Innovations Roadmap #11

Frustrate [fruhs-treyt]

verb (used with object)

1. to make (plans, efforts, etc.) worthless or of no avail; defeat; nullify

2. to disappoint or to thwart (a person)

Verb (used without object)

3. to become frustrated

Adjective

4. frustrated

TOPIC: What frustrates you?

I can claim a lot of things about my emotions. I do not get jealous easily. I understand others’ humor, but my humor is rarely understood. I’m curious, I am a somewhat easy person to make happy, and I’m very good at hiding my emotions if it comes to it. I am also very, very easy to frustrate. Little things that shouldn’t frustrate me end up doing so. I frustrate myself. Most of all, other people frustrate me.

Those little things only become bad when I’m in a bad mood or stressed out, both of which happen relatively often. The days I’m stressed out are those days when it’s super late at night and I can’t work on my projects long enough to get a good effect out of it or I don’t get to work on my projects at all. On those days, what I see on the internet from other people and from friends and what I do myself all of a sudden becomes a scenario that is exaggerated way more than it should be. It’s ridiculous, but it happens. One specific website I go on always seems to be the worst place ever. It’s full of those little things that on a normal day I can completely ignore. On a bad day, it’s not happening. It becomes my enemy, something to tear down.

I don’t think I have the best display of talents ever. I can’t sing as well as I’d like, but I can probably sing decently enough, if what others say are true. But when I record myself, I sound like an absolute idiot, and I wonder why I even bothered to record in the first place. This puts me on the track for criticizing myself for trying too hard. This goes for piano, too. I am my own worst enemy at these points, because it always seems like no matter how hard I practice, I can’t get better at anything I do. I know I should keep trying because practice makes perfect, yet at the same time, the last thing I want to do is to practice because I keep getting the same results. I really end up frustrating myself when I don’t get the results I’m expecting in a short amount of time.

People I interact with have the greatest power to frustrate me, because I somehow succeed in reflecting things back onto myself. I’m going to talk about the ‘big problems’ and mentors and picking a class schedule for this section, because right now, that’s frustrating me the most. At first, I was frustrated because my problem is kind of unusual, and the only “big problems” ever referenced are usually some science-y. I can’t do science! How come I can’t be helped, just a bit? I got over that when I decided to mentally flip the bird and say, “Forget it. I’m going to find my own way to make this work because I CAN.”

See how that problem is related to myself? Here’s where other people come in: the majority of the people I talk to end up discussing how they’re just going to get the box checked. They’re not really going to try after this, and they’re just so apathetic towards it that I end up biting my tongue and not saying how much I’m looking forward to my project. A lot of the others say, “We don’t have to continue it after this class, right? We can turn in the roadmap, not do anything else, and not take the follow up class? That’s what I’m doing.” I end up staying quiet, in class and outside of it, because I don’t want it to look like I’m trying too hard. The thing is, I’m really looking forward to continuing my roadmap. 

It’s not just this class where I find that having other people’s opinions make me really frustrated. Those opinions are so loud and demanding. They tell me I must think this way or I must believe in this, and it’s posed to make it seem like that’s the only way or else you’re wrong in this or that. At the heart of everything, it seems like people my age frustrate me the most, and it’s no wonder I don’t like hanging out with them as much as I should.

Innovations Roadmap #10

Inspire [in-spahyuhr] verb

Verb (used with an object)

1. to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence

2. to produce or arouse (a feeling, thought, etc.)

3. to fill or affect with a specified feeling, thought, etc.

4. to influence or impel

5. to animate, as an influence, feeling, thought, or the like, does

TOPIC: What inspires you?

A lot of things inspire me. Music, stories, words, TED talks, videos, nature, and video games, to name most of the ones I can think of. They inspire me all in different ways. One by one, I can identify why they inspire me the way they do, and what they inspire me to do (even though I may not necessarily be capable of doing the thing).

Music inspires me to write stories. I can imagine different scenarios from that a musical piece and I write those scenes in hopes that they make it into the story. Music also inspires me to play the piano and sing. I can’t do either very well, but the ability to feel like I can produce something is empowering. I want to get involved in all these ways.

Stories inspire me by putting my mind in motion. I begin to think of what-ifs. The stories I refer to are novels. Novels make me think ‘what if this hadn’t happened’ or ‘what if this happened.’ Maybe I come up with my own story for it. I am inspired to write either way, to produce something that can be enjoyed by others.

Words are powerful things. In a lot of fantasy stories, there’s sometimes the concept of “this is the true name of the thing, and the true name gives you power over the thing.” So words are able to control, to give meaning. Spoken words have power by those who are silent. They are heard. That’s why poetry readings are effective. Reading a story or a poem gives the poem more heartfelt meaning.

TED talks are always inspiring, if I can find the right one. One of them had a quote I’ve kept. It’s from a talk titled “Why Bother Leaving the House?” by Ben Saunders. The quote I wrote down and have kept for so long reads, “Inspiration and growth only come from adversity and from challenge- from stepping away from what’s comfortable and familiar and stepping out into the unknown.” I needed to hear that quote and I’ve been inspired to one day step into the unknown. One day, I will do just that and I will succeed in stepping out of my comfort zone.

