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The Uplifting & Motivating Manifesto

When I started this blog, my intention was to make it about positivity. Throughout the semester, other ideas came to my mind as I was working on different assignments. However, altogether I feel like the theme of this blog falls into two categories. This is why the two words that popped up in my head while trying to figure out a name for my manifesto were uplifting and motivating. These are the two themes that my blog falls under.

To begin, I’d like to talk about my representative work. I chose to discuss a poem by Edgar A. Guest which was about achieving your dreams through hard work and having the courage to take risks. As I had already previously stated, this poem really spoke to me and that is because it motivated me to take risks that would benefit me in the long run. For instance, this semester I moved from Florida to Georgia to pursue further education. Moving in the middle of a school semester isn’t an easy thing to do and I feared that my grades would suffer. However, the move was better for my mental health and wellbeing and did the complete opposite.

Next, I will be talking about the abstract image assignment. For this one I chose a work of art by Joan Miro which was of a constellation. I enjoyed the way that this abstract image looked because of the way it made me feel. Not only do I like constellations, but I also like how the art appeared extraordinary. There was so much going on that it seemed a little chaotic but at the same time somehow peaceful. That is because while the artist was painting this image, it was a form of escapism for him. He wanted to flee the hectic life he was living and escape to a more tranquil one. I related to this because oftentimes I want to avoid anything that could bring my mood down and discourage me. Having an optimistic approach to life has helped me to overcome these types of hardships and push through.

While I was still living in Florida, we had a massive hurricane hit us in September of 2022. Hurricane Ian destroyed many of our beaches and multiple people lost their lives as well as their homes. When I saw this article about a man who was trying to turn this tragedy into something that was uplifting, I knew instantly that I wanted to write about it. For our public art assignment, I chose Bradford Hermann’s ant creation. He built these ants out of leftover Hurricane Ian debris and sold them to raise money for the victims. This encouraged our community to come together and take care of one another.

Going out in nature is a great way to lift one’s spirits and brighten one’s mood. That is why for my poetic license assignment, I talked about Sayuri Ayers’ “In the Season of Pink Ladies”. When you go to my blog, the first thing you see is my photo of a bee and a field of flowers. That is because when I think about happiness and joy one of the things that comes to mind is being out in nature. I love the change of seasons and going out to view nature and all the animals that inhabit it. After all, it is recommended that people go outside to get some sunlight each day for at least 30 minutes. Fun fact, getting sunlight increases your Vitamin D levels and boosts serotonin.

To wrap things up, I’d like to summarize by saying that courage and strength are important traits to have. To be optimistic, take risks, be motivated, and become successful I feel like you must be resilient, courageous, and strong. No matter what life throws at you, it’s up to you to get back up and brush the dirt off. In the meantime, though, be kind to one another and offer a helping hand whenever possible. Having a good community and working together is something that we should put more emphasis on.

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Ekphrasis

The wind is howling

Threatening clouds are looming

Hair blowing in breeze

Reaching out for hope

The girl is yearning for home

Part of her feels lost

Courage overcomes

She fights until her last breath

She who desires more

For this Ekphrasis I chose to write a Haiku on Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World”. What caught my eye was the girl laying in an awkward position in the field. It appeared as if she was crawling to the house in the distance. As I was reading up on this piece, I discovered that Christina was a real person who had a degenerative muscular disorder. Oftentimes, she would crawl around the farm to get from place to place. By the 1920s, she was made to remain in a wheelchair for the remainder of her life. The image looks rather dull and lacks color. The skies and the buildings are gray, and the grassy fields aren’t green but instead brown. In fact, the only color in the picture is the girl’s pink dress. After doing some further research, I discovered that this artist’s artwork typically looked like this after his father’s death. Three years before he released this image to the public, his father passed away at a railway crossing. My translation of this piece talks mainly about Christina and how this image makes me feel. The three moods that I feel when looking at this painting are nostalgia, a sense of yearning, and desire. I replicated this in my own words by attempting to put myself in her shoes even though I can’t even imagine the difficulties she must have gone through. By researching why she’s posed the way she is and why the painting appears dark and gloomy I’ve gained a deeper understanding of what this artwork is trying to illustrate.

