Joining a Community

I believe that joining communities is simply a common and expected practice in which all people have to experience.  Whenever someone begins something new, or tries something they have never done before, they are usually joining a community that appreciates or focuses on the same thing.  Joining a new community, in my opinion, is fun because you are exposed to the unknown, and you learn a lot about yourself and others.  At the same time, joining new communities can be somewhat scary, due to the fact that you might be the odd one out for a short amount of time. I have joined many different communities throughout my lifetime.  One of the most special communities that I have joined is my community of coworkers at the restaurant I work at.  I have been working at Outback Steakhouse for two and a half years now, and the friendships and fun times I have had there have been irreplaceable.  I first got my job there about a week before I turned 16.  I remember when I first began there I felt so excited to be doing something so responsible and on my own, but I remember feeling a little bit lost at the very beginning, because I had to learn all of the ropes and how to do everything correctly (and I am a perfectionist), and most of the people were a few years older than me.  Throughout my entire life, I have always gotten along well with people who are older than me, I don't know exactly what it is, but I have always enjoyed being around them.  Some of my closest friends that I work with are 2 or 3 years older than me and I have some of the most fun memories with them.  Something special about my community at my job, is that I look to a lot of my older friends as the sisters or brothers that I never had-I am an only child.  In all honesty, Outback is a special community in my life, and I feel grateful to be able to say that I always look forward to going to work, because it just feels like I'm hanging out with friends.  Through my job and learning within my community at Outback, I feel like a more interesting person, and I have learned a lot about myself and society.

Starting Regis As a Maker

What my take on the connection of my start at Regis is with my manifesto is how the application of the manifesto has appeared in my life at Regis since the start of school. The following is how I explain this connection:
I suppose that at least in regards to starting at Regis, I am following my manifesto almost perfectly. I believe that I have two very good examples that correlate between my manifesto and my starting at Regis. The first example is my school work.
Since I have arrived at Regis, I have done what I can to make the best grades possible. I usually asses my homework and try to understand what can be done in what time, and I recognize that failing is very possible, but I try to avoid failing when it comes to school work. I have ended up doing my homework very systematically everyday. I know that it needs to get done. Although I have been doing it for years, my appreciating of refining my work has proven itself very important, and so I have done that. At the end of it all, I make myself very happy with my work because I would know that it was done.
The next example is actually my body. Since the very first day it was possible to enter that fitness center, I have gone everyday. In regards to the manifesto, I realize that going to failure is very important for gains. I do what it takes to get excellent gains in the gym, and I have been reaping the benefits. I have been refining my muscles in ways that I have not done in a while. Lastly, I have been making gains and achieving the bliss that I spoke of in my manifesto.
With all of this, that is how my manifesto on making connects to my start at Regis.

Apprentice

For the last 33 years I have been learning how to live. When my birthday came this year my friend Melissa declared it my Jesus year-- a lot to live up to for one solar revolution. I believe that I have a soul, a contemplation of energy that meets in me, this body. It is always being made more, different, differently bruised and differently whole. I believe this is the making that I am most active in. It is a practice of making that might not occur to everyone, but we are making ourselves, in collaborative effort with the happenstance of life. Someday I will be a master builder of my own heart, and I will be able to make choices toward beauty (instead of stumbling into it through accidents of grace, which to their credit, can be counted on to happen). Someday I will move with careful arcs, and as my body slows, the visions that it can manifest in the world will be more whole, smoother, will fit in the palm of the hand like a perfect river stone. I am trying to be a maker who can pull together an alchemy of words that changes the reader. How could I ever be far from my master makers though; my mother, my father. I have apprenticed myself to them.

My mother has hands that are always moving across the surface of something, and she is always making it more. She will be sitting, her hands doing the work of beading, or sketching, or sewing, while she is talking to me about my life. My mother has hands with long fingers that are strong, the skin of her hands are pulled slightly with muscle and age, her nails are polished with clear polish, sometimes speckled with paint, and are of medium length. When I was growing up she would bite her nails, cut them to the quick, but after she stopped drinking she stopped hurting her nails, and now they are always fine.  My mother can weave metal and beads into a universe, into a myth. She paints crows and makes miniatures that tell the story of her childhood. My mother held at bay a thousand leaping fears to create.

