of his life is the 'Ordinary World' where everything is how he knows it and it's what he knows up until the point he is turned into a big. It is his 'Call to Adventure' hen Gregor has to struggle to get out of bed, use his new legs to walk, and open the door. He had to learn to walk on his new legs and find a way to get off the bed and to the door to open it.

2. Are there any social issues being critiqued in the story? How does "The Red Scare" relate to Kafka's work?

The social issues being critiqued in the story are economics, labor, and poverty. Gregor was living with his parents to go to work every day and help support his family. He has never missed a day of work his parents were suspicious when he was late.
When ww2 was over people were left without jobs and caused economic difficulties during the red scare. Americans were afraid that the communists were going to take over America. This relates to the metamorphosis because Gregor and his parents, as well as his boss, believe that this new life as a bug will take over his life and he will not be able to work again and help provide for his family.


3. What does Gregor turn into in the story?

Gregor turns into an insect.

Project revision and editing

Revision
1. Make sure the reader knows who is talking in my story and what they are talking about.
2. Connect my paragraphs from one to the other so they make sense.
3. Re-read my Journey a few times.

Editing
1. Work on my fanboys
2. Change my 'things', its', 'this', etc.
3. Edit my sentences to have a better flow when read.

Vogler Annotation 83-105

Rhianna Lebedz
September 30, 2008

Vogler, Christopher, and Michele Montez. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. Boston: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. pg. 83-105.

Summary

Vogler begins by describing The Ordinary World. He says that is is the "world of common day" (83). He goes in to explaining the beginning process of a Journey. Before anything you need a title to show the nature of the story. Next, you need an opening image which will tell you were the story will go (85). Some stories have a prologue which will give the context of the drama or give a background to the story (86). The author should make the ordinary world different from the special world so that it gives it a good contrast and so that the hero goes through a big transformation (87). All heroes have an inner and outer problem which helps make a good story (88). The best place to state your theme is when you're talking about the ordinary world (95).
In the second stage, Vogler describes the Call to Adventure which gets the story "rolling" (99). The adventure comes in to form of a message whether it is from a messenger or maybe a dream (100). Stories can have more than one call to adventure which adds more excitement to the story (103).

Summary

Vogler broke down the chapter of the Ordinary World to give the reader a detailed description of the process. It starts from the very beginning when the hero is introduced and they make their first impression, to when the hero is encountered with the Call to Adventure. In the second stage Vogler did the same as he did with the Ordinary World and described the Call to Adventure in detail. He shared the numerous ways that a hero could receive their call and that not all the calls were positive. I liked that he included questions at the end of each stage because it gets you thinking about your story and ways that you could improve your journey. We've been hearing about the different stages of the journey that Vogler has stated, so it was finally good to read in detail what the first two stages were all about.

Questions

1. Do you think it is better off to have a prologue in your story or not include it at all? Why or Why not?

2. In your own personal Journeys that we wrote, are you able to determine what your inner and outer problems were?

3. One type of call to adventure is the reconnaissance. Can you think of any stories where the villian makes a survey of the hero's territory?

Annotated Bibliography

Vogler, Christopher. "Threshold Guardian, Herald, Shapeshifter, Shadow, Ally, Trickster." The Writer'sJourney: Mythic Structure for Writers. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 49-80

Summary

Christopher Vogler explains the last six archetypes throughout pages 49-80. The Threshold Guardian is a powerful guardian at the threshold of each gateway to a new world. They are to keep the unworthy from entering (49). Threshold Guardians may represent obstacles that we face today which include bad weather, bad luck, prejudice, oppression, and hostile people (50). Their job is to challenge the heroes with a test. Next is the Herald, which issue challenges and announce the coming of significant change (55). They also provide motivation for the hero. The Shapeshifter often changes appearance and mood. They may mislead the hero and their loyalty is often in question. The shapeshifter brings doubt and suspense into a story (61). It's often found in male-female relationships.
The archetype Shadow represents the energy of the dark side, the unexpressed, unrealized, or rejected aspects of something. Vogler states that the Shadow can be all of the things that we don't like about ourselves (65). They bring conflict for the hero who allows them to bring out the best in their selves, however, they do not think of themselves as villains (66). Another archetype that Vogler explains is the Ally. This archetype can be a companion, sparring partner, conscience, or a comic relief (71). They "humanize" the heroes and bring out their feelings, which can help them be more open. Allies can be sidekicks, non-human, animals, or even from beyond the grave (73-74). The last archetype is the Trickster who has mischief and the desire for change (77). They bring the hero and the audience down to earth. Vogler describes Tricksters as catalyst characters which mean that they affect the lives of others but however, they do not change.

Summary

At the end of the section about the Trickster, Vogler explains that archetypes are ways of understanding the function of a character at a specific moment in a story. I like the fact that he says archetypes are a way to "free writers from stereotyping" and that they help make our stories realistic and true to the wisdom of myths. I feel that somewhere down the road we will all have interaction with more than one of these archetypes in our life. Little did we know that many of our favorite stories and films have many of these archetypes in them and that the main character is on a journey only to later on interact with one or more of these archetypes.

Questions

1. Do you think that Vogler believes the theory of the animus and anima?
2. Who are some of the allies in your life?
3. Who are some famous Allies, other than the ones named in the book?

The Disney character I would be..

If I was a Disney character I believe I would be a dwarf from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was a tough choice between Happy, Sleepy, and Bashful because all three describe me best. But if I had to choose one it would definitely be Sleepy. Even though he is always tired and sleeping, Sleepy still manages to get his work done in the coal mine.
I'm like Sleepy because I am very busy throughout the day and find myself to become very tired. A usual day for me consists of school, soccer, and school work. I'm exhausted by the end of the day and can't wait to go to bed. When 5:00 practice rolls around I find myself just wanting to lay down in the locker room and take a quick nap. Despite being tired most of the time I still manage to get my work done and I enjoy those days where I have nothing to do but relax. Maybe I have energy from power naps.. the kind that Sleepy is sometimes caught taking.