The Meaning of Life

For the first Action Project of the Journalism course, we were tasked to interview someone about what they thought the meaning of life was. We had to compile all they said and write 1,000 words. We then had to take a picture of the person. In this unit we talked all about photo journalism. Something that was difficult for me in doing this project was figuring out what questions to ask. Something I enjoyed about this project was how open it was. We were able to ask so many different questions and get some very thoughtful responses.
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The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is one of my favorite movies/books. It’s all about love, friendship, sadness, and heartbreak. One of my favorite quotes from the movie is “Enjoy it. Because it’s happening.” The quote was said by Charlie--the main character in the film/novel. I love this quote because I think it speaks to everything that happens in life, good or bad. It shows that no matter what is happening in life, you have to keep your head up because it’s happening and you can’t change it. Life is a vast space full of opportunities so “What is the meaning of life?”

Mary is your average mom. She was born in Texas and raised in a suburb of Illinois. She moved to the city to become a grade school teacher. She currently teaches at a CPS language school in Old Town. She has taught many grades from eighth all the way down to third. She is a horse- loving prankster who loves her daughter.

As I lay on a blanket on the roof outside my bedroom, I look at all of the planes soaring through the sky. I hear my mom calling me “Maddie? I’m ready for the interview. Where are you?” I turn around, “On the roof, I’m coming in.” I grab my blanket and walk slowly back up to my window and climb through. I sit cross- legged on the white couch in my moms room while my mom sits down in front of me on her bed. “So mom, what is the meaning of life?” She sits and ponders for a couple minutes. “Mom?” I ask, checking if she is still listening. She finally breaks her silence.

“Do what you want to do, say what you wanna say, love who you wanna love and don’t worry what people think.” She says the last part with a smile. She stares down at my dog Lily who is making an unnecessary amount of noise and lifts her onto her bed. “You can see even with Lily that she's always smiling no matter what and her life is meaningful.” She walks across her room and looks in the mirror.

“Why do you think life is meaningful” I ask looking up from my computer. She looks to the ceiling, thinking about the question. “Not only do I get to do things that I want to do without worry from other people but I also get to give meaning to other people’s lives. A big part of it is to do things for other people and I think making other people lives meaningful is as important as making your own life meaningful. So doing kind things for others and treating all people with kindness is extremely important for making your own life happy. Doing kind things and being good to other people makes my life better but that's not why I do it…” She pauses, “It just goes along with it.”

She walks back over to her bed. I look through my prep sheet and pick another question. I turn to her, “What is your favorite thing in the world that makes your life better?” She thinks for what feels like hours. “You I guess…. Well really horses.” She sighs, “When I had you my life became 100 times more meaningful. It changed everything. It was another person that I was responsible for. To make happy, to feed, to love, to teach. I think having children is one of the best ways to, well for me, made my life meaningful. It wasn’t not meaningful before, but I think having kids changes people's lives. You are no longer only living for yourself you are now living for someone else.”

I took many pictures of my mom that evening. Some from close up, some from far away. It was too dark and cold to take them in the garden, so we took them inside the house. As I adjust the focus, she continues to move positions. I continue to snap pictures of her on my Canon camera. After careful consideration I chose this photo. I chose this one because I think it captures her in her best state: calm. I took it with the portrait setting on my camera so that everything in the background would be blurry so the photo would just focus on my mom.

MF. (MOM) 2016

Once the picture had been chosen, I started thinking long and hard about what my mom had already said. Besides the fact that she jokingly not jokingly said horses made her life go ‘round, she said some pretty true stuff. She got deep down into my questions and was able to give me thoughtful answers. “Did you think about this question all day or something?” I asked her. She started laughing, “Actually, I asked my 3rd graders what they thought the answer was. They gave some pretty 3rd grade answers, but then they started giving interesting ones. I thought about their answers and was able to gather some new ideas from what they had said.” She smiles, “To think I got advice for your Action Project from 8 year olds blows my mind,” she starts laughing. We sit in silence for a few minutes. “Alright. I have another question for you.” I say. “What came first, the chicken? Or the egg?” She groans, “Ugh you know I hate this question” She lays on her bed with her eyes closed, hopefully thinking about the incredibly annoying question I just asked her. She finally answers quietly. “I don't know. I was raised catholic, and to believe that God created everything in the world, including the world, but as I grew older, read more, and went to school more…” she begins to whisper. “I stopped believing in all that stuff, like creationism and realized that evolution is how humans came to be.

