Intro to DMA

Well I cant say that I am upset to be writing my last blog post for DMA, but i have actually enjoyed the class more than i thought. As anyone in the class could probably tell that i was a little out of place. I am glad that i took this class for my art credit though, because if nothing else i have enjoyed seeing new and different forms and titles of media and films that i haven't heard of before. Even though i couldn't contribute to class discussion much, i genuinely did enjoy hearing the points of view from all the DMA majors. So overall i guess this class was quite the experience for this Exercise Science major.

The newest pandemic... Netflix

Netflix is one of the most revolutionary things to ever bless the youth. There is something for everyone and such a wide variety of shows and movies. I am going to share the shows that i can remember that i have seen basically every episode of that Netflix has.

Glee
Sons of Anarchy
The Walking Dead
Orange is the New Black
American Horror Story
Gilmore Girls
LA Ink
Once Upon a Time
Jess
Criminal Minds
Bones
Psych
Parks and Recreation
The Office
How I Met Your Mother
Lost
Adventure Time
Family Guy

I don't remember if there were more that i have seen but those are the ones i can remember. It actually made me feel a little odd writing those all down in one place. Thinking about how many accumulative hours i have spent watching Netflix is kind of shameful.... Anyway, Netflix is taking over and some people don't even have actual tv because they just watch things on there and wait for them to upload new seasons.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

From animation to live action, stop motion to claymation, and everything in between Christmas movies have been made for many many years and continue to be made every year. The reason for this? People love them! Christmastime is my most favorite time of year, and Christmas movies are a big part of making the holidays all that they are. My favorite Christmas movies are the heartfeltclassics like Its a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, and A Christmas Carol that most people my age have never seen, but i can't get enough of! Then there are the "younger targeted" movies like Rudolf the Rednosed Raindeer, The Polar Express, and Santa Clause is Coming to Town that all ages still enjoy. There are the comedies like Christmas with the Kranks and Home Alone, the newer "classics" like How the Grinch Stole Christmas (with Jim Carey) and Elf. I could go on and on with titles that people enjoy watching around christmas, and there aren't many that i don't enjoy. This is just an example of how media and films make an impact and are incorporated in to our culture, even if we don't think about it that often.

Baffled..

This post is basically just some thoughts i have had the whole semester. So Leeper likes to show random, sometimes weird, films that most average college students haven't seen. Some of the time this makes/made sense for the topic. For topics like the sand animation and animation using other mediums there are clearly no mainstream films of this sort. I guess i am just confused as to why we watch obscure films that most people haven't heard of for every single topic. A prime example is today in class; we watched some short action films that, again, i had never even heard of. "George Lucas in Love was humorous though it was still random to me. I dont know if Leeper actually has a topic that he wanted the videos to relate to today but it seemed like with the Matrix and the Ninja films, action would be a safe bet. If this is true, why not watch some actual well made action movies with awesome special effects and stunts or whatever? I dont know if Leeper likes to just introduce us to new things that he knows most of us have probably never seen, which i do enjoy sometimes, or if he just genuinely thinks they are quality films. I guess my opinion probably differs from most of the people in here though... Non-DMA Major Probs... 

I just don't get it...

    

Superhero Jesus?

In the reading One Baaad Messiah i couldn't help but feeling offended when they were essentially bashing Jesus. This might be because i grew up thinking and being taught that Jesus was and is the best thing to ever walk this earth and that he is perfect and never did anything wrong (all true things). I disagree with most of the points, though i see where the author is coming from. Jesus was the superest of all the heroes. He literally gave his own life so that everyone to ever exist didn't have to. They said that Jesus could have fought back and gone out with a fury, and he had the power to yes, but this wouldn't have been the purpose of the act of laying his life down willingly. It shows much more love and strength to go without a fight than it does to fight. Any tough guy can beat people up, but it takes a real hero to willingly sacrifice himself for the people he is saving.

OK, we all know where this is GOing... More Music Videos!

The music videos today reminded me of some home videos my cousins and i used to make. Especially the one of Ok Go in the backyard dancing just made me feel like i was watching  my sister and i and our two cousins when we were 10, 11, and 12 making up our own dances to songs and recording it. The fact that these four grown men were dancing like goons with a stationary camera in a backyard just made me grin the whole time honestly. It is just such a real, raw, not manufactured thing that they did that also makes them a little more relatable. 

