Rationale Paper

You can see all of these artifacts listed on my artifacts page of my portfolio.

Mama I'm Hungry:

My paper called Mama Im Hungry was written for my English class for a controversial topic. The
requirements for this paper was 800 words. Also, we had to make suggestions for how the world can
change the way they view it. The last requirement was to make helpful suggestions to the people
affected by the controversy. The situation I decided to write about was breastfeeding mothers. I
made several points throughout my paper about how mothers that breastfeed should be able to
breastfeed in public without any problem. I learned a few skills when writing this paper. I learned to
talk to unique and specific audiences when writing a paper. This skill will be great for my professional
career because it will help me to be able communicate with several different types of people that
have different personalities. Another skill I learned when writing this paper was to be resourceful
from the community and that you can ask for help. When I was writing this paper I had a lot of
trouble finding things on the internet that was supportive to mothers that breastfeed other than a
couple Facebook groups. I decided to go out into my neighborhood and ask a few mothers where
they go for support. This skill will be extremely helpful when I get into the workforce because it will
help me to always get others thoughts and opinions for projects or meetings. My final skill was to
write in a new style. I tend to write papers more based on myself of people I knew personally
because I can get down to the core. This essay helped me expand a new essay type. This will help
me when I finish skill by giving me more options to work with when I start writing projects and
analytics for companies. I decided to include this paper into my portfolio because I decided to write
about something completely different than I would normally lean toward. Also, because it shows the
different types of styles I can write.

Artifact 2: The Predator In Disguise:

This essay was written for my English class as an introduction to our classmates. The main
assignment was to write about something that makes you feel raw. It had few requirements other
then it needed to be over 500 words and tell something about the person you are; as well as the type
of writer you are. I decided to write about a personal relationship I had as a child. I have not
improved this essay since the first writing because I believe it tells how I looked at the situation in
that moment. I developed several skills when completing this essay; one of the main skills was
importance to detail. Another, was to take ownership in what you have done. Writing this paper also
helped my ability to develop a story from beginning to the end. These abilities that I developed from
writing this paper is will come into many aspects of my career and professional goals. It will help me
take control over situations and be a leader. This ability will stem from taking ownership in what I
have done because to be leader you have to honest about the reasons you decided to do the things
you have done. Another ability that will encourage my professional career is the importance to detail.
You need to be paying attention in case something goes wrong or right. Knowing the facts will
always keep you a step ahead. The last skill about developing a story from beginning to end will
show me how me to work on a project from the first step to the last. I decided to put this piece into
my portfolio because it shows everyone a part of me. Whether it be how I have become who I am or
it what I have learned through the process we call life.

Artifact 3: Idealism in Our Minds

This essay was written for my English class as a persuasive piece. We were required
to write about a topic that is seen as controversial in majority of peoples opinion.
Another requirement is that it is must be a topic that can be easily researched to
find supporting information. The final requirement is it had to be at least 1300
words and using MLA as a guideline for the paper. I decided to write about The L
brands. The L Brands is a company that owns Victoria Secret, Pink by Victoria
Secret, Bath and Body works, and The White Barn Candle Company. The own a
many more, but that is just a few. I wanted to talk about how a lot of people bash
the company because their main focus is to target women who might think a
product will make you more of something. They mainly focus on beauty,
intelligence, and inner self worth. I wanted to stand for the company and say that it
is okay to let an item help with those areas as long as it makes you feel good about
yourself. This essay was very hard for me to right because it pushed my abilities as
a writer. I was battling if I really stood for the company or against it. It helped me
gains several skills, but most importantly it helped me with my researching skills. It
was hard to find others people thoughts about this on the internet; I decided I would
conduct my own research and take a survey about opinions of The L Brands. This
skill will help with my future career because I will be able to take control of a
situation that I cant find a solution to; make my own solution if you will. I wanted to
include this essay in my portfolio because it shows that I can think outside of the
box.

Artifact 4: National Junior Honor Society Certificate

This certificate encouraged me to do well in school. It was an award saying I was an

outstanding student. In order to get this certificate I had work very hard to get
above a 3.6 GPA. We were also required to have 100 hours of volunteer hours. I had
achieved a 3.8 GPA and 123 hours of volunteer experience. I really wanted to make
it into the National Junior Honor Society. I believed in what they were teaching about
how our future matters, giving back to the community matters; working hard always
pays off, trust is important, and believing in yourself in key. I wanted to be a part of
a group who thought the same way I did. I believe I was an 8 th grader at this time
and I wanted to find a group to fit in with. When I made it in to the National Junior
Honor Society it was something I was very proud of. I found people who I wanted to
be friends with, who that It was cool to be smart. This certificate was an award of a
lot of skills I have learned and that would help with my future. I was taught an
important skill called working hard. I was very stressed about trying to make it in to
this group, but it was all worth it. Another skill was patience. I was working on this
project for about 8 months. I knew it wasnt going to happen right away; patience
was developed strongly in this situation. The final skill I learned was about being
humble; all of those volunteer hours at the nursing home were hard, but very
rewarding. It was hard to watch and listen to sick people about their troubles, but I
learned that their voice matters, they just need a friend to listen to them. All of

these skills will pay off when at a future career because they all not only make me a
better person, but a better employee. Meaning I will do my best to accomplish all I
can while working there, that I can wait for rewards, and being a kind person to
work with. I wanted to include this in my portfolio because it is something that I am
proud of; It helped change my perspective on a lot of things in life.