Videos are a big thing for me because of the visual component. I love watching videos that have amazing graphics because it inspires the creative part of me. It inspires the photographer in me to seek out the best locations to shoot, to find the best models, to find the fun props that make the photo pop. It also makes me want to go out and film everything. I’m not a good camera-man, though.

Nature inspires me because of how beautiful it is. I have a wonderful view of the mountains from my dorm window, and when the sun sets, the sky lights up in a wonderful red and I can take the best pictures from it. Over the weekend, it snowed very lightly, and it fell in such a picturesque way that I ended up sitting along and daydreaming about a new scene for a story. Finding instances of nature where everything seems so beautifulinspires me. The sheer beauty of nature never ceases to amaze me.

Video games have the potential to be great visually and story-wise. Game controls have never irked me much because I don’t pay much attention to them. Yes, I do notice if it’s difficult for me to tap out a combination or it’s a rather odd choice to use the right stick instead of the left stick for moving. But if a game has good visuals, I end up paying attention to the detail the animators put into character designs, into moving facials, into everything around the characters. I also notice if a story does or doesn’t make sense. Since I am a very words- and story- oriented person, I pay attention to the story more than everything else. If a story has a main story arch and then several other side quests, I don’t want those side quests to detract too much from the main story line. At the same time, some of those side quests should help supplement the story line. 

Innovations Roadmap #9

Résumé [rez-oo-mey, rez-oo-mey]

Noun

1. a summing up; summary

2. A brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job

TOPIC: Where will you be in 10 years? Complete a 10-year resume in detail.

EDUCATION

Honors Bachelors of Art                                                                                                 May 2016

Major: Japanese

University of Utah

Thesis: “The Language Shift as a Result of World War II”

Honors Bachelors of Art                                                                                                 May 2016

Major: Linguistics

University of Utah

Thesis: “Grammar and Language Online”

ACHEIVEMENTS

·         Designation of Innovation Scholar. Obtained through making an impact in a chosen area.

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

Student Orientation Coordinator, Campus Cursive Love Letters                    Mar. 2013-present

·         Recruited new students.

·         Organized events for recruitment directed towards incoming freshman.

·         Provided opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to become involved.

·         Founded Campus Cursive University of Utah and set the foundation for the Student Orientation Coordinator position.

President, Yarntopia                                                                                      Aug. 2013-May 2016

·         Founded Yarntopia and set the foundation for the President position.

·         Coordinated with various departments on campus to promote alternative methods of mental health and stress management.

·         Coordinated with various national and state charities and created objects for these charities.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Second Language Acquisition Research Lab                                             Aug. 2013-May 2015

·         Researched how adults gain a second language.

·         Developed language stimuli for experience.

·         Provided judgments on recordings from experiments.

·         Managed subjects in experiments in the lab.

JOBS

Resident Advisor, University of Utah                                                           Aug. 2013-May 2014

·         Supported first year residents by developing a community for all to be involved.

·         Initiated and implemented several programs to promote social justice and awareness.

·         Promoted leadership and acted as a role model to encourage first year residents to pursue their honors degree.

Owner, Wonderworld Crafts (self-employed)                                                     Aug. 2013-present

·         Provided timely service and great care to customers.

·         Managed finances and profits.

·         Promoted shop through sales and discounts. Also created banners and icons to increase awareness of shop.

English Teacher, Internship                                                                          May 2014-Aug. 2014

·         Taught English to Japanese students.

English Teacher, JET program                                                                       May 2016-May 2018

·         Taught English to Japanese students.

·         Helped implement several programs to promote ESL learning.

Japanese Teacher, -random school district here-                                             July 2018-July 2020

·         Taught Japanese to new speakers.

·         Spearheaded event ideas and implemented new traditions. Supported students and led them into leadership roles.

Author                                                                                                                        2014-present

SKILLS

·         TESOL certified

·         Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Photoshop.

·         Proficient in Japanese, Chinese, and American Sign Language

·         Proven leadership skills from official club positions and jobs.

My Vegetarian Diet

So I promised to talk about this while I was doing it, but I'm not anymore. Oops. However! I will talk about it now. I decided to do various diets on a whim, and I started on vegetarian because it was the least radical leap into the diets. Actually, pescetarian would've been, but I never buy fish and I want to go meat free first. I've learned a few things about myself over the course of this month.

1. I used eggs A LOT. 
2. Somehow the majority of my meals had spaghetti sauce. I apologize to my roommates for turning the tupperware and plastic bowls orange. 
3. I love eggplant. However, I am sick of it right now because I've got nothing but eggplant parmigiana in my fridge. That was not eight servings. It's more like ten. This segways into #4.
4. I need to start halving recipes because I get really tired of leftovers after a few days. 
5. I really like almond milk.