She is tall, or has been in the past, before her spine started acting up. Her family comes from the eastern block of Europe, and she has an amazing jaw-- square, strong, like a house or a ship. There is a picture of her with my father, standing in sweater and leather boots on the top of a mountain. My mother moves rocks and builds walls. She and my father built the garden in the highlands, and then the garden in Golden, walls and roots and recovering old marbles in the ground like ancient glass artifacts. My mother, even with her hurt spine and the pain in her wrist (braced all the time against age), built wall after wall last year so that they could have a garden in the scrub and sage of a high valley where my parents are living.They pulled from the ground stone after stone, and my father cut plank after plank, until they wrenched out of space an oasis. My mother taught me how to make.

My father plays guitar and writes. Music would drift down through my youth, Beatles songs and blues licks cascading out of the air from the upstairs balcony. He played almost everyday, just for a while. He wrote and made us stories. He wrote us a book, never published, that told an amazing tale of winter. He wrote himself into that book, and me, and we traveled together to save the world. My father’s hands are always rough now, cut, and covered in scabs from the building. His knuckles wider with the start of arthritis. This last year he built the fence that encloses their oasis in the valley. It is a work of art, the planks hand cut and framing your vision of the fourteen thousand foot peaks that stand a few miles away. They lay like lines of music against the living forest and stone, like a poem made of cedar. My father writes moments that are only his and ours, that call his childhood in words up and out of dust.

My father is a big man who laid wood floors for his father. My father was in the military in Germany during the cold war, sitting on the border, listen in on the chatter of the Russians. He says it was mostly drinking, smoking pot, and skiing. My parents met on a train to a ski resort, and again that night in the bar, and were married months later with the idea that they could always get divorced if it didn’t work. That was in the 70s, and this year they built another garden. This year they made a new life, again. My father has very blue eyes, that have seen alpine light and alpine moons. He tells stories rarely, and when he does I want to hold my breath, afraid that he will stop. My father taught me how to make.

Now I have been making myself for some years. It was a slow start, falling in love with the learning how, the asking what, the pain of failing. We fail ourselves over and over. We are always making ourselves. Now I can sometimes grow a plant. Can have the care to water it, and watch it for the summer, and move it from the too bright sun. Sometimes I can make a wall to hold a garden. Sometimes I can move my hand across the surface of a thing and have it come away a tiny, malformed universe. I have written a few good poems. They are rare, and born of hours that seem to stretch like desert afternoons, and I don’t show them to many people. Sometimes I practice chords on my guitar. I have not made it yet to rifts.  

Maker Mission Statement

I feel like these prompts are getting redundant. But anyways, my maker manifesto, or mission statement cant really be defined. Because I don't want to limit myself to a specific category. I mean I could say that my making is of the good. The good being a broad statement that encompasses the good for me or the good for the society, or the good just for being good. Aristotle says that the good is something that is in it of itself, it is the end product. There is good which is useful or in other words the things we do to live, but there is also the good, which is things we do just because we can. So I can do good or the good with my making. I can do good by making something for personal use, so as means to an end. Or I can do the good and make just for the hell of it. Or I could make to better society or our community via ideas or prototypes. I don't feel like making should be tied down to one definition. Because if it is, then that is when we loose all intelligent or creative imagination.

Regis Experience With My Makers Manifesto

My makers manifesto includes making a future and career for myself and making stronger bonds with the people I care most about. When I thought about coming to Regis for school at the beginning of my senior year, I was hoping that it'd be a good fit and I'd grow as a person there. So far, Regis has definitely been a great fit for me and I hope I continue to grow as a person. The main reason I came to Regis was for the nursing program, so it's easy for me to connect my experience here with my future. So far, I've started to build my future here at Regis by taking classes required for my major. I've learned great study skills already and am learning how to balance a stressful schedule with also trying to maintain a social life. It's also given me time to think about what I actually want to be doing in my life after college and so far it's still nursing. Creating a future though isn't all about the classes you take or the grades you get. I've also started to create my future by the strong, new friendships I've made here that I hope last. Being around so many new people has allowed me to try and open up to new ideas and perspectives on life. It's a huge step to let someone into your life and it hasn't always been easy for me to do that. I also think I've become closer to my family through my college experience. Being away from them is so hard, but it's comforting knowing they miss and love me. I truly believe I've grown here at Regis and that my future is growing as well.