On the subject of Ok Go music videos, i very much enjoyed the music video where they had all the cause and effect contraptions going on the whole time. I cannot even imagine how long that took to set up and how many times they had to do it for everything to line up perfectly. I couldn't stop watching it and even though it wasn't emotionally connecting, like i previously said that i enjoy the most, it was just genuinely cool! 

Surprise! More Music Videos....

In class we watched quite a few music videos and a few really stuck out to me. Being the person that I am, the music videos that i connect with and appreciate the most are the ones that arouse emotions and feelings within, as opposed to ones that are just well made and "cool".
This being said, the first of my favorites from class today was Glosoli, even though I had no idea what the song was about or even saying, the one with all the children. I loved the parallel that it had to Jesus, as Leeper described, but most of all I just enjoyed how all the children were sticking together. They went without second thought and never strayed from each other, it was like there was an unspoken known fact that they were better off that way, this relates to life in general I think.

Another of the videos that I enjoyed the most was the rendition of Hurt by Johhny Cash. As I said I like music videos that help the viewer to connect more emotionally than the song alone would do. This music video had an old Johhny Cash singing about his past and how everything that he had earned in life was worth nothing essentially. It showed clips from his past and when he was super-famous, it showed endless merchandise, awards, and albums from his glory days as well. It showed his wife as well and people in his life that meant a lot to him. There was one line that stood out to me "You can have it all, my empire of dirt." he is saying that all of it means nothing really, they are all just material things. This video made me shed a few tears I must admit, though it isn't the first thing in this class that has done that.

The last Video that was my absolute favorite from today was Happipola. Anyone who knows me would know that I have a passion for old people. I just love them so much! The ones in this video are exactly what I hope to be able to act like when I am elderly. The wisdom of all their years with the innocent youth of a child- best of both worlds. Even though, again, i had no idea what the words were to the song, i couldn't stop smiling the whole video through. I could truly feel their joy just from watching them have fun and be carefree.
    

The "New Frontier"

I just read the article about music videos that was written in 2005. First of all I want to point out how interesting it was to hear someone talking about how Apple was rumored to be releasing music videos for sale as well as videos and how there might be a new Ipod coming out that can view videos as well as purely audio music. I don't really think of 2005 of being that long ago, but it seems that youtube and ipods with video screens have always been around. So the first part of this blog is just to point out how astoundingly fats technology actually does move. We don't think about it, but i have heard my parents say that they remember when the internet was invented. Now, we don't know what we would do without the internet. When we grow up and have kids, I am sure they will freak out when we say that we remember when Apple came out with the first Ipod to have Video viewing capabilities.
(Ipod Classic: 5th Generation. October 12, 2005. First with video viewing capabilities)


The next thing I want to bring up is along the same lines as not realizing how much has changed just in our own lifetime. This article also described the time when MTV was only for viewing music videos all the time. I don't know if i even remember seeing this though it was within my life. I have just always remembered it to be the network that it became with shows and whatnot. It is still a big name in the music video world, having the MTV Video Music Awards every year still. But the thing that comes to mind instantly when I see or hear "music videos" is Youtube. From when I was even allowed to use the internet, youtube has been one of my most visited sites, and most of the time is for the sole reason of music videos. I honestly have no idea how i would ever watch them without Youtube.

So there is just a little reflection on how times really do change faster than we realize or recognize everyday because though it is so quick, the change is so natural that we don't take notice.

Capturing Reality

Thursday we watched a documentary on documentaries. It was basically a big interview of a bunch of different documenters(?) and the kind of work they do, what it means to them, how they do their films, ect... The thing that was the most interesting to me was all of the different views and opinions about the nature of this type of film and how different all of their style were.  I don't remember the names of these two exact people, but a part that stuck our to me was when one of them explained how you cannot just sit someone down in a room and ask them questions and script it all because then it isn't genuine and it isn't a good documentary. How a person needs to be filmed in their natural setting just doing and talking about whatever comes naturally. The next person then showed a clip from a film he made and talked about how the whole set was fabricated and how they just put random stuff on the wall and made a fake office type area for this guy to sit in and be interviewed. He then said that the man in the film used this area to his advantage and really came alive in it while being interviewed. These two very opposing ideas were interesting to me and also pointed out how documentaries can be made many different ways and still be quality.


