Research Topic

The topic my group chose to research this semester is art. We chose this topic from a news article that I found about an artist named Samuel Silva, who is an attorney and lives in Portugal. What is unique about Samuel is that he creates his work by using BIC ballpoint pens and only with 8 colors, which means that he "cross-blends" colors to get another desired color (par. 4.) Samuel's art is so life-like, so much so that it is hard to believe it was created by ballpoint pens! He draws anywhere from people to animals to scenery. 

This topic caught my attention by how amazingly beautiful each drawing was; moreover, it surprised me to find out that Samuel did this as a hobby! This highly interested me, which brought me to why I care about it. Samuel spends so much time on his art; for one drawing he spent 20 hours on! This speaks volumes because drawing is not even his career; he does it because he loves it. Someone who puts that much time into their art, most certainly has passion for what they do. I think that what Samuel does is so inspiring. It shows that you can make art out of anything; you do not have to have all the fancy tools or pencils to be able to create it. I love to see when someone uses their talent such as Samuel did and I believe he also inspires others to think outside of the box and go for your dreams. As for my major in mathematics, I think this could be a wonderful tool in teaching others and bringing out their creativity and imagination. 


Cite:
Cooper, Gael Fashingbauer. "That's Not A Photo? Amazing Artworks Done With Ballpoint Pen." Today Entertainment. 28 August 2012. Web. 28 August 2012. http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/08/28/13509781-thats-not-a-photo-amazing-artworks-done-with-ballpoint-pen?lite

3 News Stories

1) This first link is on what researchers are finding out about what teenagers think about themselves, their body-image, particularly with being fat or chubby. A study done in Norway found that 22% of its 649 girls who thought they were chubby or fat, when in fact they weren't, became overweight. This may not seem like a big deal, but self-image is a big deal. Although this study was not done in America, it is well-known that what teenagers think of themselves is a big issue, again, particularly in the body-image area. I chose this article because I think it can help everyone see where problems arise for teenagers and how we can help them. 
http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2012/08/28/13508708-teens-who-feel-fat-eventually-will-get-fat?lite

2) My second link I chose is a news story on an artist who makes his art all out of ballpoint pens. I am always intrigued by stories and people like this. The artist takes 8 colors of BIC pens and creates his works of art; they are absolutely beautiful and incredible!! This guy does not even do it as his main career, he's an attorney, which is why I chose this article. I think that when people do what they love, share their talent in such ways can inspire others to do the same. It shows that you don't have to have a set way of doing things- the right kind of equipment or schooling. Taking art and going outside the box is true art!
http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/08/28/13509781-thats-not-a-photo-amazing-artworks-done-with-ballpoint-pen?lite

3) The third link is about the fuel standard being raised by Obama. He wants new cars to get an average of 54.5mpg by 2025. The main reasons for doing so is to decrease the expense on gas by Americans, consumption of oil, and environmental effects. This seems like a really interesting issue, which is why I chose it. It is obviously a great idea and would help people, like myself, in America tremendously to save money on gas. However, I am still not quite sure if I support it or not because of the potential effects this change can have, which is why I think it would be a great topic for further research.
http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/28/13527985-obama-raising-fuel-standard-to-average-545-mpg-by-2025?lite

Favorite Research Project

Honestly the only research project that I can remember doing was for a psychology class that I took while in technical college. I had to do a paper on a topic of my choice, obviously it had to do with psychology. I chose to do it on music therapy and its effects on certain medical disorders and illnesses. While it was not my favorite project, due to my lack of remembering other projects and the hassle of writing in APA format, I did enjoy it.

For this project I needed to research for journal articles that dealt with my topic. This was very much time consuming, but I still found them. My main reason for choosing and doing this topic was because of music. I believe that music is a very powerful tool to the human being. It can bring healing, open a hidden wound, encourage happiness, or cause anger; it can move any emotion into action. Music is not just sounds, or beats, or a set of instruments playing all at once, music is the heart. It is someone's heart, mind, body, and soul and allows for others to just dance, be free, and be happy!

So with that belief, I looked into what music did as a therapy for mental illnesses and such disorders as ADHD and autism. It was very interesting, but yet not too surprising to know the effects of music therapy. Music is universal to human beings; naturally, patients of such illnesses and disorders did react, positively! Not that these patients were healed, but it helped them in their everyday life struggles and made life easier. It helped them have different, more positive views. :) I certainly hope that music will be used more and more to help people dealing with these medical issues.

Introduction

Hello Everyone! My name is Nikole, but you can call me Nikki. I am a sophomore and my major is in Mathematics. This is my first semester at UWG. I'm loving the atmosphere of this campus and cannot wait to get more involved. I took this class because anything that has to do with the library world, I am in! A little about myself: 

• I have five brothers and two sisters. (I have a sister commonly mistaken as my twin. We are 9 days less than a year apart.)
• I am not Mexican (I get mistaken for being Mexican all the time, as well as being Hawaiian or Asian.)  I am half Navajo and half white.
• I was born and raised in Gallup, New Mexico until I was 13 and moved here to Georgia.
• I love life: Jesus, my family, my friends, and all that comes with it. (Rule #32: Enjoy the little things.)

I look forward to working with and meeting you all.