Blog # 13: 20 Percent Project Final Presentation

     This is the video that I made to present as the result of the 20 Percent Project. After working on this project for an entire school year I made a video to represent my work. The original idea for the project was to create a documentary on my experiences in the pro-life field. However, I was unable to do all the things I had hoped I could do. I had originally hoped to visit pregnancy centers, attend workshops, visit abortion centers, get testimonies, and create a documentary for my project. My project took an unexpected turn when I decided to create a new group on campus called Students for Life. I worked for about 4 months to go through the application process and to plan the group. I had hoped to do other things but the application process took a lot longer than I thought it would. Although we are not officially a group on campus we have come a long way. I am really proud of the end result of my 20 Percent Project because I would consider it a success. Thanks to the help of my friends, teachers, principal, parents, and Students for Life of America I was able to create this video. This video is a reflection of the journey to form Students for Life and the people that have helped and inspired me. A big thank you to all who have inspired me! 

Blog # 12: One Week Left!

     The end of the 20 Percent Project is very near. After working on this project for the entire year I will get to present to the teacher and the entire class what I have done. The purpose of the project was originally to make somebody's life better. I'm not exactly sure if I did make somebody's life better but I do know that I inspired others. As the project comes to an end I realize that I really shifted a lot from my original vision of the project. I started with the idea that I was going to visit a lot of places, meet a lot of people, and gain insight on the pro-life movement. I wanted to visit a lot of places and videotape a lot but it turned out really hard to attend events. My busy schedule and lack of transportation to places prevented me from doing as much as I would've liked. Although I might sound like I didn't achieve my goal I would say that I exceeded it. I did something that I never would've thought I could do; I started a club called Students for Life. Students for Life is the final result of my pro-life project and it is the best thing I could have done. 

     I am really proud to present the end result of my project as a club I started. The problem that I faced last week was figuring out how to present the project. I knew I wanted to do a video but I had no idea what I wanted to include in it. Once I came up with the idea it took me a while to put it into action. The problem that I had this week and that I still have today is getting the video clips for my video. I began to practice recording on my video camera with my friend but after entering the SD card in my computer I realized that my computer could not view the videos. I could hear the audio but I had no visual. It took me a long time to figure out alternative means to recording. It was something so simple that turned out to be so complicated. I am currently using my dad's tablet to record. I have begun recording the people I want in my video but I still have a lot more people to record. My challenge the week before the presentation is to create the video.

Blog # 11: Result of Flower Sale

       

  On Mother's Day my mom and I spent the day selling flowers at our church St. Justin Martyr. It was really nice because it was our bonding day together. However, we had a huge lack of volunteers. I was not the main organizer for this event so I only asked a few people to volunteer since I thought that other people were going to be there. When I got there only two people were there. Throughout the whole day we only had a total of 5 volunteers. We were able to sell a lot of flowers throughout the morning but we had a lot of flowers leftover. I was really disappointed by the lack of participation. Although we made good profit I believe we could have done better if more people would've been there. To be honest this discouraged me a bit. However, I took it as another motivation to continue what I'm doing. I want to continue to inspire others through my work because the reality is that we need more active pro-life believers. 

    

     Apart from that I have a lot of really good news. A while back I submitted an application to have my blog a part of prolifeblogs.com and I got a notification that my blog was added to their website. I was really excited about this because it meant that my little blog could have the chance to reach a broader audience. The blogs there are really good and its just amazing to see my blogs name on there. Another amazing email that I received was the confirmation of the Survivors Training Camp during the summer. I got the packet to fill out now. I'm really excited to be attending a pro-life camp in the summer and I am very fortunate that I got a spot. The past week I came up with a really good idea to do for my project and I need to start taking footage. My project presentation is going to be absolutely amazing!

Blog # 10: Three Weeks Left!

     I have been making progress but I just realized that I am running out of time. I am excited about the progress but feeling a little cramped on time. I need more time. I have about two weeks to present the project and although I have done a lot of small activities I don't have any real hard material since I haven't taken many videos or pictures. The biggest step in my project, which was taking the initiative to start the group, took a lot longer than I expected. It actually took up about two months of my project. I am super excited that the paperwork has been sent but I am anxious to get a response back. I really wish I could have the club approved before the presentation but that is highly unlikely. I am very optimistic about the club getting approved but I do dread that the application will be denied. Either way, I have to think of something else to do for the presentation. I have a couple of ideas but I need to pick one and figure out how to do it.

     However, I have an upcoming event. On May 11th I will be selling flowers outside of mass at my church for Mother's Day. A lot of mothers give up their babies for abortion but we want to celebrate all the mothers that said no to abortion. All of the profits of the flower sale will be going to pro-life pregnancy centers. This will be considered the first event of Rebels for Life. It is an example of further activities we will be doing. I hope we can raise a lot of money!