(so many people were interviewed and film names were dropped, it was hard to keep track of how many there were and who made which film)

Another interesting thing to me, and a tad ironic, was also relating to the person who said that a good documentary doesn't just sit someone down and ask them questions in a falsified setting. This whole documentary was that exact thing. The setting was quite simplistic actually, but the questions were all just straight forward and being asked to everyone.

Animated Documentaries

I have always loved documentaries and the realness of them. Thats why I was surprised when Leeper introduced us to animated documentaries. This is honestly a really cool idea to me. It is beneficial for  many reasons. For one example, When Life Departs uses animation that the kids who are interviewed for the documentary actually drew. This is helpful for this film because it simplifies the film when the content is so heavy.

This animation makes it easier for kids to follow and easier for anyone who watches it to focus more on the content and what the kids are saying.
Another reason that animating documentaries is beneficial is exemplified in the film Ryan. This film was such a cool way to use animation to show how emotions can effect a person. This is something we never would have been able to see if we were just watching the interaction between the two men.
 
This part shows how his emotions are visually represented by colors and right after this moment, the colors proceed to wrap around his face and suffocate him. This shows how emotions can sometimes, it feels like, physically effect a person. This is just one example of  something we wouldn't have been able to physically see if it wasn't animated.

The Invisible Art Form

So, like many others, I never have thought about video games being an art form. The film we watched about the makers of these video games was honestly the most enjoyable film we have watched so far in class. It gave me more of an understanding, and appreciation for video games as an art, and the designers and programmers and artists.

The thing in life that I am most passionate about is seeing other people talk about and live out their passions in their own lives. There is nothing that brings a smile to my face and a warmth to my heart more than seeing someone doing what they love and talking about it- the sparkle in their eye when they do so will never get old to me. This is probably why i loved this film so much, is because these artists have such a fire for this stuff, and that is what the world needs more of.

It was kind of an emotional roller coaster for me to watch these two video games' stories. Meatboy was released and at first the makers were extremely angered at the way they were released and not given a spot on the marketplace that they think they deserved. It really hit me how much they loved what they did when Tommy said that he didn't even feel like doing anything anymore if this tanked, he would rather just be a bum than do anything other than make video games. In the end they wind up doing very well with sales and are on track do even exceed Braid's sales.



Fez on the other hand was so hyped up that it looked like it was going to be a huge success! Then we got to see some of the frustration and risk taking that goes in to this kind of art form, and how sometimes it doesn't work out as planed. He took the game to a festival thing and it was crashing a lot and having bugs so it wasn't looking too good. People started playing it more and more though, and it looked like things were going well. At the end of the day he got many bad reviews on his demo and people were not impressed. This is the other side of the art that can be sucky. You never know if what you are doing will resonate with other people or if it was just something special to you that nobody else really got.



Thank you Leeper for showing me this film and allowing me to gain an appreciation for an art that i never would have counted as one to begin with.

Video Games: Mind Numbing or Emotionally Explorative?

When someone says "video game" a lot of people think if an nonintellectual, time-wasting, potentially IQ-lowering passer of time that is often the target of much ridicule and  most of the time gets misunderstood. There are, of course, video games that fit into this category and these stereotypes but these are not the best ones. Personally, I don't play much video games anymore, but I used to be a huuuuge COD fanatic (surprising to anyone who knows me now I am sure) so i think of video games mostly as violent and not really having a plot.

This man, Ryan Green, shows us a perfect example of how a video game can be meaningful and connect to the audience on a deep, emotional level. Through making this video game that tells the story of how his son was diagnosed with a tumor and eventually lost the battle with it, he allows others to relate to not only the grief but also all the moments of love and cherishing memories that lead up to it. The style of video game he made was more of a story video game where sometimes it is like you're watching a movie and other times it is interactive. I have honestly never played a video game like this, but it sounds very interesting and I want to try it now!

I loved hearing how Ryan reacted to people saying that it is a bad thing to make a game based on the story of a child having a tumor. He responds in such a great, eye opening way that only someone who has gone through this experience would have thought of. This reading was just really cool to me and I am so glad that there is a market for this kind of thing out there to be explored and shared!