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TV Assignment

For this assignment, I chose Pipilotti Rist, Ever Is Over All. This piece spoke to me because it brings up feminism. An important detail that interested me the most is when the woman is walking down the street, bashing in car windows with a large flower. While this is happening, a female police officer is walking alongside her and saluting her for her actions. Although I would not justify these actions in real life, through art I feel like this is a powerful way of speaking up on the feminist movement. Perhaps the woman in the video is tired of being treated as unequal so she’s letting her anger out. In my opinion, the flower seems to signify fragility except in this scene where she’s using it as a way to vandalize the cars parked on the side of the street. The woman is likely trying to get rid of this idea that women are just fragile little flowers. This is why the flower is ten times the size of a normal flower and resembles the size of a baseball bat. Also, the fact that the female officer is not doing anything about this tells me that she is in agreement with her actions. The female officer is also about female empowerment and gender equality because of her position. Any position involving the government or law enforcement used to be seen as a male-only occupation. This piece seems to not only expand my knowledge of television but also of the others who have seen this video. What I mean is that almost everything that we watch on television doesn’t require critical thinking. At the end of a movie or show, there’s a resolution. This means the problem is usually solved for us. However, this piece doesn’t just give us the answer. We have to try and figure out what it means on our own.

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Hamlet Interpretation

I will be interpreting act two, scene two for Hamlet. To begin, Hamlet’s father is murdered, and Hamlet appears to have gone mad. He claims to have seen the spirit of his father who has ordered him to avenge his death. Claudius, the new king of Denmark, is the murderer according to the spirit. Polonius, an official of the court, suspects that Hamlet is in love with Ophelia. He informs Ophelia of this and instructs her to not allow Hamlet to show his affection toward her and to avoid him at all costs. Ophelia agrees and abides by his command. The underlying reason for Hamlet’s madness is because of his hatred for Claudius, though. After reading the synopsis and the scene I watched a play of this act. There were some slight differences that I noticed between the reading and the video. It starts off with Ophelia running in and telling Polonius what had happened to her. Apparently, Hamlet had come into Ophelia’s sewing room and caressed her. She states that Hamlet was clearly lucid in front of her and may have been unaware of his actions. Polonius reiterates that she is to stay away from him and asks if she had listened to him. She promises that she has and doesn’t even return his letters which he sends to her. This is where Polonius comes to the realization that Hamlet has gone crazy out of love for Ophelia. He urgently informs the king and queen of what Hamlet had done. This is the main reason why I chose this scene. I feel like if Polonius hadn’t gone off and told on Hamlet, he would still be alive. Hamlet kills Polonius because Hamlet was in the room with the queen and heard a noise behind a curtain. Hamlet believes that Claudius is spying on them since he is the queen’s new husband. He pulls the curtain open and stabs whoever is behind the curtain without hesitation, killing Polonius instantly. My interpretation of Hamlet is that he is delusional but also perhaps misunderstood. There is a high possibility that Claudius was indeed the murderer and that the queen was having an affair with him. I believe that this is why the queen rushed into marriage with Claudius once Hamlet’s father died.