As the interview drew to a close I had just one more question for my mom “What is the best part about living?” I ask. She turns slowly to me. “Sleeping. Laughing. Making people smile and making people happy.” She asks me to repeat the question. I do. “Waking up after getting a full night’s sleep. That has to be the best feeling ever.”

Matagalpa, Nicaragua

This summer for 3.5 weeks, I had the chance to travel to Matagalpa Nicaragua with an amazing organization called Global Glimpse. Over the course of those 3.5 weeks I learned a lot about the country I was in as well as myself. This was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget as long as I live.

I traveled to this foreign country along with 17 other people that I knew almost nothing about (there were 20 of us in total but I got the chance to travel with two people from GCE). Being in a new place with completely unfamiliar people was something very new for me. It really pushed me far outside of my comfort zone and made me make a lot of new friends. 

While I was there I was able to do some pretty incredible things. In the country we built a door, a ceiling, a wall, and installed a mural all in 2 1/2 days! It was a lot of work but it was for a great organization called Infancia sin Fronteras which basically translates to Boundless Childhood. We built these things in a bad neighborhood in Matagalpa. The building we worked on was a school for young children as well as a hospital. They wanted us to build things for the school because there was nothing separating the children from the sick people and they were getting sick. After completing all of the work and being able to look at all of the amazing work we had done made me feel so amazing. While we were working people from the neighborhood were constantly telling us how great it looked and that they were so glad we were working so hard. There were so many kids that came by day after day just to watch us work. 

This entire experience changed my life. It really made me realize that I take a lot of things for granted. I am so lucky for everything I have and I need to be more thankful. I met so many amazing people that have changed my life for the better. From the countless hours of playing cards to the walks around town to get coffee, I wouldn't change one bit of my experience in Nicaragua. 

Airport. (2016)

Lawyer vs. Marine Biologist

For the first Action Project of the STEAM course, Economics, we were tasked to look at our futures. We had to think about what we want to do with our lives post high school. That included looking at the college route vs the no college route, thinking about how much it would cost to go to college to obtain the degree that we need, figuring out how much money we would make in our chosen profession over 40+ years, etc. Something we looked at a lot in this unit was opportunity cost and money. This means how long things take and comparing that to other things you could be doing. This goes into the project quite a bit because we had to choose if we wanted to spend time and money in college or just heading straight into our career. Something I struggled with was choosing a career. I have so many ideas about what I want to do with my life after high school. I finally decided to choose two different careers and see which one would be most beneficial.
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The question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” sits in the mind of most teenagers. Next year I will either attend Harvard Law School or The University of California Santa Barbara to study how to become either a lawyer or a marine biologist. Marine Biologists work with the things happening in the water. That includes oceans, rivers, lakes, etc. They work to keep the water clean and make sure all the living things are healthy. Lawyers are the ones that defend/prosecute people in court. They work in the courts working on cases of all topics and making sure everything is just and fair for people.

I chose these two occupations because I have always been interested in the ocean as well as law. My uncle is a lawyer so I have learned a lot of things from him about what it’s like to work in this profession. I have always loved to swim and learn more about the different animals in the water. I am super interested in both of these careers. In order to become a marine biologist I would need 4-10 years in college ( 4 years for a bachelor's degree, an (optional) master’s degree or PhD). In order to become a lawyer I would need 7-8 years in college (4 years for a bachelor's degree;following that is law school for 3-4 years).