Women Empowerment

I know everyone is probably sick of hearing/reading about this topic, but I will never tire of talking about it! I also believe that it is a subject that can never be discussed too much; there will always be a need for more recognition and attention to the subject of women loving themselves. Women are constantly told that they need to look, dress, appear a certain way in order to be society's definition of beautiful. Genesis 1:27 "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." In the Bible it is clearly stated that God made all people in his image. He made people to be exactly as he wanted them to , and God does not make mistakes! He loves each of us for the way that we are, and I am sure he is not pleased with how women, and even men more and more, are being told they need to change themselves physically so much.

In class we looked a little bit at how Dove, a big name in the beauty industry, is trying to get people to stop buying so much into the beauty industry. This is one of the pictures for Dove's Real Beauty campaign and I love how empowering it is! These are all beautiful women that God created and loves! Just because they are not a size 0 with not an ounce of fat on them doesn't mean they should be told that they aren't good enough or that they cannot love themselves.
(I don't know how to put the actual video in here, so here is the link)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B38tqKzS_c8&feature=player_embedded
This video is an amazing, eye opening representation of how it is so unrealistic to compare women to anything in the media because it is literally not real! Those women have been made up by professionals and then even photoshopped by computers, so obviously "normal" people aren't going to look that good.

People should all just spread God's love of everyone, regardless of size or color or body type, instead of comparing and having unrealistic standards.

Rant over :)

Quiz 2 Essay

As a female I am going to take the predictable, but still relevant and valid, path of talking about the film Un Jour. This film related a lot to the reading for that week, as it was talking about Leeds animation and the movement that was centered around. As we all know, Leeds was focused on women having equal opportunity and pay in this field and the empowering of women animators who create animation with a moving message. This film had a very deep and meaningful message that i am sure many females, and even some males, can relate to.

When she was with the man he, in a way, completed her and even helped her out on a day-to-day basis. She got used to him being there and enjoyed his company.


Then when he left, she felt like a part of her was missing. In the film a part of her was literally missing, and sometimes the wound is so deep and painful that it can feel physically like you are incomplete when someone leaves. Most girls say that guys dont realize the hurt that they are causing to girls when they leave or whatever the case may be, but i disagree. I think guys know what they are doing, but to them it seems like the lesser evil i guess. Also, guys can have the empty feeling caused by a girl as well and this sometimes gets overlooked and ignored.

Tuesday's Content

The short film named, "The Street", in which the boy had a very old and ill grandmother kind of struck me as morbidly accurate. Sometimes people in our lives get very sick or maybe just old, and we end up waiting for their death. Sometimes this fact is acknowledged and sometimes it is not realized to be happening. Whether we see it or not though, the waiting for death is such a common thing in this world. We know it is inevitable for everyone, but when people get old or sick this fact becomes more real to the people in their life. Sometimes the fact of death is ignored by their loved ones, or even fought by them, but a lot of times people accept the fact. After accepting that death is going to come for someone in their life, it is kind of just a waiting game. Sometimes there is more of a reason to wait for death, like the boy in this film (so he could have his grandma's room) and sometimes it is merely so the person and their loved ones can be at peace. I just never really thought about how common the act of waiting for death was until pointed out to me by this film.

Another thing i would like to briefly discuss is when Leeper mentioned the audience needing a certain amount of stamina to stay engaged in a film. I actually do not agree with this at all. Maybe it is because I'm not a DMA major, so i don't fully understand both sides of media, and how to be a "good audience", but I think a film should not have to have an audience with stamina in order for it to be appreciated. Even if the purpose of a film is not to entertain, someone who appreciates it (if it is good) will be interested initially without this concept. If someone must have "stamina" to watch a film, then they just don't appreciate that kind of film and should watch something they enjoy and are engaged in from the start. Those are just my thoughts though, take 'em or leave 'em.

This is just a little analysis of the short film we watched called "Two Sisters". Even though Marie thinks that she is helping Viola by sheltering her and locking her in the house, she might actually be making her life worse than it has to be. Viola is extremely deformed in the face, but this in no way effects her amazing writing abilities. She writes and apparently sends it out for people to read somehow. A man who enjoys her reading very much finds them somehow and wants to meet Viola. Even after he coaxes her to let him see her for all that she is, he is not afraid or looking down on her in any way. His admiration is not at all diminished due to her physical appearance and he still wants her autograph. If Viola was allowed to go out and find out about all of the people who could potentially appreciate her writing as well, they probably would not care about her deformities either and she might have a higher sense of self worth.

