Today, people all over the world have become connected through use of technology. Often the older people in our lives say that “the youth is too involved with technology” almost describing it as an addiction. However, these people are just as involved with technology. I see technology as an opening where we are able to connect with people who are far away or unable to be met in person. It is an incredibly useful tool overall and has greatly benefited me up until now. I can also see the otehr side though, there are times (concerts, venues, etc.) Where I don’t believe it is necessary because everything you need is there with you but I don’t see any problem with anyone using their phones or other technology at any time.

Across the globe, people suffer from common problems. Hunger, poverty, and corruption effect millions and that’s just to name a few. For me, these are all compelling but the one that calls to me the most is hunger. I am very fortunate that I am in a place where not only do I have come stant access to food it is also available to me to have any type of food I could desire. The thought that there is so vastly a number of people that can’t even gather a solid meal on any given day says a lot to me. Recently, I joined up to volunteer with Rise Against Hunger and with 50 other volunteers we worked to produce over 10,000 meals that will be shipped to third world countries. This happened across the United States and though it is significant it is not enough. These problems lie within one another and so you cannot solve one without solving others. More and more each day we see people speaking out and taking action. In order to tell an effective story, at least for hunger across the world would be very hard. The pictures we see don’t say nearly the amount that witnessing hunger in person does. In order to tell this story we first need to convince people to step outside their barriers and help with things that are bigger than themselves. When they see the problems they will be much more open to how bad they really are and be able to better understand the help that is needed.

Long after begging I am getting to the production phase! I have been talking with various people about a ton of different ideas on how to get my product heated and am thinking of a hot water in aluminum structure that would conduct heat to the scraper blade. Additionally I have begun to test all of the homemade remedy’s for a frosty windshield that I found online. Crossing my fingers for some good results!

From design thinking I enjoyed being able to take a deeper look into what it takes to present and follow through with an idea. I enjoyed seeing how each step was important and think that each could be incorporated into my idea as well as others. For the empathize portion, I believe I have already done this. I took a problem much of the public suffers from and am trying to pose a solution to reduce frustration and promote a more relaxed atmosphere in the midst of winter. In the defining phase I have decided that rather than making a brand new solution I would like to test solutions that people have already given and refine them, then likely you decide on a “best solution” and see if it can be improved. The ideate stage is the stage in which all ideas get thrown on the table to further your project. So far I haven’t delved much into it but I have talked some with my peers about things that might deatroy your car rather than helping it. In terms of prototyping I have only done paper sketches of ideas I believe to be worthy but I plan to eventually make a 3D model of tools and a material list for the spray solutions. Lastly comes testing which is in the plans but has not been thought out just yet. All of the fixes that are guaranteed to not cause damage will be tested first followed by those that are not. I believe that this framework will help greatly however in the overall execution of my project.

What are 3 ideas for your project?  Describe each one.

The three project ideas I currently have to do mainly with cars. The first would be to find an alternate solution to the salt on the roads as it doesnt do the best job and also creates rust on the cars that we spend so much on. Alternatively I would like to making the scraping of snow and ice off of my car easier than it currently either from heat or a larger lighter version of what we currently have. Lastly I was considering researching alternate energy types, specifically environmentally friendly. I would look into harnessing these energies and see if I could research new ideas opposed to what we already have in terms of energy.

Which one speaks to you the most?  How does it apply to the Personal, Technical, and Impact standards?

Out of all my ideas, the windshield speaks to me the most. How it applies to each standard follows.

1.  Personal development – Does it make you a better person?

Sort of? I am helping a good portion of the population and I am making each of my days happier but overall I’m not sure I am becoming above myself by helping with this issue.

2.  Technical development – Does this add to your technical skill set?

Absolutely. I have a lot of skill in woodworking but putting that together with everything else post prototype will be new for me and require a great deal of new skill learning.

3.  Impact on others –  Will it help others? 

I believe so. I think that many people would happily clear their windshields and cars much faster then currently possible. It might not be a necessary issue but it would certainly make mornings much less stressful to get going.

With all of the money in the world, I would firstly redistribute it so that the rest of the population might survive. Then I would dedicated much of my money towards putting environmentally driven people in power. From there I would develop a name for myself in the field of music development and fulfill my dream of owning a studio. I would put money into schools for them to teach classes on music that had words involved rather than the traditional slow, wordless music that we tend to be taught. For obvious reasons I would invest money and then purchase a house and my dream car. (Or 5)  For my final spending that would be on a large scale, I would fund a way in which it would be possible to traverse the class ladder so that all people might have the same opportunities and experiences though I do not now know how that would be possible right now.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton