My Presentation.!

45 minutes of talking. Seems like a long time right? Surprisingly, it goes by pretty fast when time is the last thing on your mind. This whole week I've been thinking about what I'm going to do once I get up in front of all those people, and believe me it was a pretty hefty crowd. The only thing that came to mind was why not make this a learning experience for the crowd as well as myself? Almost like a live interview presentation. I would give some information and take in some information to further shape my own understanding of my project. I don't believe it, but it was a bigger success than I had envisioned. The crowd was very interactive and their attention was held by my presentation the entire time. What I really think that went well was my ability to improvise and make relevant usage of Mr. Abrams appearance juxtaposed with my own for a very well thought out example. Also, my usage of humor through out the project was a pretty good idea because it appealed to crowd. If I could change anything about my project, I'd have my questions prepared prior to the project. This would've made everything a whole lot easier. I'd also spend more time on my prezi. It could have came out a lot better, but other than that I feel it was a great way to end the year.

Home Stretch

It's crunch time for high school students everywhere. There's finals, quarterlys, and etc coming up. Seniors especially have it the worst. They're excited because they're finally done and can't wait for the teachers they see everyday to become distant memories. It's what most people tend to call "senioritis." Am I experiencing it? Why yes I am, but this is probably the point in the year that requires my focus the most. It's so hard with track everyday, senior trip in two weeks, and both prom and states being on the same day. Keeping focus is nearly impossible, but that's the life of a high school student. I see it as good time management practice for college. God only knows that it's going to get so much harder from here. This is exactly why I say track is life. In track there are those days where you might have to do 3-4 events in one meet, but you've got to learn to take it one race at a time or else you'll do terribly. High school was a lot like my first event of the day. I did the long jump. Ironically it's a short event like, high school. You expect it to be forever, yet before you know it it's over. I expect college to be a lot like my 2nd event the 110m high hurdles. They scare most but those who overcome this fear are bound to overcome any trial and tribulation to come across in their life.  My 3rd event was the triple jump which symbolizes the period in time where I'm finding out who I am. I'm going to go through different phases like the triple jump until I become the man I was always meant to be. My last event of the day was always the high jump. After every height you can only go up from there. In life I only plan on moving forward and not back tracking.

"Detention"

What's the point of detention. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I've been written up in my life. Some people are in detention like it's a religion. For someone like me, detention makes want to never be late to school because its so annoying, but to others it must feel like some kind of hang out spot. Have you ever really broke down the reasoning for detention, or wondered if it actually has any meaning or affect to students? I think about the same thing every time I have a detention once in a blue moon. What is this actually doing for me? Maybe when I was younger, my attention span was so short that I squirmed and twirled in my seat so much that I never wanted to do anything bad ever again. Now I feel like it's truly pointless. All I do is sit here for here for 45 minutes and then I'm told I can go home. What's the point of that? It doesn't refine me in any kind of way, and it most definitely isn't going to turn a so called "bad" kid into a good one. They really should come up with an alternative to detention. I'm not saying just let kids do what ever they want, but I am saying they should at least be getting something out of it. I remember my first real detention in middle school. I went to Winslow Middle School and there had to be at least 700 kids there. There were so many kids that we had to get out of school at 1:30 just so there wasn't a traffic jam when the high school let out. My detention was for 2 hours all because of a friend of mine and his girl friend and I some how got involved. They made up us copy down the Declaration of Independence the entire time we were there, and if you didn't write enough, you had to come back the next day and do it all over again. That was by far over the top, but it was something different. After this year I probably won't hear the word detention again until I have kids of my own, so I do hope they come up with something new instead of these medieval forms of torture.

Spring break!

What did I do for spring break? Well, Larry and I had gone on a college visit to Alvernia University in PA. We stayed from Sunday night until Monday evening. Our guide was this short guy who ran track that was no taller than Larry. He gave us a tour of the school and answered pretty much every question we had about college. It was a great experience. I met my future track teammates minus our freshman class, and sat in two college classes. We went to a marketing class and an English class. The marketing class we sat in is actually a required course I'll have to take when I get there so it was quite exciting for me as well as educational. They were talking about information that I was already familiar with. The English class put into perspective the amount of reading that a college student assigned which is a lot! Students there gave us a lot tips on how to stay on top of the work assigned. The main tip was knowing how to manage my time. In college you have a lot of free time and the key is to know what to do with that free time.