More About Children Understanding

Many people have been blogging about the capacity and depth of childrens' understanding of the world and of messages conveyed through media. How much do they really get out of things? Should deeper meanings and themes be placed in children's art forms if adults believe they will not understand it or interpret it the way that the adult wants them to? How much censorship of the hardships of the world should be placed on arts made for children?

I believe that no matter how much we think a child will comprehend, we should always give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they will get the whole message out of things. This way, even if they do not, they still might get something deeper than if a deeper message is left out entirely assuming the child wont understand. In the reading, Masters of Animation: Freeing the Spirit, they talk about how in The Sand Castle, the sandman is a sort of creator figure. At the end it also explains how he gets everyone inside the castle before the sandstorm comes and is then himself victim to it. Children might be able to see how him creating life, in a way, could tie into a god-figure and they might only get out of it that being creative and making things i good! Either way, whether they get a deeper meaning or whether they only get a more surface message, no harm was done from inserting the symbols and themes into the story for the child to potentially pick up on. Children think in a more simple way than adults, and this sometimes allows them to get the big picture, or theme, easier because they don't have all of the other thoughts and connections and symbols flying around in their head to get in the way. They just watch something and take out of it what they think is most important and that is all that maters to them. This is a beautiful thing to me, that a child learns about life in a way that makes sense to them.

 

Referring to the questions on censorship, like Sam said in class, children are going to be presented with and come in contact with hardships and the less "happy and warm" things in life anyway, so why try to hide them from it. By not censoring children focused things as much, we can help guide the way they are introduced to and learn about the "bad things" of the world, this way they have a more healthy understanding of them.

Christianity and/vs Art

A lot of people only consider art forms to be "Christian" if they center around Jesus, reference the bible, or try to convert or preach in some sort of way. I think this is completely false, and also a reason why 'Christian" art forms have maybe become discredited or insignificant in today s culture. People do not want to be preached at or converted when they are trying to appreciate art. Sometimes spiritual healing, revelations, conversions, and awakenings might happen through art, but mostly when the arts true purpose is not solely to do one of these things. Good art will portray things about the artist even if they are not intentionally placed into the art. If an artist is doing the work that is true to him/herself, then God will shine through this naturally. (not that i am saying no art should be made around Jesus or referencing the Bible, there is a lot of magnificent art made by these means.)

This is where it comes in that it is a bad thing when Christians try to separate themselves with art that isn't specifically labeled as "christian". When Christians go through art forms that were made for no malicious reason and try to pick out pieces that they believe send a bad message, they are in a sense killing the art because of what it is not and ignoring all that it truly is. The examples that Leeper gave in class relating to childrens television was the critique of Spongebob and the Teletubbies, saying they supported and taught children homosexuality. Regardless of the quality of these shows to begin with, when someone says that a show has malicious intent, even if only based on one small comment or insinuation, it is downplaying the actual point of the show to begin with because people only focus on or remember that one critique or accusation. Christians should learn to appreciate all sorts of art forms, not just the art directed towards children, for what they were meant to be more before picking it apart for everything it is not, only to seem more "holy" themselves.

Random class thoughts

I was very intrigued by three specific topics that Leeper touched on in class Tuesday. 

Does "Secular" exist?
 Leeper said that he hates the word and usage of the word secular for artistic creations because he believes there is no such thing as truly secular. The actual definition for secular is "denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis." Personally, i agree with Leeper, just maybe not for the same reason. I believe that nothing can be secular because everything is created through and by means of God's creation. Even if someone does not believe in God and claims to not be spiritual at all, anything they make is done because they were created by God, and the creativity they posses to create the thing they did was given by God. Through this logic, nothing that is made can be done without a spiritual or religous basis, meaning nothing is truly secular. 

