Andrew's CAS

Its peak college essay season and I still have few to finish up before the New Year begins, but I have just received the position papers for my committee to review. I always look forward to seeing some of these ideas and getting hyped for the actual conference in the next few months. This year I am little more independent with these papers than last time, as it is my decision to decide and notify the schools and students who need to add either information or formatting (only major exclusions). Deciding whether to send a paper back or not is based on whether they fulfill the standard requirements. However, this decision is largely centered around debating whether, from the information given by the paper, will the student have a productive time at the conference. While sending a paper back is in my eyes the best thing for the student, I know from helping with the students at my school prepare that what is on the page is not necessarily representative of their knowledge. This is at times ...

I have been playing a little more than usual in the past few weeks and have been growing more competitive against my brother. It is fun being able to beat him as well as seeing my improvement over the last few months on my swing and ball control. I have begun playing with some of my friends at a local club and while I do not see myself playing competitively, I am still having fun improving my skill and playing.

I have started using a ball machine to uniformly toss balls at me to practice my swing. This has been useful in just practicing one after the other. It has also been interesting to be able to manipulate each individual shot on the machine itself and has given me a better understanding of the variables and characteristics the ball can have. I have been able to improve my serve over this time and am able to get the ball into the box most of the time. Now just to make the serve a little faster.

In the months leading up to MMUN conference, I help students learn about the United Nations and the program as well as prepare the needed materials. I do this with one of my friends and we both aid the teacher coordinators. While I enjoy being able to share my own personal knowledge with those who have yet to experience the program or would like some help, I have found this mentoring to be beneficial for both myself and the students as I am also learning better ways to communicate with students and teach certain concepts.

Working off the aerial inspiration from before, I tried to utilize and practice the techniques I learned in photography club to capture photos of the colorful sunset and the clouds. I found framing to be an important aspect as the positioning of the horizon had a large impact on the composition of the photo. This is due to the sky above the horizon featuring a largely blank and bare surface, while below it is complex with clouds and the ground below. Balancing this simplicity and complexity was interesting as I experimented with the utilization of negative space. 

Being able to see the world from above is something that has always amazed me. While flying above the northeastern United States, I was mesmerized by the grid and layout of the cities formed by the shining lights. I used the rule of thirds and what I learned with layouts in these images. My goal was to distribute the city lights in a way that would display the vastness of the grid, yet still feel small due to the sky above. I believe I was able to portray these feelings through the highlighted presence of the sky overlooking the city. In both photos below the sky is follows a uniform color or gradient which contrasts with the sprawling city below.

I have begun playing tennis with my brother again at my local park. It is difficult playing against my brother as he is a little athletically inclined than I am, but I enjoy the sport and trying to match his speed. It had been a while since the last time I played, so my swing was rusty and I could not control the ball very well. I plan on continuing going more regularly to practice my swing and control of the ball.