Blog 26: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement
What are you most proud of in your 2-Hour Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
I am most proud of my product, because it is the result of the best answer to my essential question, and has helped improve my life and lifestyle.

(2) Questions to Consider
a. What assessment would you give yourself on your 2-Hour Presentation (self-assessment)?
P+
b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?
P+

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?
What worked well for me was the 30 minute lesson, Independent components, and interview 3.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?
If I was under the same circumstances and could not find a mentorship, I would get more articles of research to help drive me towards my answers, and apply the knowledge to my lifestyle.

(5) Finding Value
How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.

It has been helpful because it has given me the experience to know that I can reach my fitness goals, and how to do so. I have lost 23 pounds since the beginning of the senior project, however, I am currently borderline overweight. I will continue to use the knowledge from my senior topic in order to place in the "normal" BMI category. 

Additional Post: Two Hour Lesson Plan.

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Blog 25: Mentorship

LIA Response to blog:

Literal
· Log
· Carlos Partida (626) 374-0054

Interpretive
What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
I'd like to think the most important thing I have learned from this experience is the significance of consistency.  All of the students have gone a long way since the day I got there. The training is insane, and the fact that they are persistent and always come back really helped with the results they obtained. The consistent training did not only help with changes within their body, but also with their fighting strategies and techniques. I would also like to mention the fact that they use little to no equipment for training. They use resistance bands, gloves, and pads. That's it. Most of the workouts are done using body weight, and it shows that if someone really is dedicated and determined, they can find a way to workout without expensive equipment. I really liked that aspect of training. 

Applied
How has what you've done helped you to answer your EQ? Please explain.
Unfortunately, I got my mentorship really late in the game. I already had my answers to my essential question, which is, "What is the best way for an overweight teenager to reach a healthy weight?" However, I am extremely glad of the fact that it reinforces my third answer, "making a fitness plan and sticking to it." Mondays and Wednesdays workout arms or legs. They alternate. Saturdays are always glove work. Although the eating portion of a fitness plan was left up to each individual, their training was the same, and you could tell who had completed their duty of eating a clean diet, and who had not. The training made sure they had all of their body worked out, both cardiovascular and resistance training, and recovery days. Many of the overweight beginners that became involved with the program at the same time I started my mentorship, are well on their way towards a healthy weight. 

Blog 24: Exit Interview Questions

(1) What is your essential question? What is the best answer to your question and why?

• My essential question is "What is the best way for an overweight teenager to reach a healthy weight?" My best answer is "to make fitness a lifestyle" because it incorporates the benefits from my other two answers which are "a combination of a low-calorie nutritious diet, and an exercise regimen" and "to make a fitness plan and stick to it" and additional benefits as well. By making fitness a lifestyle the person will lose weight, get the most out of each workout and meal, and be able to manage diseases from the result of obesity/overweight. 

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

• First I had to figure out what I wanted my essential question to be. I thought about the obesity epidemic in America, and injuries, and weight loss - something my family and I struggle with. So, I decided to make my essential question personal. I thought about myself, an overweight teenager that wanted to be healthy. With a few rearrangement of words, my essential question became "What is the best way for an overweight teenager to reach a healthy weight?" My mentor, Valerie Flloyd, led me to my first answer,  my independent components reinforced my third answer, but the entirety of my senior project showed me my second answer was the best way for an overweight teenager to reach a healthy weight. Losing weight is a long process. Someone who is 50lbs overweight will take more than six months to reach their goal weight, if they keep a strict diet and exercise regimen. If the person reverts to their old lifestyle, then they will regain weight. Fad diets and/or "quick fix" plans set people up for failure. Teenagers with diseases like type 2 diabetes, that resulted from the excess in weight, will be able to tame their diseases and live longer.  My answer is reinforced through these sources: 
• Healthy Weight Loss & Dieting Tips
• Why Fitness is a Lifestyle Not a Diet
• Mrs. Michelle Burton: Interview 1

(3) What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

• I could not find a mentorship. I was able to find a mentorship over the summer. It started out as personal training sessions that I had to pay for, however, I asked her if I could do my mentorship with them. As the fitness manager of the club, she could pull some strings and get me a mentorship. However, she decided to go back to school and pursue a career in medicine; therefore, I was left without a mentorship. I looked at different places and they all wanted to charge me or had liability issues. I looked around with my Tae Kwon Do connections and got a mentorship. 