Revelation 19
In this passage it says that Jesus will have a new name that we never could have imagined that would be an even truer identity than the one we know of him. Leeper touched on this passage in Revelation relating it to a different passage that was referenced in our reading where everyone was given a white stone with a new name for themself on it, This new name would be an identity that would be who they are truly supposed to be- the best version of themselves, in a way. This reminded me of a book series I read once. In the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini when someone learns their own, or another's, "true name" this gives them ultimate power over that person. When one does learn their true name for themselves though, it sort of rings true inside them and resonates through their whole being. This reminded me of the stones in a way because we may not even know who we are, but God will, and as soon as he shows us we will know for sure that is who he always planned for us to be. 


Loved to be Lovable/Lovely
Leeper said in class that we must first be loved in order to be lovely, or lovable. This point really rang true to me when i heard it. A lot of people do not think they are worthy of being loved by anybody, and this is untrue for everyone. I do believe that we must first be loved in order to be lovable, but the thing is that God loved us unconditionally first, and Jesus was and is the ultimate personification and display of that love. So, every single person who thinks that they are not lovable, or lovely, are just plain wrong because as soon as we accept the fact that since God loved us first, we are all lovely now, we will all accept ourselves as lovely!

Emotions: The Color of Life

The clip from Pleasantville really made me feel warm and happy inside. I might not have gotten out of it what most other people in this class did, but something resonated with me nonetheless. The theme that I am referring to is emotions being the color and seasoning of life. The first thing we saw in color, the pieces in the art book, were created out of and through emotions from the artist who made them. Next we saw a garden where nearly everything was in color. The kids in the garden were reading literature, sitting around talking to people who mean something to them, and just enjoying themselves with others and in nature. All of these activities that are had in the garden evoke emotion from people and therefore bring out the color in life.
The girl character who asks Buddy why she isn't in color yet because she had had sex with many people already (more times than some girls who were already in color). She made a mistake that many people in this generation and just in general make- having sex without the emotion being there first. Sex is a fundamentally emotional act and when done between two people who already feel emotions toward the other can increase and heighten those emotions, but when done with someone for whom one or both of the people do not feel any emotion toward to begin with it is merely a physical act of pleasure. The girls in the movie whom she thought had turned to color only because they had sex most likely had because they felt strong emotions toward their partner as well and these were only increased by the act. If she wants to turn to color her best bet would be getting involved in the book she is reading and letting her emotions take over while reading it rather than having sex with a bunch of guys.

Then we see Buddy's mother in the diner where the man is painting with such vibrant colors. We already knew he was passionate about painting because when Buddy brought him the art book he said that he would never be able to paint with that many colors, his disappointment and regret lets us know that he truly wishes he could paint like them and that art means a lot to him. When she comes in and sees his work, she is clearly taken back by all the colors and when she sees the painting from the book of the abstract, sad woman it resonates with her. We can see that she has been turned color from emotions before but covers it up for whatever reason. This can relate to society and our generation as well because people feel the need to hide and/or mask their emotions so that they don't stand out too much or get judged by others.This is the part that I relate to from the clip. I am a very emotional person most of the time and am not usually afraid to show it. I think that emotions are what give life its spunk and well, color!

Kay Bennett

Hi, I am Kay Bennett and I'm a sophomore, exercise science major. I want to go to grad school to get my OTD (occupational therapy doctorate) after I finish my bachelors. I am from Huntington and have lived here, in the same house, since I was born. I have 4 siblings, 2 of which still live at home, and two dogs as well, Last year i was in Livingston but this year I am commuting from home. I did gymnastics and track in high school, but don't play any sports here at HU. I am the manager of the Volleyball team and when I'm not busy with school and that I work at a bank in town called Beacon Credit Union, and I have been there for 2 years.

I love to do anything outside and/or adventurous. Rock climbing, white water rafting, ziplining, roller coasters, and riding motorcycles are just a few things that fall into that category that i enjoy doing. I have never been skydiving, but it is at the top of my bucket list! I am also an adrenaline junkie, so that plays into the whole high adventure thing; anything that gets the blood pumping is my kind of activity. My dad is the leader of a boy scout troop, so i grew up going on trips with them and doing everything they did; that sparked my passion for adventure.

I have been to 5 foreign countries and would love to visit as many other ones as I can before I die. I also have a strong passion for learning, first hand, about other cultures and experiencing other ways of life. 4 of those countries I went to for mission trips, which is what sparked my wanderlust.

Here is a lovely picture of me and some of my closest friends- because they help make me who I am and help me make life amazing as well.