My Maker Manifesto in Relation to My Regis Experience

As a reminder, the three sections of my manifesto include: asking questions, making mistakes, and sharing my creativity. Thus far, these three chunks of my maker manifesto can also relate to my experience at Regis.

The weeks prior to the beginning of the semester were scary and surreal. I had no idea what to expect when it came to college. I have no siblings that were able to give me advice and it’s been many years since my mom has attended college. I realized that this is a process that I’m going to have to figure out on my own. It’s not going to be easy but a trial that I must endure.

So far, I have discovered that asking questions will be vital to my success at Regis. Everyone I have met has been very patient when it comes to answering my questions. In my opinion, there is such a thing as a stupid question and I’m sure that I’ve asked a few. Everybody is more than willing to provide guidance and that’s what I appreciate the most about the university.
I’ve come to accept the fact that throughout this process that I’m going to make mistakes. There will be tests that I could have done better on and there will be times that I could have studied more. I’m a perfectionist, so this is hard for me to admit. However, I am not flawless and I will have missteps, and that’s okay.

Last, but not least is the part of sharing my creativity. This class will be essential when it comes to accomplishing this aspect of my manifesto. People have commented on my creativity in the past, however I didn’t give it much thought. In other words, my creativity wasn’t intentional, it just happened. Reitmeyer, however, forces us to look at creativity head on. It’s not an option in this class, it’s a necessity. I believe the tools that we learn in this class will benefit us all far into the future.

In conclusion, we’re lucky to be attending the university that we are because we are encouraged to ask questions, make mistakes, and share our creativity. Most universities just push their students to graduation and don’t give a damn about what happens to them after. Regis on the other hand, invests in our journeys, not only on campus, but after graduation as well. 

My Manifesto Connected to Starting at Regis

In my maker manifesto, I talked a lot about keeping my creativity alive forever, and also keeping an open mind and discovering or experiencing new things.  My manifesto goes well with me beginning school at Regis, because for the most part, many of the things that Regis has to offer are new and different to me.  I was born in Boulder, Colorado, and I have been raised in the same community for my entire life.  For years, I have been with mostly the same people, in the same environment, and everything has felt very comfortable.  The day of my high school graduation, it hit me, that some of my closest friends, and the people in which I had been with for so long would now be far away, but I also felt a positive shift in maturity and direction, because people now knew their pathways and how they wanted to go forward in life.  During orientation at Regis, I especially had to keep an open mind and take in all of the new things.  I will admittedly say, that although I was incredibly excited to start at Regis, I was also somewhat terrified.  Upon all of the newness, I was asking myself if I would like the campus, if I would like the professors, and if I would make new friends, and when I was thinking about all of those things, and whether they would be right nor not, I became overwhelmed.  Sure enough, it goes to show that following my manifesto of experiencing new things is wonderful, because I absolutely adore every part of Regis.  Now when I think about those questions that I was thinking to myself, I feel slightly ridiculous.  Experiencing newness is great.  I love the beauty of campus, I enjoy all of my professors and my classes, and I can tell that I am making friends at Regis, that will be friends for life. 

Regis Experience and Maker Manifesto Connected

In my Maker Manifesto I really emphasized community with self and community with other people, and now that I'm at college it's a completely different experience. I'm around so many different new people and re-learning how to make community is quite challenging especially when coming from a community that you've known and surrounded yourself with for years (my community of family and friends is quite small I'd say). But being in college so far, I've been surrounded by so many people 24/7 (which can be good and bad). Yet, it's so good to see so many people from so many different backgrounds and states and heritages, and states of mind all in the same place where we are dedicated to trying to move forward with our education and our lives. Already a lot of people I've met have already had impacts on me, though school has been in session for only a few weeks, and hopefully throughout the next four years I have overwhelmingly good impacts on the people that I talk to and meet as I strive to do the same thing in my future career. I don't only wish to be a part of a community and make community, but I wish to make our community and the communities I associate myself with a little bit better by first trying to better myself and/ as well as trying to help understand or maybe just be kind to those who surround me.