College is extremely expensive. The cost of Harvard Law in 2015-2016 was $57,200. The cost of Harvard Law in 2016-2017 was $59,550. The tuition percent increase is 4%. After going to school for four years, the cost would be $263691.43. The cost of University of California Santa Barbara in 2015-2016 was 24,708. The cost of University of California Santa Barbara in 2016-2017 was $26,682. The tuition percent increase is 8% After going to this school for 4 years the total amount of money I would be paying would be $192,254.87

Reference Data
Beginning Balance	$263,691.43
APR	5
Annual Salary	$74,880.00
Annual Payment	$22,464.00

(2016)

Year	Beginning Balance	Payment	Interest Rate	Interest Paid	Principal Paid	Ending Balance
1	$263,691.43	$22,464.00	5.00%	$13,184.57	$9,279.43	$254,412.00
2	$254,412.00	$22,464.00	5.00%	$12,720.60	$9,743.40	$244,668.60
3	$244,668.60	$22,464.00	5.00%	$12,233.43	$10,230.57	$234,438.03
4	$234,438.03	$22,464.00	5.00%	$11,721.90	$10,742.10	$223,695.93
5	$223,695.93	$22,464.00	5.00%	$11,184.80	$11,279.20	$212,416.73
6	$212,416.73	$22,464.00	5.00%	$10,620.84	$11,843.16	$200,573.56
7	$200,573.56	$22,464.00	5.00%	$10,028.68	$12,435.32	$188,138.24
8	$188,138.24	$22,464.00	5.00%	$9,406.91	$13,057.09	$175,081.15
9	$175,081.15	$22,464.00	5.00%	$8,754.06	$13,709.94	$161,371.21
10	$161,371.21	$22,464.00	5.00%	$8,068.56	$14,395.44	$146,975.77
11	$146,975.77	$22,464.00	5.00%	$7,348.79	$15,115.21	$131,860.56
12	$131,860.56	$22,464.00	5.00%	$6,593.03	$15,870.97	$115,989.59
13	$115,989.59	$22,464.00	5.00%	$5,799.48	$16,664.52	$99,325.07
14	$99,325.07	$22,464.00	5.00%	$4,966.25	$17,497.75	$81,827.32
15	$81,827.32	$22,464.00	5.00%	$4,091.37	$18,372.63	$63,454.68
16	$63,454.68	$22,464.00	5.00%	$3,172.73	$19,291.27	$44,163.42
17	$44,163.42	$22,464.00	5.00%	$2,208.17	$20,255.83	$23,907.59
18	$23,907.59	$22,464.00	5.00%	$1,195.38	$21,268.62	$2,638.97
19	$2,638.97	$2,770.92	5.00%	$131.95	$2,638.97	$0.00
20	$0.00	$0.00	5.00%	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
21	$0.00	$0.00	5.00%	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
			True Cost of College	$143,431.49		$407,122.92

Law (2016)

Reference Data
Beginning Balance	$129,817.30
APR	5
Annual Salary	$39,700.00
Annual Payment	$11,910.00

(2016)

Year	Beginning Balance	Payment	Interest Rate	Interest Paid	Principal Paid	Ending Balance
1	$129,817.30	$11,910.00	5.00%	$6,490.87	$5,419.13	$124,398.17
2	$124,398.17	$11,910.00	5.00%	$6,219.91	$5,690.09	$118,708.07
3	$118,708.07	$11,910.00	5.00%	$5,935.40	$5,974.60	$112,733.48
4	$112,733.48	$11,910.00	5.00%	$5,636.67	$6,273.33	$106,460.15
5	$106,460.15	$11,910.00	5.00%	$5,323.01	$6,586.99	$99,873.16
6	$99,873.16	$11,910.00	5.00%	$4,993.66	$6,916.34	$92,956.82
7	$92,956.82	$11,910.00	5.00%	$4,647.84	$7,262.16	$85,694.66
8	$85,694.66	$11,910.00	5.00%	$4,284.73	$7,625.27	$78,069.39
9	$78,069.39	$11,910.00	5.00%	$3,903.47	$8,006.53	$70,062.86
10	$70,062.86	$11,910.00	5.00%	$3,503.14	$8,406.86	$61,656.00
11	$61,656.00	$11,910.00	5.00%	$3,082.80	$8,827.20	$52,828.80
12	$52,828.80	$11,910.00	5.00%	$2,641.44	$9,268.56	$43,560.24
13	$43,560.24	$11,910.00	5.00%	$2,178.01	$9,731.99	$33,828.25
14	$33,828.25	$11,910.00	5.00%	$1,691.41	$10,218.59	$23,609.67
15	$23,609.67	$11,910.00	5.00%	$1,180.48	$10,729.52	$12,880.15
16	$12,880.15	$11,910.00	5.00%	$644.01	$11,265.99	$1,614.16
17	$1,614.16	$1,694.87	5.00%	$80.71	$1,614.16	$0.00
18	$0.00	$0.00	5.00%	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
19	$0.00	$0.00	5.00%	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
20	$0.00	$0.00	5.00%	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
21	$0.00	$0.00	5.00%	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
			True Cost of College	$62,437.57		$192,254.87

