Man’s Search for Meaning

Man’s Search for Meaning is a book like no other. Frankl’s account of his experience during the holocaust and his theory of logotherapy are extraordinary, and make the reader sit back and really analyze what Frankl is writing. I believe that Frankl’s thesis that meaning and purpose can help overcome challenges is true, and has been proved time and time again, whether it be at a time of war or everyday life.  Without the optimism of meaning and purpose, it is hard for one to continue living.        

Frankl’s thesis directly relates to one of the passages that stood out to me while reading his book, “The prisoner who had lost faith in the future –his future- was doomed”.  This quote immediately had an impact on me and made me think about why faith, from religion to just faith in a new day, is so important. People are generally optimistic about life until they are faced with a challenge. The people who give up and do not try to work through their challenges are the ones who will fail quickly. Although its cliché, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and there is always hope and purpose to be found at the end of a challenge. Meaning and purpose alone wouldn’t help someone during the holocaust, but it was definitely a huge factor that went into whether or not someone came out alive.

Journalism Article Quarter 2

Journalism Article

Assignment/Activity Title—News Writing                                      Year— Sophomore

Skill— Writing                                                                      Portfolio Category— Social Awareness           

For a second quarter assignment in journalism this year, we had to use what was learned throughout the first semester about news writing and write a news story on our own. When we first received this assignment, I was daunted at the idea of writing news on my own. We had to find our own news story, interview people involved, and write a story that was interesting and followed the guidelines of news writing. I had never written a news story on my own, and did not know where to begin. I asked around for current events happening at Blair, but nothing I found was sufficiently interesting to me, and I didn’t want to write about it.

One Tuesday afternoon, I decided that I would go to the Blair Varsity girl’s basketball game, and bring my journal along. I was unsure if I would write about the game, because I was not a huge fan of basketball and knew little to nothing about the sport itself, or any of the terminology. As I watched

C-SPAN Documentary Quarter 2/3

C-SPAN Video (Click Here)

Assignment/Activity Title— C-SPAN Documentary                                      Year— Sophomore

Skill—   Media, Research, Writing                                    Portfolio Category— Social Awareness           

            As one of our major second quarter film projects as a CAP sophomore, C-SPAN was both a fun and educational assignment. Every year, the news-broadcasting network C-SPAN holds a national video documentary competition that pushes students grades 6-12 to think critically about local and national issues in the U.S. Students chose groups of 2 – 4 people, and created a short documentary based around the theme. The 2015 C-SPAN StudentCam theme was entitled “The Three Branches and You” and asked students to tell a story that demonstrates how a policy, law, or action by one of the three branches of government has an affect on the student personally or in their community.

When we got this assignment, I was very enthusiastic because I loved to edit and produce films, and having experience in the C-SPAN StudentCam due to 8^th grade at Eastern Humanities, I knew what it would take to win the competition. There were many topics I was interested in, however none were as interesting to me as the rise in college tuition. This was an issue that I knew I would be facing in the

Debates Quarter 1

Debate Speech

Assignment/Activity Title—  Debates                                          Year— Sophomore

Skill—Research, Public Speaking, Group work                 Portfolio Category— Social Awareness

For the first quarter as a CAP sophomore, we had to take a stance on a topic that we found interesting and team up with another student to debate this topic, either as positive or negative, against another team. After lightly researching some of the topics I found fascinating, I decided that my first choice would be to debate for the building of the Purple Line. This was a topic that was local, and I had a personal perspective on it. I was the first to choose the Purple Line, and my partner became John Gorman. We were the affirmative side, for building the Purple Line and we were against Allison Mackenzie and Marianne Benyamin. John and I spent a lot of time researching all about the Purple Line, and learning about its supporting and opposing groups, as well as the benefits and disadvantages of a light rail system. We found reliable sources and worked together to write powerful

Indie Blog Post Quarter 1 Grade 10

Speak Out

During the summer of 2014, I had the honor of traveling to Arizona and New Mexico and staying on the Navajo reservation, all while helping out the local Navajos in need and experiencing their culture. Every morning, the youth group I came with would recite a morning prayer, and part of that prayer was a beautiful closing Navajo saying. The poem or saying, called "Walking in Beauty", was about connecting oneself with nature and observing the beauty as the day goes by. I really loved "Walking in Beauty", and for my Indie Blog Post, I decided to recite the poem.

Walking in Beauty



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(BRB) Inspirations Script

Inspirations Script (BRB)

Assignment/Activity Title— Inspirations Script                                      Year— Freshman

Skill—Research, writing, group dynamics, public performance   Portfolio Category— Media and Communications 

            For a final project in drama class, students had to get together in a group of about four people, and write a play to be performed. I was very excited about this project when it was assigned, because I really enjoy writing and acting, and to use both skills at once sounded really intriguing. I had never written a play before, and although exciting, this project also seemed challenging. Our first assignment was to think of a few different ideas for a play that we could share with the class, and then base groups off of which ideas people liked. My ideas were scattered and not organized, I was daunted by the fact that the play could only be ten minutes long. I realized that I did not really want to utilize my own ideas, so I listened to what other people had to say instead. I was interested in the ideas of Lily H and Siena, and eventually made a group

Wolf Removal (Critical Thinking Essay)

Wolf Removal (Critical Thinking Essay)

Assignment/Activity Title— Critical Thinking Paper                                  Year— Freshman

Skill— Research, writing                                       Portfolio Category— Critical reasoning

A crucial assignment throughout the high school years as a CAP student is the critical thinking paper. The critical thinking paper is a four to six page essay, with three different essays written over three years.  In freshman year, the student must choose a topic that is debatable on both sides, interesting to the student, and in depth enough to write about. The first essay, written in freshman year, argues one side of the topic. The next year, the student must argue for the other side of the topic.  Lastly, in junior year, the student will write about the side they actually believe is right.  For my topic, I wanted to write about something that truly fascinated me, something I could easily comprehend, and something that was significant to me. I decided to research debatable problems in the environment- such as global warming, capping and trading