Happy Mother's Day to all those who chose life. 

   

Blog # 9: Improvement & Progress = Success

          These past few weeks have been absolutely busy and crazy. I'm actually surprised that I am able to find enough time to do pro-life things. Despite the craziness I am really excited about my progress. Last week I signed up for the Survivors Pro-Life Training Camp over the summer. The cost is $425 for 12 days of this pro-life "boot camp". I am really excited to be attending an actual camp and I was very lucky to have my spot reserved in time because as of now the spots are completely filled. I am hoping that this camp will show me what I am meant to do in the pro-life movement. I am also working on getting better in contact with pro-life organizations so that they can help me out. I am planning to take the diapers I collected to Casa Teresa on May 1st. After that I am also planning to visit another pregnancy center and volunteer there. 

     Time is coming up fast and I realized that I have to present my 20 Percent Project in a couple weeks. I know that I am going to do a video but I don't know what I'm going to include in the video. I haven't really taken much video of what I have done so there isn't much. I really need to get my creative juices flowing and think of the format of the video soon because I'm running out of time. Hopefully Rebels for Life will be an official club by then so I can present that.
     An update on my club Rebels for Life is that it was finally approved by my principal and it will now be sent to the district for approval. I had a meeting with him and 3 other of my friends on Friday to talk about the club. After us explaining the details about the club he gave us 100% of his support. I am so glad that we were able to work this out. I really hope the process doesn't take that long so that I am able to include the club in my presentation in May.

Blog # 8: Planning

     I would like to start off by saying that things have been going really good lately. I have been doing a lot of planning for my pro-life group at school. I had been working on a pro-life video to display on the school announcements and I was finally able to present it to the club at yesterday's weekly meeting. They all gave me very positive feedback and supported me. Now all that's left is to get it approved and put it into the daily announcements. I am a bit worried that they will deny the video because we are technically not an official group. Not being an official group really discourages me sometimes because it limits me a lot in what I can and can't do. There are a lot of events that I want to do and I really can't do them on campus. My very next step is going to be to check up on the application for the group. I was told that it would take about a month to get the club approved by the district but I am afraid that the application hasn't even been sent in. I will not be very happy if I find that to be true. Either way I know that I will be able to have a group eventually by the end of the year and in the end that's all that matters. 

     So far I have two events coming up soon. The first one will take place on April 19th at Casa Teresa. Casa Teresa is a place where women are able to go and receive housing, food, clothes, and prenatal care. It is a really good place and we will be going to deliver diapers. A little while ago I hosted a diaper drive with my church and we were able to raise money as well as diapers. We will then be taking the diapers and the money to them as a donation. It will be a new experience for me and anyone else who accompanies us because I have never been to a pregnancy care center. The second event will take place at the Christ Cathedral on April 26th. It will be a meeting with the pro-life ministries of the Diocese of Orange. I was invited to this event by the pro-life coordinator in my church. So far I have a couple people signed up to attend this event. I am also hoping to have any members of Students for Life attend this group. 

     I have a lot of work to do and I am willing to work harder. I will start planning the meetings on Thursdays to make them more effective so that we are more prepared when the group is official. Below is the clip that I am hoping to get on the school announcements.

Blog # 7: A Work in Progress

     I am really excited about forming my own group on campus. It feels really good to be doing something different for a change. To be honest I never though that I would get that far, but thankfully I have. I just recently made contact with Students for Life to talk to them about my group. I sent them an email and I received a response from the West Coast Coordinator of Students for Life. She expressed to me her excitement to begin working with us and she seemed just as happy as I am to be working together. We are currently working on scheduling a day to have a pro-life training. I need to coordinate a day that will work for the other members in the group. She did mention, however, that the training would have to be via the internet because she will not be in the area for a while. Along with the training she will be sending a starter activism kit and I will need to fill out a group form to send to them. A little obstacle right now is that I am somewhat limited in what I can do on campus because the group is not official yet. I need to do a check up to see how the process is going to make the group official. Other than that I would say that I am doing some significant progress. 

     An upcoming event will be taking place Saturday March 19th at St. Boniface Catholic Church. It will be a prayer vigil coordinated with my youth group at my own parish. We will stand outside an abortion clinic to do a silent protest in prayer. This event is taking place due to the 40 Days for Life. The 40 Days for Life is a nationwide campaign of prayer to end abortion. I am hoping to be able to attend this event to support the youth against abortion. I will definitely make sure to take lots of pictures of this event.