I think everyone today did a good job. I think my favorites for today would be the presentations on Tao, play, and how a dog can be a best friend. I think the people with presentations that had pictures, music, and their essay was really cool. Overall, I think this project was pretty cool. I enjoyed hearing about what everyone believed in

I think that everyone did awesome today! All of the topics were very varied and personal. I like that everyone was so open and made you feel a connection between the audience. I'm excited to hear the rest of the classes, and I'm relieved that my presentation was over.

For my presentation, I think it could have gone better, but I think I just wanted to speak from the heart and that's what I think I did. I didn't have my pictures connected with my speech, but that was because I didn't know how many personal touches I was going to add to my essay to make it seem like I wasn't just reading straight from my essay.

Good job everyone!

I think that I am good with my audio and my essay. I think I need help with how my page actually looks and how exactly I am going to present to the class. I don't want it to be boring and I want it to be memorable, but I'm not sure how I am going to do it. I just got a random idea to add to my This I Believe tab. I went to a psychic medium and I heard from my Mom-Mom. I could add a clip that showed something personal that she would only say to me to grasp the attention to my viewers.

So far, for my photo essay, I have put together most of the pictures I intend to use for my pictures slideshow. I haven't put captions on it yet, but I have them in the order that I will present them. I just used the weebly site slideshow, but now I might change it to one from SmileBox. I've made some progress on my photo essay thus far.

I looked at "Brazil's Epic Carnival: Scenes from Rio's Sambadrome" for an example of a photo essay. I thought that this photo essay was really cool because it had a lot of bright and fun pictures I believe that it took you through different experiences of Carnival. The pictures were bright and up beat, and made me want to experience it for myself. I think that the photo essay tells a story more through the photographs rather than the captions. It showed the parade, the performers, and the audience enjoying their time. When it comes to pacing, I think that the photo essay was fast pace through the whole essay. Every picture was unique and it made me want to know more. I think the essay was arranged pretty good. The pictures were all very clear and interesting and it made you want to see the next picture. There wasn't much to the photo essays though. I don't think that the captains explained the pictures well enough. It was very captivating, though. When it comes to rhetorical appeal, I think that this photo essay definitely had pathos. You could feel the emotion and feeling through each picture. Some were really happy, and one a performer was even crying. I think this photo essay also has ethos, because it was from TIME.com. The photo essay did have some logos too, because some of the captains gave valuable information about the photos. 

Purpose: Besides completing this project for class, I wanted to get my story out there to inspire people. Everyone goes through tough times, but I wanted them to believe with me that if you just keep smiling you can overcome anything. 

I believe that you should just keep smiling. Those three words are more powerful to me than most. “Just keep smiling” is one of the best pieces of advice my Mom-Mom gave me. She was my best friend, despite the age difference. I could go to her for anything and leave feeling so much better. Our conversations changed over the years because she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when I was a lot younger. Weirdly enough, that was when our bond was strengthened.

            I feel like she is a part of me. Through the years with the awful disease she lost her memory at a very fast pace. I never knew what role I would be playing each day I walked into her room. All I knew was that if I had a smile on my face, it made the experience better. One day when my mom and I were visiting, my mom was putting away my Mom-Mom’s clothes and rambling on about something. As I sat on the bed, my Mom-Mom rolled her eyes. She grabbed my hand and looked at me as if she were completely lucid and said, “You just gotta keep smiling.”

            When she stopped being able to communicate verbally, I didn’t grow hopeless that my best friend could get her message across. I could tell through her eyes what she wanted to say, and a smile confirmed everything.

         So when my Mom-Mom passed away two years ago, I was in disbelief. I went into shock because my best friend was gone, but she was also in a better place now. 

        This past summer my family was put in an awful situation. My brother was in a car accident and was in a medically induced coma for weeks. He suffered from traumatic brain injury and he is still working hard to try and get back to where he was before the accident. I was broken, but held together with a smile. Doctors and nurses all said that he should have died, but I believe my angels in the sky were with him every step of the way. 

         I believe you should just keep smiling. A smile can be a kind greeting. A smile can be a rush of happiness. A smile is so much more than a curved line upon your face. For me, a smile is hope, everlasting friendship, and a belief that something good can always come out of something bad.