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

• My two most significant sources have been my third interview and an article from Helpguide.org.
• My third interview is important it was extremely in depth and since I didn't have a mentor at the time, all the questions that could not be answered through research were answered. I was able to remove doubts and questions from my project. 
• Helpguide.org - Healthy Weight Loss & Dieting Tips, was one of my most important sources. There's six tips to help people lose weight, and common reasons for their discouragement. It helped with my three column chart, second independent component, and jump start other research. 

(5) What is your product and why?

• My product is my conversion into a healthy lifestyle. In the beginning of the year, my diet and food choices were unhealthy and I was overweight. I used my senior project topic to lead myself out of the death trap that is obesity. I lost weight and will continue to live a healthy lifestyle. 

Blog 23: 2014 Interview

Q: Who did you interview and what house are they in?

A: Krystal Lam. South House.

Q:   What ideas do you have for your senior project and why?

A: For my senior project I plan on doing art directing. I've always had a passion for art and design, and creative/artistic directing was a career path that I have always wanted to pursue.

Q:  What do you plan to do for your summer 10 hour mentorship experience?

A:  For the 10 hour requirement I will be working and volunteering under a creative director at the museum of architecture and modern design in Los Angeles.

Q:   What do you hope to see or expect to see in watching the 2013 2-hour presentations?

A: I hope to see presentations that i can use as examples to possibly base mine off of. I also hope to see the variety of fields and subjects people worked on, and to know what to expect for next year .

Q:   What questions do you have that I can answer about senior year or senior project (or what additional information did you tell them about senior year or senior project)?

A: Her Question: how do you balance your time so that you're not overwhelmed? 

My Response: I'll tell you what I did. Get a calendar and check the blog constantly and write down all deadlines. It helps you have a visual of everything that needs to be done. 

Her Question: What is something important to consider when working under a mentor? 

My Response: Something important when under a mentor is to try and be comfortable with them so you can ask freely of any doubts you have regarding your senior topic.

Blog 22: Final 3-Column Chart

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Blog 21: Independent Component 2

LITERAL

(a) Statement saying: “I, Jocelyn Delgado, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component

• National Institute of Health
• The Importance of Working Out with Consistency
• Fitness Planning Guide
• The Importance of Fitness Programs
• Interview 3

(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours): Independent Component 2 Log
(d) Explanation of what you completed.

• I made a fitness plan for one week, and followed it. The fitness plan includes an exercise regimen and nutritional meal guidelines to follow. The goal was to lose 1-2 pounds at the end of the week, which is a healthy amount of weight to lose each week, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and my summer mentor Valerie Flloyd. 

INTERPRETIVE
Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work. 

• Fitness Plan  

APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ or support one or more of your answers. Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.

One of the answers to my essential question is "Make a fitness plan, and stick to it." Basically, that's what I did. I did achieve a 1.6lbs loss, and that was great! The goal was to lose 1-2 lbs and I reached it. Although, you cannot see a 1.6 pound reduction, in time, they'll add up. That's when the big change comes in. This answer is efficient because it gets the result in, no doubt about it. However, it's really time consuming. Preparing the plan takes a while, because you have to make sure that each meal is low in calories but high in nutrients, and that you'll be able to have time to make what was on the plan. Also, I had to make sure there was variety in the plan, to make sure I would not get tired of eating the same thing, and I think that can become a minor issue if a plan is made for a long period of time. One thing I did like, however, is the way I went grocery shopping. My mom and I bought an abundance of healthy food and made sure it was fresh and available during the week. That goes more towards my best answer, which is making fitness a lifestyle. By surrounding myself with the good food, and having nothing but healthy food in my household, it made it that much easier to stick to the plan. What was also good about the plan was the workout section. It provided guidelines, but it didn't say what to do specifically, and that helped me enjoy my workout because I went to the gym and I had the freedom to do what I wanted to do, within the categories in the plan. I think to make a more successful plan, there should be 1-3 options for each meal section. Sometimes, I didn't feel like cooking a meal, or eating it, and I did it because I had to, but one should be able to indulge in their food, even when it is a healthy meal. I've noticed the weather has a lot to do with what I eat. For example, you would not eat a bowl of chicken noodle soup on a searing hot summer day. So, to make a more personalized plan, minor details like the weather is something to take into consideration, to make weight loss become more enjoyable. I think what I took out of this most was that in order for a fitness plan to be really successful, it has to be personalized and enjoyable. That way, the person is inclined to stick to the plan and won't give up as soon as others might.