Body inked up

Why do people get tattoos? I'm not saying that they're bad or anything because I have one myself, but what makes someone want to get tatted? Every tattoo I plan on getting has some meaning to it. It's not just some body art. I got a track foot that I drew up tatted up my chest because track is the love of my life. I can't explain it but track just takes me to this happy place. I wonder if anyone has ever thought of advertising using tattoos? That could be an untapped marketable field. I mean I wouldn't get a companies name tatted on me, but maybe someone who'd like to get paid would be interested in doing something like that. That would probably be considered as the most extreme form of advertising, but at least you'll know it's a life time of advertisement.

In the Books.!

Saturday was the Bridgeton Relays. They happened to be getting a new stadium built so it was held at Buena High School. We didn't go to the Bridgeton Relays last year so I really didn't know what to expect. It was my first all boys meet, so the competition was at its peak. When we first arrived there, I felt like it was going to be a great day. I can't really explain why but it just felt really good for some reason. I did three events that day. I did the high jump, shuttle hurdles, and the the sprint medley. My first event of the day was the high jump which was really odd because it's usually the last one. I jumped 5"10' and my partner Donald Houston jumped 6"0' for a combined height of 11"10'. We tied for first against this russian kid who I swear had iron legs. This wasn't even the highlight of my day. Next I ran the shuttle hurdles with my teammates Tyrone and Tre McCloud, and Indeo Ragsdale. When we got to the starting line, my heart was pumping faster than ever. It was like I was on the front line in the middle of the Civil War. I was scared to death. Indeo started the race. I couldn't really tell if we were in first or not until Tre came back as the second leg. We were in first as Tre came down the 100m stretch. He got over that last hurlde and yelled go! I shot out to the first hurdle like a million dollars was waiting for me at the finish. The whole time I was running I just kept repeating the word dive in my head as I went over every hurdle. I never ran that fast before. I was smooth like slicing butter. We came in first of course, but I had a feeling we ran extremely good for some reason that day. It just so happens that we shattered a 21 year meet record that was set in 1990, and now are names are in the books until someone can attempt to beat us. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Technical Difficulties(mentor meeting)

Coach McGuirl started telling me about these long and elaborate comments that he was writing on my blog. The whole time he's talking I'm thinking in my head,"This is great.! I have my sponsor and my mentor commenting frequently now," but I can tell by the way he was talking that there was going to be an unexpected ending to this story. Just so happened to be my luck that his computer's internet crashed while he was commenting on my blogs. This meeting was a lesson learned for Coach McGuirl that he should always type it up on word first so that if the internet crashes, you don't have to type it all over again.

Passion

This is what I've been waiting for since June 6, 2010. All my weight lifting, running, and training is finally going to be put to the test. I wonder if she'll be impressed. Though I haven't known this woman long, I'm feeling like she's, hands down, become the love of my life. Like any other  couple we have those days where neither one of us feel like dealing with one another, but you got to fight through it because that's what you do for true love. She's not my first love, but I know this love will last forever. It's been so long since I've seen her. I can't believe it's only one week left until I see her again. Whenever I think about her, my heart beats faster than the speed of light. I'm not ashamed to say the thought of her gives me butterflies. Our relationships kind off weird because she chooses whenever we start back up again, but it's always on me to say when we end. I love track with all my heart, and I'll be counting down the days until I'm on that starting line. 

Thinkin business.!

For my clothing line to jump start, I'm going to need to know how to invest my money or "get more bang for my buck." What I originally designed or envisioned my t-shirts looking like would've cost me quite a penny to produce after talking it over with Mr. Colon, so I decided to keep the same design but tweak it to save myself some money. This is what I like to call "thinking business." To be able to comprehend the pricing of the t-shirts, you must understand the coloring process. Every color that's placed on a shirt must be laid one on top of the other. This means that for every tiny spot of a color you want on your shirt, it counts as one whole color for you to pay for no matter the size. This was going to be an issue because my design originally had small amounts of many colors which was going to equal many dollars. I redesigned the t-shirt to a cost efficient, superb quality having t-shirt. It should be released this coming May.