M.Biology (2016)

For a career in marine biology, it would take me 17 years to pay off all of my student loans. The true cost of my college education would be $192,254.87. I would have paid $62,437.57 in interest. For a career in law, it would take me 19 years to pay off all my student loans. The true cost of my college education would be $264,926.04. I would have paid $143,431.49 in interest (see the charts above).

For a career in marine biology, the salary ranges. The minimum salary is $39,700 the max is $124,680 and the median is $70,800. For a career as a lawyer the minimum salary is $74,880 the max is $187,199 and the median is $130,880. By the time I retire, if I am to go into marine biology, I would make $3,874,552. If I go into law, I would make $6,512,444. For marine biology, I would be paying my student loans back one year less than if I went into law but I would be paying more interest. Right now there are 1,300,705 lawyers in the U.S. and only 18,523 marine biologists. The outlook rate is going up for both with lawyers leading with a 10% increase rate and marine biology having a 7% increase.

Reference Data
Entry-level Salary	$74,880
Mid-level Salary	$130,880
Senior-level Salary	$187,199
Annual Raise (%)	3.00%

(2016)

Career Level	# of Working Year	Year	Annual Salary
Entry	1	2021	$39,760
Entry	2	2022	$39,772
Entry	3	2023	$39,783
Entry	4	2024	$39,795=
Entry	5	2025	$39,807
Mid	6	2026	$71,013
Mid	7	2027	$71,034
Mid	8	2028	$71,055
Mid	9	2029	$71,077
Mid	10	2030	$71,098
Mid	11	2031	$71,119
Mid	12	2032	$71,141
Mid	13	2033	$71,162
Mid	14	2034	$71,183
Mid	15	2035	$71,205
Mid	16	2036	$71,226
Mid	17	2037	$71,247
Mid	18	2038	$71,269
Mid	19	2039	$71,290
Mid	20	2040	$71,312
Mid	21	2041	$71,333
Mid	22	2042	$71,354
Mid	23	2043	$71,376
Mid	24	2044	$71,397
Mid	25	2045	$71,419
Mid	26	2046	$71,440
Mid	27	2047	$71,461
Mid	28	2048	$71,483
Mid	29	2049	$71,504
Mid	30	2050	$71,526
Senior	31	2051	$125,996
Senior	32	2052	$126,034
Senior	33	2053	$126,071
Senior	34	2054	$126,109
Senior	35	2055	$126,147
Senior	36	2056	$126,185
Senior	37	2057	$126,223
Senior	38	2058	$126,261
Senior	39	2059	$126,299
Senior	40	2060	$126,336
Senior	41	2061	$126,374
Senior	42	2062	$126,412
Senior	43	2063	$126,450
Senior	44	2064	$126,488
Senior	45	2065	$126,526
	Total Lifetime earnings		$3,874,552

M. Biology (2016)

Reference Data
Entry-level Salary	$39,700
Mid-level Salary	$70,800
Senior-level Salary	$124,680
Annual Raise (%)	3.00%

(2016) 