Maker Manifesto

My maker manifesto has a couple different points to it that I think are important to consider when trying to grasp the idea of what being a maker is or considering what successful making entails. First, there is not always a material outcome to something being made. What I mean by this is that when people think of making they think of an end result that is material in nature, not something that cant be seen. I think that the overlooked side of making is more important, that is making feelings, not only for yourself, but also others. Making someone else feel happiness, joy, confident, anything of that nature is crucial to the world. Felling those feeling within yourself make you a better person. On the flip side feeling sadness, humiliation, guilt, can make you stronger. Second, in order for something to be considered a make, it should do it at the expense of someone else. If you want to make a homemade gun just to look at and feel accomplishment in making that's great. If that gun then becomes a weapon to hurt other is should be considered a bad thing, and should be taken away along with your right to make it again. I know that's a radical example, but I'm a little crunched for time so I had to get straight to the point.Lastly, I feel that in order to be a good maker you have to be creative and innovative. Failure is always an option the first time, as long as your willing to pick yourself up and try again. The heart of making lies within us and we need to do our best to keep it moving in a positive direction. These creations need to be making the world a better place for all, not just for yourself all the time, and surly not a worse place for most. This picture I have at the end just represents the second point I made, that making feelings is just as important as any other type.

This quote to me is great because is is speaking directly to the fact that power through someone else is a great type of power. Making someone go on in life through tough times, is the best gift you can ever give. 

A Manifesto about Beliefs, Intentions and Motives

After doing a little research and figuring out what a manifesto actually was, I decided that it was a collage of beliefs, motives and intentions -  so that is how my blog will be. I believe that no matter what I say someone will always have a negative opinion about it. As my coach always said, the dogs are always going to bark. Some people can become easily frustrated knowing that their ideas or beliefs of any kind won't be accepted by many people. I am a strong believer in getting out of your normal comfort zone and challenging yourself. As an example, presidents in past times (I am not sure specifically which presidents) used to surround themselves with people who challenged them in order to sharpen their thoughts and ideas. If you look around now, many of us surround ourselves with people who will agree with us and never have a different point of view or opinion. I think it is very important to go out into the world and surround yourself with challenges. I believe that through these challenges and struggles you will really be tested if what you believe still remains true even after you have broadened your knowledge in other areas. This is one thing that I am excited to find throughout college. I greatly admire when people from different walks of life come together to discuss (not argue) their opinions and thoughts. Another thing that I am passionate about is not letting my story define me. No, I am not trying to diminish people who have had a super hard and strenuous life, but it's what you choose to make of that story that shows how much it will continually affect you. People who have had more difficult lives also have more power to be a stronger presence to make a difference in the world. Because this is what I believe, I resent the idea that school or what anyone thinks of me will predestine me into who I will eventually become. In conclusion of this hodge podge of beliefs, ideas and opinions, I will  go out , live life and end up with no regrets or apologies because..... the dogs are always going to bark.

I found this article on the Forbes website... I like it because it reiterates some little life lessons we often forget...:)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngreathouse/2014/01/28/die-with-no-regrets-follow-these-43-life-lessons-2/

Maker Manifesto

Making for me is a big part of my life. I no longer think of making as something that I strive for as an alternative, but instead as first step. It is a very creative process for me. It is very rare that I will start out with any kind of plan when I am going to make something, just an idea for a finished product and then I go to work. Making is just as much about learning as it is about the finished product. Most of the time I don't get it right on the first time. After all most of the time I have no idea what I am doing in the first place. That is why I just try and experiment, and through that I am about to learn, more about what I am doing and maybe come out of the experience with some kind of finished product.

http://parade.condenast.com/38169/mitchalbom/100502-the-lost-art-of-building-with-your-hands/

Making has become something of a “lost art”. Because of how easy it is to get anything, people no longer chose to make something them selves. The problem with this is that many innovations and new ideas come from regular people making and creating. Also whats the fun in just buying something, it is far more fun if you make it yourself.

My Manifesto

My short maker manifesto talks about how I am a maker of everything I could possibly be within my working boundaries. This means that I can make many things while I work at the nursing home. The things I make are all different. Although I make things physically that can be used to help someone out I like to focus more on what I have made to better my future and the future of others.