Although I could still drink milk, I decided to buy a half gallon of regular milk and a half gallon of a substitute for the sake of finding a substitute I liked when I go vegan for a month. At first it was soymilk. Soy milk tastes really odd, so after I finished that, I vowed never to get it again. I bought almond milk at Nate's suggestion and found I really loved that. So I'll be drinking almond milk more! 

Being vegetarian actually got me to read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. If you would much rather not know what your meat goes through, I would not recommend this book. However, I would recommend this book to everyone. It's not a case for becoming vegetarian. Foer simply puts forward what goes on in the meat industry and leaves it up to the reader to decide. It is a personal journey. 

Time for a recipe I made towards the tail end of the month! It's spaghetti. I noticed I ended up eating a lot of spaghetti or macaroni and some recipes called for half of the box. I had half a box of spaghetti, half a box of macaroni, and a lot of random vegetables. That weekend, I got the urge to go exploring. I went into Trader Joe's and bought some tofurky sausage links and a jar of spaghetti sauce. 

What resulted was some pretty delicious spaghetti. You can throw in whatever vegetables you want! It's pretty good for leftovers.

Leftover Spaghetti

Ingredients

• One broccoli crowns
• 1/2 portobello mushrooms
• 1/2 red peppers
• 1/2 medium onion
• Handful of spinach
• Favorite spaghetti sauce 
• One box of spaghetti (I think mine was approximately 12oz or 16 oz, I'm not too sure)
• Cinnamon
• Two tofurkey sausages
• 1 tablespoon of oil

Directions

1. Cook noodles according to directions on box. When there are five minutes left of cooking time, put chopped broccoli in. Drain and put back into pot.

2. Cut up all the vegetables. Dice mushrooms, pepper, and onion. Cut tofurkey into 1/2 inch balls. 

3. Cook tofurkey through. Put the tofurkey into a bowl. Put oil into pan and saute peppers and onions until onions are slightly translucent. Add mushrooms and cook for another two minutes.

4. Put all the vegetables into the pot. Empty jar of spaghetti sauce and put a dash of cinnamon into the pot, then stir it until it's just about evenly distributed. Put on cover and cook for ten minutes, or until heated through.

5. Take pot off of stove and serve!

You may want to put in more spaghetti sauce, depending on your tastes. I found it tasted just fine with the amount of spaghetti sauce I used. Experiment! That's what everything is about. 

Innovations Roadmap #8

Extracurricular [ek-struh-kuh-rik-yuh-ler]

Adjective

1. outside the regular curriculum or program of courses

2. outside one’s regular work, responsibilities, or routine

TOPIC: What is the value of extracurricular activities?

Extracurricular activities teach a person what they do and don’t like to do. I think that people naturally gravitate toward activities they would like to do, but they learn in that experience. For example, they may develop frustration towards a certain concept. From what I’ve seen, this frequently is directed towards society. They note there’s a problem with society, and it frustrates them that this problem may even exist. In a really good situation, there may not be any. I used to and eventually intend to go back to a program called Knitting Necessities, where students can knit or crochet hats for newborns up at the hospital. I did originally think that there wasn’t a problem with this. Then, while looking around for what I could do as my ‘big problem,’ I saw there wasn’t a program for kids or adults. They deserve love too! Aside from that, I had no reason to be frustrated at any sort of societal problem.

It’s something that helps a person focus on how to develop the skills they need for whatever they want to do in life. For example, I want to be able to teach English, so my main volunteer effort currently involves teaching English to refugees. I can develop techniques, see what works, what doesn’t, and educate myself more on bridging cultural gaps and being sensitive to a culture way different from my own. In the end, extracurricular activities can give people new experiences.

The English Skills Learning Center, the place I volunteer at.

There are other extracurricular activities besides volunteer work. Sports, the fine arts, Model UNs (which my friends loved), student governments, clubs, competitions, sororities, fraternities… There are so many things that someone can get involved in. Another value that extracurricular activities have is teaching students new skills they may not already possess. It can awake a passion that the person may not even have known existed and opens up new areas to explore. It helps develops certain personality traits, certain skills, and certain behaviors that make people better human beings.

In addition to all of these wonderful things that extracurricular activities can do, it can also stave off boredom. I know some of the things I used to do that could be considered “extracurricular” were things that helped me keep myself entertained. Choir was like that. So was my creative writing club and ASL club. It also helps an individual meet new people. I’m 100% positive that if I had not joined my creative writing club, I would not have met the upperclassmen and underclassmen as I did. In some cases, maybe I had good reason for not wanting to meet them outside of a club setting. But in many of those cases, I never would have talked to them, because I was simply too shy. Having extracurricular activities encouraged me to meet new people and to swallow some of my shyness. I am still shy, but participating in these kinds of things taught me to be bold, because I will not get far if I can’t speak up. In many ways, extracurricular activities can give people a way to sample what they think is interesting, what they do and don’t like, and teach them some life lessons, without throwing them into the real world and making them suffer. They’re very useful and wonderful things to get into.