Career Level	# of Working Year	Year	Annual Salary
Entry	1	2021	$74,992
Entry	2	2022	$75,015
Entry	3	2023	$75,037
Entry	4	2024	$75,060
Entry	5	2025	$75,082
Mid	6	2026	$131,273
Mid	7	2027	$131,313
Mid	8	2028	$131,352
Mid	9	2029	$131,391
Mid	10	2030	$131,431
Mid	11	2031	$131,470
Mid	12	2032	$131,510
Mid	13	2033	$131,549
Mid	14	2034	$131,589
Mid	15	2035	$131,628
Mid	16	2036	$131,668
Mid	17	2037	$131,707
Mid	18	2038	$131,747
Mid	19	2039	$131,786
Mid	20	2040	$131,826
Mid	21	2041	$131,865
Mid	22	2042	$131,905
Mid	23	2043	$131,944
Mid	24	2044	$131,984
Mid	25	2045	$132,023
Mid	26	2046	$132,063
Mid	27	2047	$132,103
Mid	28	2048	$132,142
Mid	29	2049	$132,182
Mid	30	2050	$132,222
Senior	31	2051	$189,175
Senior	32	2052	$189,231
Senior	33	2053	$189,288
Senior	34	2054	$189,345
Senior	35	2055	$189,402
Senior	36	2056	$189,459
Senior	37	2057	$189,515
Senior	38	2058	$189,572
Senior	39	2059	$189,629
Senior	40	2060	$189,686
Senior	41	2061	$189,743
Senior	42	2062	$189,800
Senior	43	2063	$189,857
Senior	44	2064	$189,914
Senior	45	2065	$189,971
	Total Lifetime earnings		$6,512,444

Law (2016)

Supply and Demand MB (2016)

Supply and Demand Law (2016)

I would be in the law industry and the science industry. The future outlook for lawyers is about 10% (projected to grow 6% by 2024). The future outlook for marine biologists is 7% (projected to grow 1.3% each year from 2010-2020). Currently, there is a 0.7% population change in the U.S. Lawyers continue to be needed so there isn’t a drop in that field. The demand for marine biologists has been increasing lately especially for female marine biologists since there are not that many female scientists out there currently. There is an option for both careers for advanced degrees. For law, once you obtain a bachelor’s degree at the 4-year college, you move on to law school and that can range from 3-4 extra years. For marine biology, after the bachelor’s, you can get a PhD or a master’s degree.

Some benefits from these two jobs are:

-Great job

-Something I am super passionate about

-Lots of money

-Great job outlook

-Prestigious colleges

I have decided that it would be most beneficial for me to become a lawyer. Some assumptions I made were that I would get into the school of my choice, get into the law program since it is very competitive, and that I would be able to get a job right out of college.  When looking at lawyer, I figured that the mastery I would gain throughout my many years of schooling would make getting the job so much more satisfying because it opens a lot of doors to work with different people on different cases that I am passionate and care a lot about. I realized that a dollar today is worth more tomorrow because the interest rates for paying back students loans changed the price so quickly in just a matter of days. Interest is something that came into play a lot with this project. Based on my graphs, I really had to think about which choice I would be willing to pay for.  Another thing that I realized was that  Throughout this job search, I realized I really a passionate about a lot of things and the ocean is just one of them and by being a lawyer, I would be able to work on cases for all of the things I am interested in. Interest rates change the price you have to pay back very drastically. College is also extremely expensive but student loans help out with that even though they are a pain to pay back.

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Sources:
American Bar Association. "Briefs: Lawyer Demographics, Detroit ADR." Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation Alt High Cost Litig 4.11 (1986): 6-7. American Bar Association, 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17 Dec. 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

"Careers in Marine Biology." - SWFSC. Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 6 Nov. 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

"Cost of Attendance." - UCSB Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. University of California, 2015. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

@exciteonlineedu. "How to Become A Lawyer, Becoming A Lawyer." Excite Education. Mindspark, 2001. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

"How to Become a Marine Biologist." How to Become a Marine Biologist. N.p., 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.

Mahuron, Sara. "Is It Hard to Find a Job as a Marine Biologist?" Our Everyday Life. StudioD, 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.