The time I paid $80 for a check mark.

I finally sent in my Early Application last night. There is a lovely verdant, Nike swish by the college on common app. I will start on my scholarship essays over the weekend.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/840991448/stolen-innocence-indias-untold-story-of-human-traf
This kickstarter is for a wonderful cause. I cannot wait to watch this great short film. It is an untold story that is finally revealed. "Stolen Innocence" comes out in 2015. I researched on how to start a kickstarter and decided that it could be really useful for my thesis. I will talk to my mentor over the weekend to ask what would be the correct information to attract public donation.

http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/silent-slaves-stories-of-human-trafficking-in-india

"The 2013 Global Slavery Index, published by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation, an organization that works to end modern slavery, found that almost half of the 30 million “modern slaves” in the world are from India."

I am ready to send it all in

I am ready to send in my first application on common app. This would not be possible without the teachers who wrote recommendations for me and the teachers who revised my essays. The first half of thesis, I was making sure all my information was ready and accurate to submit.

Second half of thesis, I researched about gender roles in India and how they have transformed over the years.

http://www.cicero.uio.no/workshops/nfu-2012/2E_%289%29_Panel_Abstract_Transforming%20gender%20in%20a%20contemporary%20India.pdf

This is an abstract which compares gender roles, domestic violence, and gender discrimination in the workplace in Kerela, Delhi, and Bengal. It has attached court cases and theses. 

I was stressed about my November 1st deadline. I had to go talk to Ms.Marberry again. This is why I did not do many thesis-related tasks today.

An emailed response from my mentor:

Malala awarded Nobel Peace Prize (this morning!) : http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/11/world/europe/kailash-satyarthi-and-malala-yousafzai-are-awarded-nobel-peace-prize.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSumLargeMedia&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

Interesting overview article: http://wciavoices.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/the-struggle-for-gender-equality-india/

Another article: http://www.trust.org/spotlight/the-worlds-most-dangerous-countries-for-women-2011/?source=hpMostPopularPolls

New program on gender equality He for She: http://www.heforshe.org/

Indian Omprakash Partners worth contacting/researching: 

People for Parity: https://www.omprakash.org/volunteer-abroad-asia/volunteer-in-india/people-for-parity-foundation (most relevant; the director is super awesome)

Prayasam: https://www.omprakash.org/volunteer-abroad-asia/volunteer-in-india/Salt-Lake-City-Prayasam (very cool child advocacy organization!)

Development Action Awareness Network: https://www.omprakash.org/volunteer-abroad-asia/volunteer-in-india/Development-Action-Awareness-Nationwide (dynamic director)

Independent Thought and Social Action International: https://www.omprakash.org/volunteer-abroad-asia/volunteer-in-india/Independent-Thought-Social-Action-International (dynamic director)

I would like to thank her for her research and aid. 

A Great, Great Day

Today was the first picture day opportunity. It is very exciting for every high school senior- the cap, gown, and all. Unfortunately, I was not looking as "on-point" as I usually do. It was a rough morning. Instead, I used most of my thesis time trying to connect to the DISD WiFi. After I eventually received connection, I logged onto CommonApp and tried doing the last part of my essays. I rescheduled with Mr.Templet for essay revisions. Afterwards, I studied for my government final. I am stuck on my thesis until my other mentor gets back to me. I will try contacting her again when I reach home. 

Counselor Meeting

Today, we went over our thesis presentations. I have to work on my conclusion and time myself a little better. I received a score that was higher than I thought it would be. Then, I had a meeting with Ms.Marberry. She is the sweetest counselor ever. We went over my resume and senior survey. She asked a lot of questions that I am glad she did. She gave me an updated transcript and said to talk to her again next week sometime. I am so glad this meeting happened. It clarified many things I was unsure about in the college application process.
That is all for today.

Thesis Summary for 10/6-10/10/14

10/6 - A lot of people presented their thesis topics. Some were more prepared than others. Some had mentors, and others were still searching. I realized that the power point could be less than 3 slides if it gets the point across. I was expecting the environment to be more nerve-racking, but it was not too bad. My favorite presentations were Manny's and Adrian's presentations. Adrian had great info-graphics and presentation skills. She engaged the audience and turned a very heavy topic into something we could discuss normally. Manny's topic attracted me personally because I like psychology and science stuff like that. I thought her topic was pretty cool. After all the presentations, I worked more on my presentation power point.

10/8 - I went today. I was really, really nervous. I studied for my subject test the night before rather than spending more time working on my presentation. My voice was shaking, so I need to work on that. Also, Yousef killed his presentation right before mine, so my presentation looked extremely bland. My favorite presentation from today was Yousef's presentation. His topic is awesome because I am considering "sports orthopedic" as a career option. Also, he was really confident, had a great deal of information memorized and on the slides, and engaged the audience. After that, we filled out ACT forms.

10/10- The presentations were really good today as well. Lucija killed it. She brought her guitar to demonstrate the chord progressions. Mah-ro had a very influential thesis topic. Changes in voting regulations could truly change representation in the government. Michelle's topic was interesting to me, and she had cool images in her presentation. There were a lot of students who did their thesis on music or music composition. I didn't know that so many of my classmates were interested in music. After presentations, we continued to fill out ACT forms if we didn't complete them the class before.

Today, I worked on my annotated bibliography. I already had 4 sources. I added 2 more. Most of the sources I have are in a different language or on a foreign newspaper. I finally figured out how to cite a foreign language source in MLA format. All of my articles were written after the Delhi gang rape case in December of 2012. They are over different topics that affect women negatively. Most of the outside problems are violence on women through rape, sex trafficking, acid attacks, female feoticide, and dowry. All of these problems have a root. Women are changing in a way that produces no results. I want to introduce exercise, sports, and self-defense so women can literally fight for themselves. Women are changing their dressing habits, their looks, and their lifestyle to try to avoid violence on them. If their changes are not meeting the right results, they can go back to their normal self and try a better change. I want to promote self-defense and exercise, so if such cases every occur (rape happens every 20 minutes), women are prepared for violence and  are strong enough to fight back emotionally, mentally, and physically. They will no longer be the "weak" of the two genders or largely inferior to men. Women will feel and actually be stronger than before and can be themselves in public environments. I watched a movie on sex trafficking a month back and cannot find a way to cite it. It is called "Mardaani," which means the "man inside of you." It was a movie on India's sex trafficking hub and was very accurate. I want to promote the "woman inside of you." Women in India and other third world countries, unfortunately, cannot be themselves. Just to stay safe, they change their characteristics. Being safe in your own country should not even be a privilege; it should be a right. I feel like I can research more organizations and see if any have similar ideas. If not, I will ask for Omprakash Foundation to open up a project for me under their name. The final project is nebulous as of now, but I think this is very plausible and should be done.