                Walking into a classroom filled with strangers all seeking to reach their goals. I walk into the classroom where I will be learning to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. The summer of my sophomore year a company named Julia Temple Healthcare Center reached out to my school asking if anyone over the age of sixteen was interested in accepting an offer they had. The deal was that if the company pays the student’s CNA school’s tuition and passes that the student will have to work two years for their company. I passed all the tests, received my CNA license, and up to this day I am still working for the company that paid my way through school. I never knew that CNAs existed. I knew that nursing homes and obviously hospitals existed but I always thought that the ones in charge of making sure all the patients were well taken care of were nurses. After a couple moths passed that I was working there, I made up my mind on what I wanted to my career to be. I wanted to become a nurse. I think that the community in which I live is not very well educated. I do not want my community to be like that anymore. I am going to better myself and my future to help those do the same. I am a maker of keeping God’s creation alive and healthy. I am well aware that this will not always happen and that there is room for loss and failure, but it feels like I have a responsibility of trying to be the best that I can be and make my living worthwhile.

Manifesto!

I'm not too sure on how to make this manifesto works so I'm just going to give it a try and see how it goes.

Making is an art, a way to imagine, and a path way from what doesn't exist to existing and benefiting.

To me making is a way of expressing my ideas and applying them to reality. It is a way to aide the human world in terms of growth.

Whether it is economically, physically, or emotionally the art of making is something that benefits everyone.  It shapes and developed skills and intelligent within people.

Making is a way for us all to also connects with others for not everything could be made without the physical helps of others and ideas contributed by others.

No matter how people apply it into there lives, making can only benefits the mind and never harm it. How can imagination ever harm anyone.

We are all makers and we makes everyday whether we want to admit it or not. I believe that if you can imagine something and have the wild idea of making it, you should totally do it. Make it happen! Make it original.

Robert Collier once said “Make every thought, every fact, that comes into your mind pay you a profit. Make it work and produce for you. Think of things not as they are but as they might be. Don't merely dream - but create!”.

 http://www.youmotivation.com/inspirational-quotes/30-inspirational-quotes-robert-collier-9104

The Manifesto Above All Other Manifestos

I believe in making, and the beauty, anguish and terror of it. The insecurities, the love, and the how everyone, no matter what they think, can be a maker.

Through mistakes, or misshapes, is when most things are made. You can be so wrong, and still be right. You can have no idea what you're doing, but still do and that is making.

There has never been a right or wrong answer. We set the rules, and we choose to follow or disregard them. We make our own path and that path determines what we make and how we sustain that making.

I believe that making relationships and making art is the same. Making something that means something to you, and no matter what it is, it's yours.

I feel like what people don't realize is that we make everyday. It has never had to be something extravagant or something that has taken a large amount of time. It just has to be something that you create and even if it has little value, it is still something that you made. Something that is a part of you.

Making is for everyone. Everyone is a maker and no matter what you make or how you feel about it, that fact never changes.

Maker Manifesto

My Maker Manifesto... I guess I really don't know where to start since making isn't really something that I think about on a daily basis, and it's not really something I'm entirely passionate about. Yet, I guess I wish to make a good life for myself if that counts for anything... What's funny is I don't exactly know how to go about doing this but I don't think that anyone does. 

Making for me if anything is really about community. Community with self and community with others. Being at peace with yourself and learning and growing by yourself as well as learning and getting to know and be at peace with others. Finding happiness and joy in yourself and people and being able to make a difference in people's lives, lastly allowing them to be able to have an impact on you as well.

Along the way to wherever I’m going though, I hope to make community and make a positive impact on people's lives which probably somewhere along the lines ties in with me wanting to be a doctor. I don't have crazy dreams like saving everybody in the world, but I believe that I possibly touch each and every person I work with, no matter how large or how few. 

My Manifesto

When I first read this prompt I was confused on what I was suppose to write about because I didn't completely understand what manifesto was. After looking up a few definitions I figured out it was a set of intentions, opinions or motives. I started to thinking about my goals and aspirations in life and two big ideas popped in my head. The first one was making a career and future for myself, and that all starts here at Regis. This is huge for me because I'm a very type A person and always want to know where I am headed in life. I'm in the nursing program and a big goal right now is making it through seamless progression so I can graduate in four years. I think this is a very stressful program but all I have to do is continually work hard and hope it pays off because I'd love to be a nurse one day. The second idea that came to my mind is building relationships and strong bonds with the people I care most about. Yeah it's easy to make friends and have a good friendship with them, but I believe I need to dive deeper into these relationships and test the waters. I want to truly know who will be there for me and hopefully find friends that will last a lifetime. Along with those friendships, I want to become closer to not just my immediate family, but my relatives, aunts and uncles. I feel like I can easily get to know them even better and it will bring some light into my life. These two goals of mine are a huge part of my manifesto.

