Six Word Memoirs? Sounds pretty cool.

Hello ladies and gents,

What a stressful year this is turning out to be. I am finally buckling down with my project.
Post Secret was sort of a vague idea and recently, thanks to Mrs.Savido, I have come across Smith Magazine. I am hoping to take the memoir idea and run with it. I'm still brainstorming how I am going to make this a project, but stay tuned!

Samantha

Summer Updates

I've been keeping up with Post Secret, obviously.
Yesterday evening, my class mate Olivia Julian and I thought of some good secrets for my action plan.
I really need to work on notes, and decide who I'm interviewing.
I plan on doing that this trimester so that when the Winter Trimester starts, I will be prepared to present my graduation project.

Just keeping everyone up to date!

AH.

I'm so flustered. I need to do my outline tonight along with pages of notes and my webliography.
On top of this, I am fighting with my parental units and I'm just really annoyed.
I'm probably staying up to finish everything.
I can't wait till it is just summer.
I will work on my notes over the summer probably to make sure they are full and ready for second trimester.


Goodbye.
Sam

Good Gravey

I'm so overwhelmed.
Outlines
Webliographies
Notes

All while I made basically a whole new list of essential questions about three days ago which has caused me to redo everything. I'm so swallowed into this project. I need to just do it this weekend completely and just get done.

I can't wait till next Friday when I'm free to not think for a month.

Sam

PS. I'll probably be keeping you all up to date this weekend so be on the lookout!

So Little Time, So Much To Do!

What an annoying day. I'm not going to type about it because it is irrelevant to my project even though it affected my project because I didn't get much time on it today.
Luckily I worked through lunch on my Creative Writing final so I am using this class to work on my notes now. I sure hope I can end this trimester with at least a B.

This week is so packed. I've been utilizing every single minute. I can't even imagine how stressed I would be if I were still working.

Anyway I am going to go work on notes and get a jump on my updated webliography.

I wish I could freeze time and get everything done, but this is not possible.

Arvoir,

Samantha Burek Ennis

NEWS FLASH!!11!!1!!!1

Thesis: Having an outlet to anonymously release your feelings, problems, and aspirations can be therapeutic as well as liberating.

Essential Question: How can Post Secret be used as an outlet?

......Jealous?????


Now I must work on my survey.

Remember The Wild Thornberrys?

Notes Notes Notes! I'm so flustered. I had a bit of a midlife crisis for this project on Sunday. I realized I needed to change my essential questions and choose who I was going to interview. I also needed to get my interview questions together so they are as follows:

New Interview Questions
1. How do you believe submitting secrets anonymously will help if no one but the creator knows?
2. Do you believe Post Secret could be just as helpful as therapy to some? Why, why not?
3. Do you think seeing other secrets on the website help people?
4. Why do people turn to art therapy rather than attending regular therapy?
5. On average, what is usually the number one reason that patients come to therapy?
6. How much do you charge by the hour?
7. What is the process one must go through to make an appointment (Waiting period)?
8. How do you usually begin a session?
9. How do you deal with someone that just won’t open up?
10. Would you recommend Post Secret to patients, just to view, or even to submit work?


Essential Questions (New)

1. Who thought of Post Secret and what encouraged it?
2. How long has Post Secret been going?
3. Is there a P.O. Box for the website? How is mail handled?
4. What decision process goes into choosing the secrets selected that week?
5. How does Frank Warren make a living?
6. What is the connection between Post Secret and a suicide hotline?
7. What is his family life like with the secrets and everything?
8. Have there been studies on weather art therapy is more useful than regular therapy?
9. Is there a certain age that is more drawn to art therapy?
10. How much is regular therapy (As opposed to Post Secret which just cost postage)?


I finally buckled down on notes. I had printed a lot of articles and highlighted, but had not actually sat down and divided them up into notes. I started that on Sunday and I worked a lot on that yesterday.

Today we are working on making surveys which should only take me a minute since I have previously thought about what I would say on it. I then will e-mail Ms.Savido my thesis statement and then continue notes.

I'm really trying not to stress out, but this is probably the worst end of the year so far. There are so many projects due and literally no time at all.

I'm off to go work some more, but I felt this was the first time I really needed to blog.

PS. Thesis Statement (I need to reword it or add something, I just don't know what..):
Post Secret is one of the most modern and relatable forms of therapy.

Bliggedy Blog

I have not died, FYI. I don't know where the time has been going. I have been in cahoots with Ms.Savido about getting grad project first trimester. I have proposed this because I would like to still be interested and excited about my topic, which I should be in the Fall. I don't want it third trimester because I tend to procrastinate and I just know that I will be super stressed out and I would like to enjoy my last trimester at City High. I can't believe I'm talking about a last trimester. There are only three left. It seems like this year flew, I'm not going to go on about missing this place, but that is crazy. Now I'm getting off topic and just typing what I think, so I'm going to go.

Currently I am still going through printouts and highlighting.
We stopped at the Carnegie Library in Oakland off the Pitt Campus on Tuesday.
I found a few books, but no Post Secret books.
Charles is doing his project on Art Therapy and he found several useful books, so I'm not too worried.

xoxoxoxoxxooxo,
Samantha Burek Ennis I

STUDENT OF THE MONTH!!

I was overwhelmed with excitement today when in the beginning of class it was announced that I was July's Student of the Month. This is enthralling because everyone has been it like 5 times throughout our high school years and this is the first time in my whole life I have been picked! I'm not even excited for the lunch, so much as I am excited to have earned this title. I will now go and continue to work hard on my interview questions thus ensuring that I keep my hard earned title as "Student of the Month"

There is hope after all students!

-Samantha Burek Ennis

Here!