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Movie Interpretations

The story of Emma is about a young girl who is of marriageable age and her pursuit of a romantic partner. This drama-filled story set during the early 19th century became a popular movie in 2020. The movie begins with the wedding of her friend Mrs. Taylor. Afterward, she and another one of Emma’s friends, Harriet, discuss potential matches for one another. However, Emma has no desire to marry and is enjoying her independent lifestyle while watching over her papa. Harriet on the other hand, is infatuated with Mr. Elton. Mr. Elton doesn’t return this infatuation, though, and ends up breaking Harriet’s heart when he sets his intentions on her friend, Emma. Once Emma hears of his intentions after a dinner party inside a carriage together, she is outraged that he led her friend on to believe that he was in love with her. Considering that he offered her friend Harriet gifts and claimed that she was remarkably beautiful. This was all just to win Emma over and have her believe him a good and kind man. Six weeks later after the incident, he marries Mrs. Augusta instead. A short time after that a woman named Jane arrives and Emma becomes envious of her. Not only because she could play the piano better than she did but also because Mr. Knightley, the man she has been in love with since the beginning of the movie although unaware of her own affections, seems to be infatuated with her. Believing that this match is for the better, she turns her attention to another man named Frank who insists that Emma dance with him during the first two dances of his ball. However, shortly after, we find out that this was short-lived because he was already secretly engaged to Jane. While they danced together, Mr. Elton declines Harriet’s offer for them to dance since she was the only young lady sitting in a chair without a dance partner. This rejection upsets her and she begins to weep in the corner of the room on her chair. Mr. Knightley and Emma notice this so Mr. Knightley offers a dance to Harriet. This kindness leads Harriet to believe that there is more than just friendship between her and Mr. Knightley. During this encounter, Harriet falls madly in love with Mr. Knightley. Mr. Knightley then dances with Emma and finally notices the chemistry they have while dancing for the first time. Emma is also officially fully aware of her affection for him. I would like to elaborate on this scene at the ball and discuss the musical instruments in the background. While Mr. Knightley and Harriet are dancing the musical instruments are loud but while Mr. Knightley and Emma are dancing the music grows quiet. As if they are the only two in the room at this moment. This makes it seem obvious that the feelings are mutual between the two and that they are destined to be with each other. In the end, Harriet marries a man named Mr. Churchill who was in pursuit of her throughout the movie and Mr. Knightley and Emma get married.

The second movie that I will be interpreting is Mama Mia. The show is filled with romantic, comedic, and dramatic scenes. It stars a young girl 20 years of age named Sophie. She is going to be married but she wishes to find her father so that he can walk her down the aisle at her wedding. She steals her mother’s old diary and discovers the names of each of the men she dated before having her. Sophie invites these men to her parties leading up to the wedding and to stay for the wedding. During one party in particular, the song Voulez-Vous by ABBA is playing, and she is searching for each of the men to question them about their identities and trying to figure out which one is her father. While she’s questioning them, each one of them begins to realize the reason that they were invited, and they all believe that they are the father of Sophie. This leads to a big misunderstanding and as each one of them approaches Sophie to confront her about this she becomes overwhelmed and doesn’t know what to say. The music speeds up and her party guests start to encircle and surround her while dancing. The party lights are vibrant and bright, making the scene not only sound loud but also look and feel loud and slightly chaotic. Being in the center of all the dancing and commotion gets to Sophie’s head and she eventually passes out. In the end, she decides that it doesn’t matter who her father is, and she asks her mother to walk her down the aisle instead.

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Photography

For the theme of my photo collection, I have chosen nature and animals. In the photos that I have provided, I have my cat, my mom’s dog, a picture of a pair of beautiful parrots which was taken at Gatorland, the sun setting in southwest Florida, and last but not least a bright morning picture of the trees in my backyard from Georgia. The reason I have chosen nature and animals is that they both make me happy, just in different ways. Animals make me happy because of companionship and nature makes me happy because it brings me peace of mind. The picture of my cat was taken while I was typing out this short journal for my Humanities class, much to her surprise she didn’t know I was taking a picture of her. Hence the somewhat shocked appearance on her face which I find hilarious. I chose this particular picture of my mom’s dog because she looks so joyful in her Christmas holiday sweater. Her excitement and happiness are honestly contagious. Also, it looked like she was actually smiling in the photograph. The parrots both had amazing colors on them, but I liked how they didn’t both look the same. I was able to capture both of them in one picture. Although I no longer live in southwest Florida, I still love and miss the way the sunsets would look there with the gorgeous palm trees in the background. That is why I have picked this picture to represent my other theme, nature. Georgia’s weather is not the same as Florida’s weather, but I still enjoy it. I also enjoy looking at the different variety of trees that Georgia has to offer. Some of which Florida just does not have in abundance. The last picture was taken when I moved into my new home here in Georgia. I liked the way the tree looked against the clear blue morning sky. Altogether I feel like this collection of images reveals some of the important things in my life as well as some of my interests. I love animals and I love being out in nature.