My Personal Manifesto

Like others have said, I did not know exactly what a personal manifesto was, so I looked it up, it is: a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, motives, or aims. My manifesto is rooted in living my life with a purpose, my own personal purpose. I am on a quest to find the new things in life, not just running with the same crowd my whole life. My intention is to test my fears, continuously putting me beyond my comfort zone. Sure, I might fail, but that only means I am going to succeed some time. My growth is fueled by my desire and by assessing the answer, not the question. I believe that one's outlook on life is direct reflection upon what is invested in that life. Also, I make sure to be living in the moment as much as possible, because creativity is maximized by being in the moment. I find that this creativity can be taken anywhere in life, achieving whatever it is one has in mind.

My Manifesto

     In order to know how to make a Manifesto I looked up the site: http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Manifesto. I’m not entirely sure if this is a normal manifesto but it’s what I made, see what I did their, out of it.

    Making is a profound piece of human nature. Making is necessary in everyone’s lives but especially mine.  Making is a sacred part of my living

   Doing is not the same as making. Doing is completing a task but making is creating said task. Doing cannot be done without making.

    I realize that without making I would not be such of a human as I am. I also realize that I am a maker and so is everyone else. In this I realize that no one is a greater maker than somebody else because everything made was made from a magical imagination of another human.

      Making, which is not doing, should be recognized as a special part of human nature, not just to me but to everyone.

     I make crafts. I make photos. I make changes. I make moments. But what I love most is the fact that I indeed make.  

     Now that I know what I make and see its importance I want to make a goal because right now I want to state that, above everything I make, I want to make a difference.

     A difference in other people’s lives by making choices that put others above me. This will make a difference in the lives of those around me. I hope to one day take this goal around the world with me and make a difference throughout earth.

   In the end, I guess that my maker manifesto is that I want to make my life one in which I can make a differences, not for myself but instead for the lives of others.

I also found this manifesto poem and thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope you do too.

Maker Manifesto?

*Note: To understand how to reply for this prompt, I need to learn what a manifesto is. Google says "a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate." Also, according to other blogs, there is a specific format to these things, so I'll need to look that up as well. By the way, I am counting these words as part of my word count.

Manifesto on Making

I RECOGNIZE
... that much goes into making. Failure is an important part of making, and I must learn from these instances to make better things. Also, I recognize that one can 'make' anything. And, I recognize that everyone will 'make' their own opinions on my makings.

I DO
... what is necessary to complete my make. I will put in the time needed to finish my goals and to make. Acting upon things during the making process is how to strive and to gain. Through my actions, through doing, I will complete the task.

I REFINE
... my projects and take care of them. I will make works that I can be proud of, and that others will like. I refine my thoughts on the project as well because although the opinions of others is important, my own is what truly matters.

I MAKE.
Yeah, that's it. Make. I will take all that I know on the topic of  'making,' and I will apply it so that I can achieve bliss. I will go out into the world and give them a taste of what I have to offer. As a part of this world, I will make history in my own, and hopefully big, way. I will make history in the way that my actions will become apart of the universe, and what I make will impact others.



So here's the picture I used to model my manifesto:

http://ccrweb.ca/sites/ccrweb.ca/files/images/ccr_manifesto2007_en.jpg

Maker Manifesto

When I first read that the prompt was to make a manifesto, I became slightly worried, because I had no idea what a manifesto was.  After looking it up and discovering that it is basically a list of goals for your life, or your personal intentions, I became very enthralled with the thought that every person actually does have a personal manifesto for their life.  I love the idea that someone can have a manifesto for multiple things as well.  My personal maker manifesto is to keep all avenues of creativity alive within me forever, and to experiment with new creative things.  I believe art has been a pretty big part of my life.  I have always made DIY things, I used to sing in every talent show throughout elementary school, and I absolutely adore anything having to do with artsy things such as architecture, design, and really just art in general.  I have many things that I strive to create or be involved in in the future.  I someday would love to design my own custom home, I want to create a blog that people will actually be interested in reading about myself, and I have the desire to design my own piece of jewelry someday, literally just for fun.  Though these are somewhat dramatically different things, I think they would really bring out a part of the things I really enjoy and appreciate, and turn them into something physical, rather than simply an idea.  I think that art is so interesting, and I believe that it helps to shape every individual in their opinions and in their perceptions of life. In all honesty, my manifesto is really to be involved with creating or viewing art forever, because it creates part of who I am, and the things in which I care about most.

