CELINA'S CAPSTONE
JOURNALS ENTRIES
September 2020
I am excited for my senior year but I know it’ll be a little stressful because I have a lot going on. I have to figure out all the college stuff and I am taking two UCONN ECE classes, along with AP Calculus AB. Also hybrid learning is going to be weird. Right now I haven’t done much for college, I am struggling with where I want to go and what I want to do as well as figuring out all the websites that I have to use, like fafsa, naviance and college board. Although my brother applied to college, that was a long time ago, so this is a new process for my family but I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to figure it out. As for my UCONN classes I’m a little nervous because one of them is an essay class and another one is a discussion class. I took those classes because those are things that I struggle with but wanted to get better with. I am hoping by the end of this semester I will get better at writing essays, because I know there is a research paper for this class, and it will also be very helpful for college. Also I want to get better at public speaking, I know speaking in class is not for a big audience but I think it is a step up. It will push me out of my comfort zone, but that is a good thing. For calculus I’m a little worried because math just keeps getting harder (which is the point), it’s still one of my favorite subjects, but it gets a little difficult as time goes on. Besides all that, I’m excited to be back at school and seeing my friends. It may be the last time I see some of them, since college is right around the corner and some will be moving away. Also I’m wondering how long hybrid learning is going to last and if I will like it, or if I’ll prefer online learning better. Everyone has told me senior year is the best, and most important, I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen. I know that there is a pandemic going on and many things will be different, but I am hoping for the best.
October 2020
I haven’t started my capstone project yet. I’m having trouble deciding what I want to do and what I can do with the pandemic going on. My classes are going very well, some of them are a little tough but my friends and I help each other. As for college, I have finally written my college essay, which took me a longer time than I hoped, and made a list of 10 that I’m interested in. I have also applied to all the colleges and am waiting on responses now. Another thing is that I started filling out my fafsa application, but it is difficult and no one in my house knows how to do it either. This month we have the SATs. For some reason I’m not very stressed about them, I think it is because most colleges aren’t requiring them, but I’m still going to try my hardest.
November 2020
I still don’t have an idea for my capstone project, but I am looking at the previous years and what kids are doing this year. There are a lot of good projects going on, I just have to decide what I want to do. Last month when I applied to colleges, I did early acceptance and already got responses from most of them. I was surprised that they got back to me so soon, I was expecting to wait until January. I also finished filling out my fafsa, it was difficult, but now I know what to do next year, and can help my friends. Hybrid learning is going good but the new set-up with cohorts is weird. I don’t get to see all my friends that were here in the beginning of the year, and many kids have gone fully remote because of the new set up. I think I will stay hybrid because it's nice to get out of the house a little, even if it is for school. This year Thanksgiving is going to be different, because my mom has to work, but I’m excited to spend it at my aunt and uncle’s house. With all that has gone on in the past year, there is so much to be thankful for. I’m especially thankful for the essential workers and that my family is doing okay.
December 2020
Thanksgiving break was nice and relaxing, there wasn’t much to do and I got to spend some time with family. I hope you enjoyed your break too. I still haven’t started working on my capstone project, honestly I have no clue what I want to do. I’m kind of waiting for next semester and senior seminar to start (which I know I shouldn’t). One good thing is that I have heard from some more colleges, now I am just waiting on one more. Right now all the colleges look like a good decision but I am waiting for the financial aid packets to come out, and then I think I will make my decision. I’m still struggling with the decision to go out of state or stay home, hopefully I can decide soon because my family keeps asking and I keep giving them different answers. My classes are going great, I don’t have anything big coming up, which I find to be a relief since winter break is coming up and I really don’t want to write any essays or work on any big projects. Math is a little tough, but it’s what I expected and my friends have the same struggle so we try and help each other out. I haven’t set any new goals since applying to colleges, but I am thinking I should work on my capstone project and set a goal to figure out what I want to do. Other than that there is not much more to say. I am looking forward to winter break and spending some more time with my family and relaxing. I’m hoping we have some snow, not too much, just a little because I think it looks nice when it falls and then the trees are lightly coated. During break my family usually doesn’t go anywhere because they have to work, so COVID is not affecting us. Usually I stay home and have movie marathons or spend time with my little cousins, but they aren’t going to be home this break. Anyways that’s all there is to this month, nothing much. I hope you have a good break!
January 2021
This month I felt like I had a lot to do. The first week after the break was a little difficult because we had a longer break than usual and I wasn’t ready to go back. Since the semester was ending this month I had quite a lot to do. In my English class, I had two essays to write, which were back to back, and one of them was a research paper, which I had a hard time coming up with a question. Essays are something that I dread because writing is not my thing, I have a hard time coming up with ideas, but once I get started I realize that it is not too bad. I was surprised when I got a good grade on both of the essays because I felt that I rushed the first one. The one thing I was glad about was finishing up my two UCONN classes and getting the credit. In my Spanish IV class, I had to make a cooking show as my final project. My cousin and I decided to work together, which was nice because I hadn’t seen her in person since the summer. We got together on the 24th and spent the whole day writing up a script and filming our cooking show. I was glad that I could work with her instead of on my own because it made the project fun and was a nice way to spend our Sunday.
