This was our awesome team of design super heroes, all who have recently graduated from high school…except for our family baby, Diana…and we all worked tremendously hard to be a part of this journey through the Newhouse Competition. From that competition, we all won awards that showed the amount of endless work we put into our project entries, and that includes the six months of stressful work I put into getting a Trophy and Ribbon for each Division I entered…and being a part of this week has definitely made those six months of drawing, building, photographing, rendering, crying a few times, and getting carpal tunnel more than once worth this experience!
The experiences we’ve shared here have all been so wonderful, and what made them even more special was that we made even the most insignificant moments count. Like for example…
…our music video! It wasn’t something planned or even considered for this trip, and it happened when Diana, Jovana, and I were sent to fetch rocks, of all things! Instead of seeing it as a tedious task of walking half a mile to find four heavy rocks for our structure, we started off singing songs on the way, later playing music to sing along to, then Jovana started dancing with Diana and before we knew it we were recording ourselves rolling down a hill and jumping up and down to the music. This experience is just one example of the value of just being silly and how it brings out the best of us in everything we do–like the time when Daniel relived being a competitive kid to win Capture the flag against all odds, or when Katie (poorly) rapped to us to keep our spirits up (which it did), or whenever I screamed just to let go of all the energy waiting to burst from within. All these things go to show the value of what we can accomplish when we’re being silly, including…
The Mosquito (if you recall from my previous post) that I highly enjoyed creating! This work was a masterpiece compared to past models/structures I spent hours upon hours trying to make for a good grade or high ribbon. Instead, this was something made simply to represent the pesky bugs we would experience and have to keep out of our structure, and I loved every moment of creating this work of perfection along with that awesome IPhone created by the other team. Even more than that, I love how our Final structure turned out (and apologize for not liking the first prototype). Still, I think it turned out quite awesome!
The past week has been exhilarating and very tiring for all of us, but in a way it gave us the time we needed to relax from all the stresses and frustrations at home and take the chance to just be silly and act like ourselves with each other and this amazing community. Whether it be making a music video, building a Mosquito and an IPhone, going on a scavenger hunt, playing Capture the Flag, or just screaming at the top of your lungs, this week has given all of us the chance to just be ourselves and bring out the best of us in so many silly ways to help us create a number of things we are proud to call our own.
And to answer your question, Alex, of, “How has this experience changed you?”
…my honest answer is it hasn’t changed me…but rather it has reassured me that I am heading down the right path to reach my lifelong dream of living in the country away from all the stresses that life can bring and instead be surrounded by people who share my passion for designing, building, and creating things–whether it be structures or memories–that will be remembered, preserved, and continue to grow as time goes on.
I hope that answers your question, Alex, because you helped me answer my long dreaded question,“Will I ever reach my dream?” And now I will no longer answer, “I probably can’t…” and instead happily say, “One day, I will.” So…thank you everyone for this unforgettable experience.
Truly, I thank you all.
-Audrey Rodriguez
Posted on July 6th, 2011 at 8:57 am by publicworkshop in Our Work