Artifact 5: Solo Program

This artifact was my solo program in my freshmen year of high school. I have always
loved singing and have been fairly good at it. The only requirements to get the solo
was to audition and sign a contract that we would be able to make it to all
rehearsals and performances unless of course of an emergency. I had started taking
choir in 3rd grade up until my last year in a regular school which was my freshmen
year of high school. I have always wanted to do a solo, but never had the courage to
audition. Knowing that this would be my last year of school I had to at least try. I
have no idea how many times I had cried to my aunt about how I couldnt do it. She
always gave me the strength to try and of course repeat the glorious line of If you
dont try you will regret it your whole life. I would practice the solo over and over
again in a mirror never liking the way it came out completely. I ultimately decided I
just couldnt do it. On the day of the concert while in 3 rd hour class which was choir.
The soloist who had gotten it backed out of doing it in that nights show. The teacher
asked everyone in the class if anyone else wanted to do it. No ones hand popped
up except mine unwillingly. I walked in front of the classroom to audition and sang
like I never have before. Everyone was clapping and I was given that solo. I sang
Perfect by Arr Bee, I kept it a secret from my family. When they saw me sing that
night at the concert they were so happy for me; luckily they brought me flowers.
The skills I learned from this experience was flexibility and creativity. I can use both
of these skills in my future career; flexibility could give me an unexpected
opportunity. Creativity can give me a different outlook on situations. I wanted to
include this in my portfolio because this was the highlight of high school education.
It brought me out of my shell and I made many new friends after this.

Artifact 6: College Bound Gateways for Youth Volunteering

This certificate was given to me for completing 19 hours community service at

Gateways for Youth. Gateways for Youth is an organization that provides homeless
youth shelter, career resources, and food. The catch is in order to stay there you
must complete job training skills class and resume builder class. They have a farm,
the youth are required to go and tend to their crops with the help of staff. There
werent any requirements in order to get this certificate other then we must keep

working. Over the course of two work days we helped with the crops and learned
about the mission of Gateways for Youth. During our volunteer time we helped
water and feed the crops. Move around the seedlings to new locations and help
plant more food for the youth. We learned a lot about the agricultural process. I
spent most of my time planting new tomato and cucumber plants. I was told I most
defiantly have a green thumb although my flowers in my lawn beg to differ. Working
with the homeless youth helped me realize that this actually was a major problem. I
had never even thought about it prior to this experience. I acquired several
different skills from this experience mainly involving gardening, but a life skill also
about the importance of being aware. You must be aware of your surroundings, of
what you are supposed to be doing, who is helping you, and what you are doing to
help them. This will help me with my future career as it will help me realize all
aspects of a project and exactly what it Intels. I wanted to include this volunteering
experience in my portfolio because it was an eye opener to me. It helped me
discover that there is a lot going on that we dont think about.

Artifact 7: Teen Outreach Certificate of 13 hours

My certificate for Teen Outreach was well awarded. Throughout a semester of hard
work we dedicated 1 hour a week to this program. Each project had different
requirements. We had several different projects throughout the whole process. The
first one we did was a campaign about bullying. We made posters and flyers; which
we posted all around our school to spread the word about bullying. The final act of
this project was to make t-shirts and sell them which we donated to the school to
the counseling department. The t-shirts said Keep Calm and Stop Bullying; this
project meant a lot to me because I had been bullied many times throughout my
life, at school and home. I wanted to be a big part of this project so I decided to be
the leader on this one. I wanted to make everyone in the school know that bullying
is never acceptable and if you are being bullied there is always someone around
that can help. The next project we did was making baby books and toy boats for
children that grew up in homes that couldnt afford any. This project we completed
quickly in two hours, but it was a meaningful two hours. We learned about a few
organizations that help these families and they explained to us how by doing this
we are helping as well. The final project we did was It Starts With You; we got to
go around different schools and make presentations about how anyone can make a
change happen. Someone just has to make that first step. We focused on recycling
and explaining to better how they can do simple things in their lives to save the
planet. This program was an absolute blast and we completed so many things in the
short time we had together. Teen Outreach Program gave me many skills about
imitation, being determined, and a leader. I can apply these skills in my future
career because I can get anything done with determination and being a leader will
help me become a manager one day. I wanted to include this in my portfolio
because it shows a lot of what I have done and what I can do to make a change
happen.

Artifact 8: Girl Scouts Experience Video

In this video I talked about different things we did during my time in girl scouts. I
didnt have a certificate or a picture of my time in girl scouts, but I knew that I had
to include this in my portfolio. To be in girl scouts you must be female and within the
ages of 5-18. I entered in when I was 8 years old and it was incredible. We did so
many incredible things and fun activities. We went camping, sold cookies,
volunteered, and visited our moms in the correction facility. I focused on the
volunteering aspect of girl scouts in the video. One of the volunteering projects we
did was making hygiene baskets for domestic violence women shelters. This project
was beneficial because got to declutter our own homes to make these baskets. We
also volunteered at a food bank, it was dog food day. We mainly separated dog food
into separate bags to give away. We helped come up and start a system of
organization for the food bank as well. I absolutely love dogs and if I could shelter
all of them I would, but this project was a start to help these animals. I learned
plenty of skills from girl scouts including loyalty, helpfulness, and being strong. I can
use these skills in a work place in the future when someone needs my help and
knowing to stay with a company that treats me well. Also, always being a role
model and a leader to others. I had to include this in my portfolio because this was
an incredible life experience for me. I will most defiantly be putting my children in
the scouts program.