I haven’t started working on my capstone project because I’m having a hard time coming up with something that I am passionate about and want to work on. The one idea I’ve had for a while was volunteering at a soup kitchen. For my research paper, I am thinking about exploring how the coronavirus has affected those in need and how they are surviving. I know that some people who have never needed to collect food or go to soup kitchens are now having to go because of the pandemic. Many people have lost their jobs and are struggling to provide for their families. My family is very fortunate to still be able to provide for one another, so I wanted to see if there was a way that I could help in any way. One foundation that I found that is still accepting volunteers is the Cornerstone in Vernon. They are an organization that has a soup kitchen, clothing bank, food pantry, teen center, and pantry. Being a 17 year old, I found that I could volunteer at the soup kitchen helping serve meals, cleaning up, and preparing for the next day. I hope that I can pull through and be able to use this experience as my capstone.
Over the months I have thought about a lot of other projects, but with the pandemic, it is hard to do them. One idea I had was reading to patients in nursing homes but I don’t think it is safe to do so because I could make them sick or they could make me sick. There is a lot I’ve had to consider when picking a project. The one I feel that I can do is to volunteer at the soup kitchen. I just have to put my mind to it and go out of my comfort zone and inquire about ways that I can contribute. Hopefully, I can do more than just be a volunteer, maybe like collecting donations for the food pantry or clothing bank. I definitely feel like there is a lot I could do with this, I just have to try.
February 2021
My semester 2 classes finally started and I think the first month went great. I don’t think these classes are hard, but there will be some challenges. Two of my classes are PE classes, which I’m starting to like because we do yoga some days. At first I didn’t like yoga but now I find it relaxing, except for the really long ones. I still have AP calculus which is still difficult, but that’s what I expected, and senior seminar is going great, I feel good about my capstone project. Now that semester two has started, I finally have early dismissal which is awesome because I get home earlier and have more time to finish my homework and get some other stuff done. I finally started on my capstone project and got some field work done too. For my project I am working at a soup kitchen and exploring how the Coronavirus pandemic has affected homeless individuals. So far it's been going great, I have already volunteered for 3 days and found a mentor. I really thought this project was going to be extremely difficult, especially finding a mentor, but once I got out there and started working I found that it wasn’t too bad. I did feel a little uncomfortable asking for a mentor and help, but the people at the Cornerstone Soup Kitchen were very helpful. My mentor, Sharon Redfern, is one of the directors at the soup kitchen and she has been telling me about everything that goes on at the kitchen. So far I have been doing small tasks like preparing the snack bags and handing out the meals to individuals. I think the cooks do the most, but they are very experienced and good with time, the food is always finished by 11:30 and ready to be handed out. I haven’t gotten very far with my research paper, one of my body paragraphs is done which is good. Now I have to keep on working. I hope I can finish the rough draft a little early so I won’t be stressing on Thursday night.
March 2021
I feel like I did a lot this month, that’s probably why it went by so fast for me. On the second weekend of March I took a trip down to Pennsylvania to visit some family. While we were there, we went to Philadelphia and drove around Temple University. I don’t think I’ll go there, but I did enjoy driving around and seeing what it looked like. Another thing I did while in Philly was visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I was blown away by how big the place was, and how much art there was. My favorite part of the museum was the rooms that were decorated to look like certain places and certain time periods. The weekend after, I got back to volunteering. Every Sunday that I volunteer, I am usually there with the cook, Nicky or Yadira, and another volunteer Maureen. On the 21st, the cook Nicky had to call up extra volunteers from the shelter because no one was on the list and she was worried about how she would get everything done. Luckily the other volunteers showed up and were there to help. I met another volunteer, Will, who helped me with snack bags. He stays at the shelter and volunteers whenever he is called. As well as making snack bags Will and I also handed out the meals. Individuals are not able to come into the soup kitchen, due to COVID, so I rarely get to have conversations with them, but when I hand them their meal they are always so respectful and grateful. It makes me so happy to know that even though they are in tough situations, they know there is a place where they can get a warm meal and even a place to stay, because the Cornerstone foundation also has a shelter down the street from the kitchen. On the 28 when I volunteered I got to do other jobs. There was a family of five already working on snack bags when I got there at 9:20 AM, so I really wasn’t sure what to do, but the cook Yadira said that I could stay with her in the kitchen. I was able to take over making the pancakes, while she did other tasks. I also learned how to operate the washing station and was able to get a majority of the dishes done. I really enjoy volunteering at the kitchen and I think I will keep going until the end of May or June.