The city of brotherly lovee.

This video is from my trip to Philadelphia with my classmates: Larry Hill, Ron Thompson, and Kyle Thompson. We interviewed different people on what designers or brands really grab their attention, and what form of advertisement draws them in the most. We also took the time to enjoy the city itself which is portrayed at the end of the video. Hope you enjoy!

Sponsor trip 5(Inception)

Yesterday Mr. Colon and I went to the library to discuss what the goal is for my project, or what it is that I would like to take away from this whole experience. Well, we came up with something that I think will be very productive for me. He asked me if I had ever seen the movie Inception before, and I haven't, but I knew the whole concept of the dream inside a dream theory that they were going for, yet I couldn't see how the movie was connected to my project. A project inside a project is what he said to me. Our goal is to come up with a marketing plan to attack high school track runners like myself. I'm in the perfect position to do this because it's track season, I'm in high school, and I run. I'm in the process of coming up with a catchy slogan for T-shirts like Nike's "just do it" campaign. It's all a working process right now, but I'm positive the outcome will be very satisfying.  

The greatest ah ha moment ever.!

Within our trip to Philadelphia, we met lots of different people, but there was one guy that really brought my knowledge of fashion to a new high. He proposed an idea about style that I have had never even thought of before. He was this short asian guy wearing one of many popular style hats called snapbacks. He really wasn't dressing the part to match his knowledge of fashion, but it was like I was talking to the "yoda" of the fashion world. The amount of words he spoke was little, but the knowledge I gained from it could of last a dozen lifetimes. The bright colors that the all young people are wearing now is to draw attention to themselves, but what they don't realize is that it's the subtle things that really grab the eye. He said something to us that we caught on film that was absoloutely breathe taking, but the four us decided that we will only be keeping it to ourselves. If Larry and I ever make it big, you bet your bottom dollar that you'll see it everywhere.

Mentor meeting

Coach Mcguirl and I talked about possible scenarios for what I could do if for some reason I couldn't meet up with my sponsor. I told him about an idea that a few of the guys in our class came up with. We would go over to Philly to conduct research for our project. It may sound just a tad strange that the four of us happened to go together, but it works out perfectly because we can intertwine all of projects in Philly where as not everyone else can do that. We'd take photos to prove that our research was tangable and take video for the use of our blogs or the project at the end of the year. It was the perfect plan.

Sponsor Trip Alternative.

Yesterday Larry, Ron, Kyle, and I went to Center City to conduct some research on the thesis's of our projects. On our way there, we had just a few ideas on what we would like to do to actually conduct this research. I wanted to interview people on the street and get their opinion on the best clothing brands/designers and what advertising draws them in best to actually become a buyer of these products. We met so many different kinds of people and learned so much. I took some things from this trip that I don't think I'll ever forget for as long as I live. We have pictures and video that we'll show in class.

Im not alone out there|FashionNerd

Mr. Abrams had seen an article in the courier about a man named Curran J. Swint. He's a fashion stylist from Philadelphia who dresses very similar to me. After reading the article, it just made me realize that I'm not the only one in the world with this retro, vintage fashion style. He's exactly what I want to become. His apparel is more than just an alternative style of clothing. It's a style that not everyone understands. Most people won't get why he dresses the way he does or the why I do, so seeing him take this style mainstream is very unexpecting. Fashion is rapidly changing and it's time for people to get on board this plane before it takes off.

HartavaLyon

I’ve been brainstorming some ideas for my presentation at the end of the year, and my sponsor gave me a great idea. In the future, my classmate Larry Hill and I plan on starting our own clothing line called “Hartavalyon.” My idea is to make the first couple shirts of line by April and come up with a marketing plan to pitch the shirts to the school or to the audience. I’m also in the process of making my first backpack as well, so I can also show that at my presentation. It would most likely include a slide show with models wearing the clothes. I'm also thinking of a way to physically prove my thesis statement. 