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The Theme of Positivity

https://youtu.be/sesKiKYQn84 Rock: Why Worry / Set It Off

https://youtu.be/lxRwEPvL-mQ Rap: When I Grow Up / NF

https://youtu.be/LZ34LlaIk88 Country: Ours / Taylor Swift

https://youtu.be/LZ34LlaIk88 Jazz: Feeling Good / Nina Simone

https://youtu.be/JRfuAukYTKg Electronic: Titanium / Sia

https://youtu.be/kbJcQYVtZMo Classical: Ode To Joy / Beethoven

My theme for this assignment is positivity. I chose this theme not only because I wanted it to fit my blog but also for the fact that a few of these are songs that I listen to frequently to get me motivated or uplifted. Why Worry from Set It Off promotes cheerfulness where the singer stresses the importance of not worrying about the little things in life and instead facing those events with a more optimistic approach. When I Grow Up by NF takes a more pessimistic approach but the main idea behind it is to not give up even though there may be many obstacles in your way. NF is basically telling his listeners to follow their dreams despite what others may say or think. Ours by Taylor Swift is often mistaken as just another love song because that’s what she’s known for. However, I believe there to be a deeper message in her song. Specifically with the lyric, “Don’t you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine.” This could mean that people make fun of others out of their jealousy towards them about what they have going on that they don’t have. So she’s trying to tell her listeners to not be concerned about what jealous people say because you have something that they want but cannot have. The next song I chose is an older song from Nina Simone called Feeling Good and is actually still used today in things like commercials. Its upbeat tempo causes listeners to also feel good which is probably why commercials like to use the song as a way to promote their products. According to Nina Simone she wrote this song because the world cannot take away her inner freedom no matter what happens. An even older song that I chose is Beethoven’s Ode To Joy which I discovered in high school while taking a couple piano classes. This is a classical piece that is said to bring about the feeling of hope and unity and is actually Europe’s Anthem. Last but not least, Sia’s song Titanium is about being resilient. Her lyric, “Shoot me down but I won’t fall, I am titanium.” Is about her being stronger than words and how they cannot bring her enough harm for her to stop doing what she’s doing. This song is considered electronic due to the electronic breaks throughout the song usually after she states that she is titanium. All of these songs tied together bring about a really strong message. Be more optimistic in life, follow your dreams, don’t listen to jealous people when you do succeed in following your dreams, be free to do what you please, be hopeful and work together when needed, and finally be resilient.

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Plotting

A girl danced in a flowery field when she noticed a little white rabbit. She ran to the rabbit, startling it. The rabbit dashed for safety down a hill to escape the girl. Curious, the girl followed the rabbit. She was too late; the rabbit ran into a tunnel in the ground. A big gray wolf stepped out of the shadows of a forest in front of her. The girl almost turned to run back up the hill when the wolf disappeared. Curious again, but this time with caution, she decided to investigate the forest and look for the wolf. After what had to have been at least an hour of searching, she had no luck finding the wolf. A small man walked out from behind a tree, offering his hand. “It’s time to go home.” She took his hand and allowed him to take her home. They walked up to a small cottage covered in flowers and greenery. The sun was beginning to set in the sky and the girl felt exhausted. They both went inside where three bowls of porridge sat on the table. She went to go sit down when she realized that the small man was no longer with her. Famished, she devoured all three bowls of porridge. The girl yawned and decided to go upstairs to bed. However, as she was walking up the stairs, the staircase kept going up and up. The poor girl was too worn out to continue. She sat down on a step, leaned her head against the wall, and went to sleep. When she woke up, she was in a nice warm bed. Confused as to how she got there, she got up to look around her environment. She noticed a window and went up to it. She was no longer in the cottage, she was in a tower. Frightened, the girl began to panic since there was no way out but through the window. The panic made her feel dizzy. Unknowingly, she felt herself begin to fall out of the window. She awoke in a field of flowers and felt like dancing.

