How to Say Thank You 2

This is a shout-out to my English teacher Mrs.Herndon, for being a teacher that I'll never forget. Not only were you a fellow alum at UVA, but you taught my class with a level of professionalism. I don't remember much from AP English Literature(except for the books that we read) but, I'll never forget the final project that you assigned. It was a chance for me to show off my creativity. I took my technical skills and combined them with my artistic talent.

If you've read my previous post How to Say Thank You, you'll remember that I was influenced heavily by Computer Graphics and Basic Technical Drawing. Near the end of the school year, I started tinkering around with the idea of a 3D environment. I was bored of building models, and shapes and wanted to try something challenging. So, I decided to build the 3D scenes from Atonement(kudos to Justin Hsu and Bryson Hough).



Justin created the Tallis' fountain and garden. He did an awesome job at landscape design.

Bryson initially created the hospital, but I wanted to make it look more "modern". So I added more rooms and a wall.





 
 The Tallis mansion. I took a random blueprint of a mansion and built the floors and rooms straight up. From there, I added windows, walls, and the rooftop. Justin's last job was to add the furniture, accessories, and wallpaper. I took the honor of creating a virtual walkthrough of the place. Due to severe lagging, it took me several hours to compile the video in MovieMaker. With the finished product, we took it took class and wowed everyone. I even added a "little cherry" on top.

Here is the youtube video: Atonement in 3D

Now during the presentation, I happened to see a particular video that caught my attention in years to come. It was Sarah Kay's "If I should have a daughter". The first time I saw it, I was mesmerized by the brilliance and charisma that she displayed. Everything she said was beautiful not to mention her stunning looks. She was so wise, yet so young. I was like "wow, I've got to see her other videos". And so began my addiction to spoken word poetry. 
Fast-forward a couple months.... I had just finished volunteering for an event with a renowned UFO speaker, and wanted to invited my own. I thought, "what about Sarah Kay"? At first, I didn't know how to put it down on paper until I met my buddy Nick. He was an English major with an extensive history in marketing, and networking with other UVA groups. While I did all the paperwork, and negotiation with Sarah's agent it was Nick who reached out to the community and got their attention. He already had a performing group underway, and did a lot of marketing throughout the English department and cafe shops by the Corner.

I have to say, after 4 months, we did it!! And to save you the details, here's how it turned out.























And here's the aftermath of a well-planned event.

Me and Nick are sporting the UPC T-Shirt. To the right is Sarah Kay(Man she was tall!!) and right next to her was the president of BEATS.

That's not the end of the story. After the event, we took Sarah out for lunch at the Virginian and had a lively conversation about our lives. Best memories evah.
~And this all would have never happened if I hadn't taken AP English Literature. So, thank you again Mrs.Herndon for giving me the inspiration to plan this event. Enjoy the rest of your summer!!

How to Say Thank You

I've had so many teachers, but few of them were my mentors. And some inadvertently helped bring out my true "talent". For those who are reading this, you probably went through the same process in high school, and later in college. There are two kinds of people. People who've found their true passion and enjoy their life. People who have neglected talents, and end up finding mediocre jobs.

Sadly, some people go through life never really finding their 'element'. They focus on the path ahead, whether it be medical school, Wall Street, or at a big-shot company where they make tons of money. Money simply can't buy happiness. So why waste your time studying for pre-med when deep down you know that you want to be a history or English major.

One of my biggest regrets in high school was not expanding my academic life beyond the cycle of homework and tests. I spent 3 grueling years in orchestra before I had a enough. I wasn't cut out to be a musician, so why bother? Instead, I turned to the one thing that I spend most of my spare time on. Drawing. I started in 6th grade, and throughout middle and high school I had produced more than 200 pieces of art. Why did I take Art Computer Graphics? Perhaps, I wanted to stand out among all those students who took multiple APs and couldn't have fun. Anyways, I got in and the rest is history.

I would like to thank Ms.Head for being the teacher who rewarded hard work and excellence with a smile on her face. But it was her personality that made everyone feel special and she worked hard to bring out our talent. I loved the relaxed and quite environment, especially coming there after school. You could hear the constant 'click' 'click' as students focused their energy on creating these beautiful pieces of art that would fetch millions of dollars in the future.

During the same year, I took Basic Technical Drawings which sounds like a hard class but isn't. It's for the seniors afflicted with senioritis and freshmen who want to play computer games all day. I learned how to manage objects in AUTOCAD, fulfill technical requirements, and build several layouts. Though this class was easy on the outside, it was training us to act like engineers. And little by little, I got better at manipulating 3D objects.

Thank you Mr.Tsai, for being the chillest, smartest, most social teacher I've ever had.  I don't think I will ever have a teacher as a fun as you. Not only that, you gave us real world problems to deal with, you treated us like adults. Even now, I still keep contact with you and exchange life stories.  You are one of the mentors that saw me through, even at times when I doubted myself and struggled with my major.