Maker Manifesto

Manifesto for a Maker - The inventor inside of all of us.
Basics 101 -
1. You have to believe in yourself …..if you don't,  why would anyone else?
2. You have to try.  You will never know unless you try.  If you try and you fail, at least you know     you tried.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  And, it  beats the endless, what if I had???what if I had????
You succeed, that's great, you gain  confidence to try even harder, because success breeds success.
  You fail, and then you know,  it was't meant to be.  Or,  you are  motivated to try even harder the next time.  It's never a mistake to try, some of the best inventions were created by mistake. It's true, check out John Hopps or Percy Spencer - 2 of the creators talked about in the Business Insider article "15 Life-Changing Inventions That Were Created By Mistake."
3. You have to follow your instinct.  Listen to yourself.   When it's telling you stop and you don't want to you should stop and follow your gut or if your instincts  are telling you to go on,  and your self doubt gets the best of you,  you don't know where your drive is leading, but you owe it to yourself and all of us to go for it.  You may have the key to the next big thing or the cure to a fatal illness, like ALS.  One Facebook post about wanting to raise awareness of ALS, has lead to millions of dollars being raised for research for a cure.
4. You don't have to be a perfectionist - we don't live in a perfect world.  But people will keep making new things until we get there!

Below is a like that I thought was pretty cool,  about somethings that were accidentally invented.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/2012/1005/The-20-most-fascinating-accidental-inventions/Potato-chips

Maker Manifesto!

        So, I’m not quite sure what a manifesto is supposed to look like. However, I searched for some examples online and this is the general format that most of the manifestos took on. Categorized below are my opinions on what is primarily needed to be a maker. My advice consists of asking questions, making mistakes, and sharing your creativity. I believe that these instructions are the most meaningful when it comes to being a capable maker. 

  

Ask Questions.

Take a moment to consider all the innovators that have changed history. They all have one commonality: they questioned the norm. True makers can identify problems in every situation. They struggle to find ways to tackle these obstacles. Great ideas stem from questioning and the act of questioning is a useful tool when it comes to brainstorming. 

    

Make Mistakes.

You’re going to fail. We’ve been conditioned to view that anything less than perfect is unacceptable. However, in order to be an effective maker you’re going to have to accept that mistakes are part of the process. Otherwise you will end up disappointed and once you are disappointed you risk abandoning projects altogether. How can you be innovative if you’re not willing to recognize your mistakes? If you can find a way to gain understanding from your mistakes then you will be able to eventually develop your trials into an impressive creation.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Share Your Creativity.

You can’t be afraid to share the knowledge that you obtain through making. Creativity is meaningless unless it is shared. Being innovative is a social activity. If you don’t share your making process with others, is it truly an act of creativity? Your perception may be distorted. It’s always beneficial to bounce your ideas off of other people. Criticism can hurt, but it’s also the platform for growth. 

Here is a link to a review of The Maker Movement Manifesto: Rules for Innovation in the New World of Crafters, Hackers, and Tinkerers by Mark Hatch. The author of the review is Jason Braun.