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Poetic License

The theme of “In the Season of Pink Ladies” by Sayuri Ayers is about the changing of seasons between summer and autumn. Pink ladies are referring to the apples that the woman’s son is picking from the tree. Honeycrisp and Winesap are both different types of apples that are no longer growing during the autumnal time of year. The narrator is trying to explain the poem from her perspective while watching her son. The image is described as her facing an orchard tree and examining the branches, noticing the shift in seasons. The rotted apples had already fallen and her son is picking the ripe pink lady apples while stepping all over those that are decaying into the ground. In line six she uses a metaphor to describe the pink ladies as “blushing apples”.   Another part of the poem that I’d like to address is the section where she repeats the same line twice in the poem. “Music of surrender” seems to be a connotation since music doesn’t actually surrender itself. The creaking of the branches means that they’re surrendering to the cold weather coming. The fruit on the ground splitting apart means that they’re surrendering to eventual decay. In lines nine and ten when she states that her son’s shadow lengthens as he slips away from her, I think this is a sign that chillier weather is on its way. Altogether these factors give the poem an aesthetic because of how detailed she is in describing the orchard tree, its branches, the fruit the tree grows, and the seasonal change.

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Poetic License

In the Season of Pink Ladies

BY SAYURI AYERS

After Honeycrisp and Winesap have fallen,

another season begins. The orchard glistens

adorned in rose-gold fruit. Branches creak,

music of surrender.

On tiptoe my son shakes gnarled limbs

bringing a shower of blushing apples.

He gifts me the pretty one laced

with wormholes. He runs ahead,

slipping from me. As his shadow lengthens,

another season begins. The orchard glistens.

My son crushes fruit underfoot, their splitting,

music of surrender.

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Architectural Interiors

Everyone has a domestic interior that they inhabit on a regular basis. We call these our homes and for many our homes are our safe place. When I see my home, I automatically feel at ease. My home is a place where I wind down and relax. The space is divided into two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. Therefore, it does serve its function as a domestic space because the architecture provides adequate room. The space is very homey and welcoming with tall windows that allow sunlight to filter through and brighten the home. The rooms are both large and provide lots of space for furniture. Some of the walls are a little run down, however, some fresh paint could fix that. There isn’t much uniqueness to it, the home is minimalistic and simple. Another space that I chose that I inhabit regularly would be Starbucks. When compared to my domestic interior, Starbucks is a lot different. As almost everyone knows, Starbucks is a popular coffee shop. The interior is structured to provide a dining area and a working area for the baristas. I enjoy my domestic interior better than Starbucks because that is my home. Also, when I go to Starbucks it isn’t normally my goal to wind down and relax. I go there because I need the energy to conquer the day. The size of the coffee shops varies from store to store. Some are larger and some are smaller than others. The Starbucks that I inhabit regularly is not very cramped so even when there are large crowds coming through there’s enough space for easy movement throughout the building.

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Public Art

In the photo that I posted, there is a historical building located in downtown Fort Myers called the Sidney and Berne Davis art center. A man named Bradford Hermann sculpted massive ants from leftover Hurricane Ian debris. The debris included coconuts, piping, coral, and anchors to hold it all together. He hopes to sell the ant sculptures to raise money for those victims who lost everything due to the hurricane. This demonstrates closeness within the Fort Myers community and how we’re willing to work together to support each other. By Bradford raising awareness like this it shows that he also values his community and is committed to bringing people’s lives back to normal. The idea of putting his sculptures on a popular exhibit for everyone to see is extremely intelligent on his part. The sculptures are round and contain three-dimensionality. Although these ants were made to be large and stick out to the crowd, according to Bradford they’re actually lightweight. The coconuts were drained and cut in half to prevent damage. The debris and coconuts came from Sanibel, Fort Myers, and along McGregor Boulevard. There were approximately 150 coconuts used for his artwork. He also wanted to ensure that the ants wouldn’t damage the exhibit by drilling into the walls. This is why he used the anchors to anchor them down instead. It took four months before his work was finished and before he could sell his ants to the public. Bradford calls himself a recycling artist and he is selling these ants all the way until February 24th.