I have now been highlighting and continuing what I worked on yesterday.

-Sam

Good thing my projects not about going green!

Because I pretty much slaughtered a forest today with the notes I printed out. I will use all of them though. I was surprised by how easy the process was. I had been putting it off for a while, but really all I have to do now is finish stapling together everything I printed out and then begin highlighting and answering my foundation questions.

I'll keep you posted!

Long time, no post.

What a stressful class this is turning out to be. I thought that everyone was dramatic at first when they said how horrible it was, but apparently they were right. I have finished my proposal and I am currently working to organize myself and prepare for the webliography. I have been working really hard, but today I saw that I have a C in this class so I don't know why I'm even working so hard.

I'm going to go get my notes together.

-Sam

I'm a bit under the weather today..

We are preparing to write our proposal. I will post more as I continue on.

Productive Day

I did all of my Work Cited today, I am unsure if we are supposed to post it on here or not, so I will just save it to my H drive. I have finally finished my key terms, which took much too long to think of. I am beginning to worry that as interesting as Post Secret is, it may not be complex enough to build a grad project on. It is also of no help that I am beginning to think getting in touch with Frank Warren will be much harder than expected and even if I were to, I am unsure what I would ask. None the less, here are my key terms:

• Secret: not open or public; kept private or not revealed
• Anonymous: having no known name or identity or known source
• Art Therapy: Art therapy is the use of creative activities to improve physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual well-being
• Post: affix in a public place or for public notice; Or after something happens
• Easter Egg: a hidden program or feature in a webpage
• Post Secret: Post Secret is an ongoing community mail art project in which people mail their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.
• Lie: A statement that deviates from or perverts the truth.
• Therapy: Treatment of disease or disability, physical or mental; Healing power or quality
• Healing: The natural process by which the body repairs itself
• Archives: Collection of records especially about an institution

I also added all of the websites I have been using as sources to my links box on the right of the screen.

Did you know?

· There have been over 150,000 secrets received.
· In 1973 there was a book entitled Variable Piece 4: Secrets and it was made up of 1800 secrets from strangers
· Post Secret started in November of 2004
· Post Secret received an award from the National Mental Health Association for raising money and awareness for suicide.

Nathan used to be my best friend.

Today we are looking at more websites, how exquisite!

Turn the beat around.

I created and posted a new picture today! Enjoy it and have a lovely weekend!

The End Has No End

I have not blogged in a while. I had taken ill for a bit, but I am back in good health now. I e-mailed Frank Warren, the creator of Post Secret, and all I received back was a generic e-mail saying that he was too busy to respond to e-mails. I am sure as the project progresses and becomes more serious I will find a sure-fire way to contact him.

In the mean time I have been working on key terms which are rather hard to think of with this chosen topic, as well as links to useful websites.

Just letting you all know.

-Sam

My Essential Question

How is letting your secrets out through art helpful?

Family Functions Can Get Pretty Insane

Links! (You're Welcome)

Post Secret

iNist "Over 40% of the clients reported keeping a relevant secret in therapy, and the most frequently listed reason was that they were afraid to express feelings."

Art Therapy

The News-Harold

LifePrints "One of the leading causes of suicide is a feeling of isolation. PostSecret allows people to free themselves, to lighten their burden, and see that they are not alone."

Class is over so I will post more later.

Psst.. Want to hear a secret?

I just met with Ms.Savido and all systems are go for my project being centered on Post Secret! I'm so excited because all of these things interest me and I will love my grad. project if it is on this. I explained what Post Secret was and now I just need to figure out what my point is really. Here is basically what I have:

Samantha's Project:

• Centered around PostSecret.com
• Action plan: People will submit their secrets to me via shoebox somewhere (perhaps counseler/nurse office?)
  - I will give everyone post cards or keep them near the box
  - The same way I have supplied post cards, I will supply envelopes of the same color
  so all entries are 100% anonymous
• Rules: Still to be determined. I want to say that there are none, because it is supposed to be art and expressive so I don't want restrictions on it, but I am unsure what the rules are along the lines of appropriateness for presenting. I will ask Ms.Savido more about this in our next encounter.
• Post cards allow people to express them selves and let out what they have been holding in
• It is a form of therapy
• It is related to hopeline (suicide hotline)

Look at me, I'm blogging.

What have I heard about graduation project thus far? Do I have 12th grade friends who have completed graduation projects? What were their experiences?
I have heard what pretty much everyone is going to answer for this question. It seems fun in the beginning, but you will forget about it and then get really stressed out at the last minute. I hope this does not happen. It seems as though it would be quite possible in my case since I am such a procrastinator! Several of my 12th grade friends have all told me I will be fine if I just keep up with it, but they all got really stressed out at the last minute. Lets hope for the best!

What are some interests that you have that you think you might like to structure a project around?
I love secrets, helping people, writing, suicide interests me, art, photography, and seeing different perspectives on life. I would like to involve several of these elements into my project. I have a few ideas, but Ms.Savido seems to shoot people's ideas down fast so I'm contemplating which one I want to propose and how I will go about doing that. I have actually been thinking of doing this one thing since October, but I'm trying to think what the point of it would be. I would have a great action plan. I will give details on this amazing idea at a later date. I have also considered starting a school newspaper, but someone else tried to do that and it didn't work out too well. I would like there to be a newspaper in general and I would not mind making one, but I would not want to document every moment of it for G.P.

What are some of the concerns that you have about the graduation project?
I am concerned that I will get stuck with a boring subject and not be able to change it. I am also worried I will lose interest over time and then wait till the last minute to get things done. My final concern is that I will end up doing so much work on the subject I like that I will complete it, but end up hating it and never liking it again.