http://criticalmargins.com/2014/01/30/maker-movement-manifesto-mark-hatch/ 

Maker Manifesto

Our generation is one of a kind; a vast majority of people are makers with an active mind set. In order to keep that alive we have to promote making to others, opening their eyes to the endless possibilities. To me I will always thrive to seek new things, exploring everything the world has to offer. There are multiple key elements to successfully making and creating something. One is not required to have a skill in that area, but to learn off of others, taking in some of that skill and applying it to themselves. Having many opportunities to gain new skills such as a large number of communities, allows someone to easily find an interest. Nowadays with internet and social media, a pool of shared ideas, methods, techniques and processes is accessed with just a few clicks. This is defiantly a tool that we should take advantage of, because a few years back communities were primarily local, disallowing a numerous of ideas to come together. I think it is an advantage for groups to come together creating many possibilities to inspire positive change through action and making, becoming a powerful tool.  Even though not everything is going to be perfectly made, failure will try to knock you down. The problem with most people is that they are scared of failing. When failure tries to knock you down, push it back and show that you have the will to keep pushing until it becomes successful. Failure does not mean stop trying, for me it means to push harder and harder to prove that I can create and continue my plans… Wow there was a vicious helmet to helmet hit in the NY Giants vs. Washington Redskins game… Makers are the future for anything and everything. There are many positive outcomes of making, self-esteem and self-worth is key along with self-discipline. Some of these aspects create a better person who will thrive for further knowledge gaining self-assurance in the future, creating a comfortable boundary to make mistakes and move on.   

https://makingmanifesto.uservoice.com/forums/129831-the-making-manifesto

My Maker Manifesto

Blog 4: Maker Manifesto

I will search for things that inspire me, and then I will create them. I will not let the hustle and bustle of everyday life keep me from trying to create these things that inspire me. I will remain conscious of the fact that my creation may not be perfect. In the face of failure, I will salvage the project for whatever purpose it may be salvaged for. I will take my time, not rushing through a project in order to finish it, but working slowly and surely in order to produce the best results. I will be patient with myself, knowing that my work will improve with practice, and nobody is a professional overnight. I will see the beauty in all things I create, even if it was not what I planned to create at all. I will create not for me, but for others. I will grow through my creations as I improve and explore my abilities. I will not look back in regret, but rather charge ahead onto the next inspiration, knowing that I will improve as time goes by.

http://occasionalstory.com/maker-movement-manifesto-conversation-mark-hatch-creative-revolution/

This is a link to a brilliant maker manifesto. Mark Hatch produces a whole new way in which to drive a creative revolution in the current age of technology. Not exactly sure myself what a maker manifesto should look like, I found this website. After reading the article and watching part of the video, it really helped me to form my own ideas about what I wanted my maker manifesto to look like. While Mark’s is extremely long and well thought-out, it gave me some basic ideas I used to form the rest of my manifesto off of. The way he talks about making and creativity is awe-inspiring, and really drove me to think deeply about the prompt. Now it’s your turn: what is your maker manifesto?

Relationship with writing

Ever since teachers started assigning papers on topics regarding things discussed in class or things meant to be read at home and analyzed, I enjoy breaking down the assigned prompt and being able to express it on paper. Throughout high school, I definitely grew fond of writing more and more, even though some assignments were dull and monotonous. However, I knew that these boring high school assignments would prepare me well for my time in college. I am thankful that I went to a private institution that emphasized the necessity of preparing for college. I learned there that writing should not be a chore, but an invitation to an alternate way of expressing one's mind in a formal manner. To be honest, I never got flustered about writing a paper, though I would still have the unfortunate habit of procrastination. One problem with writing I admit to having is that I have the tendency to write as much as I need to and nothing more. I know that learning to love writing early is best for later on in life when it comes to a profession that requires such skill and enthusiasm, which is why I do not find writing essays all that terrible at all.

Blog #3 Writing Relationship

I am honestly a terrible writer. I do not have a very good relationship with writing. I give short paragraphs, short essays, simple words, and have trouble keeping the reader interested. I am not a very interesting writer; I get straight to the point and have trouble getting into details with things. I also have trouble keeping my writing going and start kind of improvising, like right now. But also I am terrible a typing as well. The role it has in my future is obviously important, which sucks. Everyone will most likely have to worry about writing when it comes to their jobs when they are older. It doesn't matter if you end up a secretary, or someone who landscapes, you are still going to have to write.  I wish I was better at writing but I plan to get better. I’m not exactly sure how I will go through with it; it may help that Ii have a few classes that require you to write essays and many other things. Well honestly I’m not that bad at writing, I just don’t try that much. Like I can write most things just naturally but I just feel like it’s boring, doesn’t get to the point, or doesn’t say what I wanted it to explain. Oh! And also to make it worse, I am terrible at spelling as well haha! I’m really not that good at spelling, even with some words that aren’t that hard to spell. It’s pretty sad but I hope that I will improve on my spelling as well.