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Ants made with recycled material from Hurricane Ian in downtown Fort Myers, FL.

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Abstract Images

Joan Miró | Constellation: Toward the Rainbow | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org)

Toward the Rainbow by Joan Miro is a painting that is a form of surrealism. This painting was created in 1941 while he was in Spain during World War II. Toward the Rainbow was his 15th work of art out of 23 total. Joan Miro traveled back and forth between Spain and France and admits to doing so in order to escape the World War. His surrealistic painting was ultimately based on his dreams of seeking happiness during a time of chaos. The lines in his painting are sharp and hard which creates a sense of intensity. Primary colors and neutral colors are more abundant, with green being the only secondary color. The vibrancy of the primary colors and the green color against the neutral grays and blacks are complementary to each other. The brighter colors against the darker colors signify light in a time of darkness. Since there are not as many lighter colors as there are darker colors, we can assume that the artist was struggling to find happiness during the war. There are almost endless shapes and forms throughout the painting, making the artwork very intriguing to observe. Some figures seem animalistic while others look like humans either dancing or moving toward something. The painting has variety, but it also contains unity. There are different figures, objects, and expressions but they all appear to have one goal. Escapism is their evident goal which unifies the painting and brings everything together. The emotion in this artwork is strong and the artist clearly displays it. For this reason, I was drawn to Toward the Rainbow. Even without context, my initial reaction was that the objective was to reach a more tranquil mindset. I believe that the meaning behind the message was to reveal that although times are hard, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

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Representative Work

The work of art that I posted is a poem by Poet Edgar A. Guest. The poem talks about taking chances even if there are potential risks involved. This topic is one that I believe is something that many struggle with. As humans, we tend to like to feel safe and secure. Very rarely do we venture outside of our comfort zones. However, if we hold ourselves back from challenges that we face in our lifetime we may never truly be content. The last thing that we want is to look back on our lives and regret not doing the things that we loved or desired to do. We only get one life and we must enjoy it to the fullest. In the first paragraph of the poem, the poet talks about how Columbus dreamt of sailing across the ocean. Although there were dangers ahead that none of the crew was familiar with, he still pushed through. The second paragraph talks about the many who will follow the safer path. The path that is known and traveled across over and over again is preferred over the path unknown. Those who do follow the path unknown mentioned in the third paragraph are seen as leaders because they aren't afraid to take chances. By taking the path unknown and going through hardships in the end they're making history by doing something that wasn't done before. I relate to this poem because I also find myself taking the easy way out from time to time. This is something that I view as a weakness in myself and wish to improve. In order to be successful in life we have to be strong because life isn't always going to be easy. Having a positive mindset and strong willpower will prove valuable in our future pursuits.

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The Things That Haven't Been Done Before Poet Edgar A. Guest

The things that haven't been done before, Those are the things to try; Columbus dreamed of an unknown shore At the rim of the far-flung sky, And his heart was bold and his faith was strong As he ventured in dangers new, And he paid no heed to the jeering throng Or the fears of the doubting crew.

The many will follow the beaten track With guideposts on the way. They live and have lived for ages back With a chart for every day. Someone has told them it's safe to go On the road he has traveled o'er, And all that they ever strive to know Are the things that were known before.

A few strike out without map or chart, Where never a man has been, From the beaten path they draw apart To see what no man has seen. There are deeds they hunger alone to do; Though battered and bruised and sore, They blaze the path for the many, who Do nothing not done before.

The things that haven't been done before Are the tasks worthwhile today; Are you one of the flock that follows, or Are you one that shall lead the way? Are you one of the timid souls that quail At the jeers of a doubting crew, Or dare you, whether you win or fail, Strike out for a goal that's new