My current project in English has been researching and writing articles about some of my ancestors. I have also started drawing out my family tree on a poster. I have not done a poster of my work yet, because all the information is online, and this is a good skill to have for a genealogist or researcher to be able to display their work in an organized way. In the deeds that I have finished transcribing I have taken it to the next level by researching the terms that I don't understand or haven't heard before. Some of these words are words that are no longer used in modern English. Researching these old words will give me the knowledge of how language and the way people talked has evolved over centuries. I have also been writing short articles about some of my ancestors. I gather all the information I can on them and write it in the way I have read other historians or researchers write about people's lives.
My photography project is doing critiques on pictures that I find interesting by photographers. I critiqued three pictures by Annie Leibovitz that I thought was interesting and thought that had a certain meaning to them. I wanted to know how to use my camera more effectively so I researched the features on my camera and what they mean. I have uploaded the pictures I am proud of and ones that I could have improved on. Next quarter I want to continue critiquing new artists work that I find interesting or ones that I don't like or understand. I also have entered a picture that I am proud of in the Smithsonian 14th Annual photo contest.
In ASL this quarter I went to a soup festival that was organized by my ASL teacher. This was good exposure to the deaf community and made me more inspired to learn this language. We are making progress in being able to communicate something if we really needed to in conversation. I am working on my fingerspelling with a new resource that I have found that spells random word and you type what the word is. I usually watch two Bill Vicars a week before my meeting on thursday. I have been finding this effective especially if we go over the stuff we saw on the video. I have been trying to do more of this than usual because I want to be at a higher level when school ends so I can attend a class on ASL that is a higher level. I think if I keep studying the way I am I will be able to achieve this goal.
This semester I have felt very productive and proud with all of my projects. I am happy about everything I have learned this quarter. Something I think I have done well and improved on this quarter is receiving feedback from my advisors and using their ideas to improve my studies. This quarter has gone well for me and am excited to begin next semester.