Whatever you want.(sponsor visit #4)

Mr. Colon picked me up from the school at about 1:30 and took me to meet one of his clients. His client owned a car garage and wanted to market his shop and get some publicity to get his name around. When we first arrived there, I already could tell what a couple of his marketing ideas were going to be based on how hard it was to even find the place. From that I knew he wanted to get his location out to people. That was pretty much all that he was sure of. He was talking to us but he wasn't really saying much. All he knew was that he wanted bright colors, effects, shirts, key chains, signs, etc, but when money was thrown into the conversation, all of that changed. This was a lesson learned for me. People never really know what they want and money changes everything unless they have no budget.

Hurdles are The Story of My life

How can hurdles be seen as the story of my life? Last year was my first year ever running high school track, and also the first time I've ever ran the hurdles. When I first approached the hurdles, they seemed very large and very frightening, but when I just ran them without thinking about them, everything became a whole lot easier. When I first entered senior project, I thought everything was going to be difficult being that it's my senior year, and when everyone's relaxing at the end of the year, I'll be presenting my presentation to everyone. The hurdles became easier and so  has senior project.

Teaching an Old dog a new trick

This week in my mentor meeting with coach Mcguirl, I introduced him to the world of blogger. I'm not sure if he has ever blogged before but I'm sure he's never seen a blog so extravagant as mine. I gave him my url so that he will now be able to comment on all of the exciting an adventurous blogs I shall be  writing this semester.  We've also started talking about possible project ideas for my 45min presentation at the end of the year.

I'm runnin this show..

My sponsor said something to me that has really got me thinking lately. He told me he hates working for other people and has the hardest time following orders, so he decided to become his own boss. That's exactly what I want to be. I know it can't be easy running your own business, but life is what you make and a chance is like a picture, so I plan on taking it(drake). What does it actually take to build up the courage to start up a business. I plan on finding out. Becoming a designer and owning my own boutique with my classmate Larry Hill may seem like a fantasy to some, but for me it's a reality. I'm not listening to those who say I'm foolish because I'm sure everyone who aspired for something great seemed crazy at first but that still didn't stop them. Anything is possible in this life, and I'm going to test the limits of this statement.

Field Trip #1

Today was my first outing with my sponsor. He had a photo shoot with the Deptford Twp wrestling squad and brought me along for the ride. What I envisioned was nothing compared to what I what I experienced today. Not only was I learning about photography and marketing, but how to multitask in the most hectic of situations. Telling 30 hyperactive , sugar overdosed 5yr olds to sit and wait patiently while we take the pictures until it's their turn is like catching a cheetah with your bare hands. Odds are it won't be happening any time soon. The whole experience made me think of my classmate Quashelle Paige. She's dealing with child psychology and I was wondering why the younger the human mind the more primitive we behave. The kids were like mini energizer bunnies. Running in circles, jumping off walls, and flipping all over the place seemed like the norm from the look on the parents' faces. One kid was even choking another kid out! I know it's wrestling  but these kids were worst than Ralph and Jack of "Lord of the Flies." Mr. Colon gave me a little lesson on how to figure out where to try and market your product. The demand must be high and you have to know how to talk to people. This world pretty new to me, but I'm a quick learner and I'll catch on easy. I can't wait until our next meeting. 

The Colour of L♥vê

What's the point of Valentine's Day? Everyone seems to think it's the day where two people take the time out of each other's day to show one another just how much they actually care for them, and makeup for all the wrong they've done. Love is supposedly in the air, and everyone is all googly eyes over one another, but I see Valentine's Day from a business man's perspective. It's nothing more than one of the most marketable holidays of the year. Every one's running around trying buy to the generic cards and candy for that special someone. All clothing departments are selling red like crazy and people subconsciously are attracted just because it's Valentine's Day.

-1 and a 1/2Men

After a long two marking periods, we've finally found me the perfect sponsor! The journey was long, but we've seemed to come out prosperous in the end. Though changing my project topic so late, contrary to popular demand, isn't openly accepted in the senior project world, I've managed to succeed in the process and also kill two birds with one stone. Coach McGuirl and I were originally looking for an internship at some sort of boutique, but that definitely didn't happen. Our final conclusion was me having to change my project topic. I've always been interested in photography and pictures are used to market clothing, so I thought maybe I could tie photography to my fashion marketing some how. Well, Coach McGuirl was on the money with this one. Sam Colon, degree in marketing, photographer, and aspiring fashion designer. This was the perfect match for me. I was supposed to go to a track team's photo shoot with him today but our schedules were conflicting, so he said we'll start officially next week.

- Pack Rat

n fashion class I'm making my first backpack! The complexity of the bag isn't as outrageous as the image I've provided, but the quality is going to be up to par. While designing my bag, I figured it would be a perfect "Ah-hah!" moment. Well, I plan on starting my own clothing line with my best friend Larry, and I figured this bag could be the perfect opportunity for us to market our clothing line. My plan is to have it done before we go on our senior trip. That way I can sport it around. I'd also take some photos for my blog, our future website to come, and would be marketing my own product at the same time. The photos will be of me in different poses with the bag that just make it look so much better like putting jewels on aluminum foil. This was my "Ah-hah!" moment for the week.

Dress to Impress

How can people market themselves? For example, if two people are going out for the same position in a professional field, how are they chosen? Believe it or not, a persons apparel can give them an upper hand in the job world. People may say that they don't judge anyone by what they wear, but that's a bold faced lie. We're always judging people even when we try not to. I'm starting to think that it's human nature. How else can we get an idea what kind of person you are if it's our first time meeting. In some situations it's not always fair, but what is in this life. Like Mr. Abrams always says, "fake it til you make it."

Be careful what you ask for.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5419659

             This article has taught me that a career in the world of fashion should be about more than just money and clothes. The fashion designer talked about in the article is living the dream that I wish to achieve, but she wasn't happy with it. She wanted more out of life. She wanted her clothes to do more than just look good on people, but to make people feel good about themselves and that's exactly what she accomplished. This makes me wonder will I want something more if I make it, and if so what?    

              My future has just been reshaped after reading this article. Living a lavish lifestyle is fine and all, but will I be happy? Not unless I'm helping people and the world around me along the way. I'm not sure what I'll do yet, but I'm inspired to want more out of life and grab it by the horns. Maybe I'll create top of the line clothing for low cost like H&M. I guess we'll all just have to wait and see once I get to that point in my life.



Manikin in the making

          I took a picture of myself because in the world of fashion marketing, making the product attractive is all that matters. Having the right apparel is one thing, but knowing how to wear the items so that people want buy it is the icing on the cake. Have you ever asked yourself why the manikins in retail stores tend to draw you in to the clothing more so than if you were to just see the clothes hanging up? Its pyschology. The manikins are placed into positions that the buyers are able to visualize themselves wearing the apparel which in turn draws them into the store. 

What is Fashion Marketing?

Marketing isn't what the hype has led everyone to believe. Marketing isn't fashion shows, public relations, hollywood stylist, or a website. Although these things may be used in the field of marketing, on their lonesome they aren't considered marketing. Marketing is the way your target customer wants to be reached, so it has nothing to do with you, and is all about the customer.

Inspiration is all around us.

While walking through the Cherry Hill Mall with Larry and my cousin, a woman came up to me and asked if I was interested in modeling. At first I told her I wasn't interested and just walked away, but the more I thought about it, the more it started to look very beneficial to my future if I had modeling experience. Eventually I want my own line of clothing something and run my own business, so with this experience under my belt, I could model my own clothing and save money in the future by hiring one. Once this idea struck me I turned around an asked if the offer was still open. She took down my info and said that they'll be calling to evaluate me in a couple weeks to see if I have what it takes to become a model. I'm still a little discouraged in trying the whole thing out. I usually don't see too many black models, so I did some research and found that I'm not the only one who finds this statement true. I read an article in the NY Times,http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/beauty-and-soul/?scp=19&sq=models%20fashion&st=cse, that said the issue is that agencies are simply not taking the time out to find and develop young models since Europe's are developing much faster.