Oh snickerdoodles. It's our last journal post ):

1. I thought that my final project turned out well. At first, I had no faith that I would be able to learn Unity in such a short amount of time to create my world, but somehow I managed to get my Unity to work. I was able to accomplish most of my design goals. If I had more time, I would love to work on creating a giant wave for Mavericks. Is it possible to create waves? One piece of feedback was to try and get the wave off the ground (which I totally agree with. My wave is non-existent).
2. I honestly loved all the studios. I think my favorite is Studio 1, where I created Frisco in a Box. If we had finished the studio about Play, that probably would've been my favorite. I just loved working with all the different tools in the shop. It's fun to do hands-on projects-- especially with a group.
3. My greatest success was allowing myself to become more confident in my own ideas. And to be more open to all sorts of feedback. Achieving this has definitely opened more doors and more ideas. I wouldn't have achieved this if I was in normal school, so I'm grateful for this new learning space. Another success was learning all the different software. I remember the days when we were introduced to Rhino, Unity, and Photoshop. I wrote in my personal journal that I'll never be able to learn how to do this. And I did!
4. I learned that the design process can be applied to anything. I also learned that the design process definitely leads to many bumps in your path that you have to problem-solve to work around/with that bump you had earlier. Practicing being a good problem solver is definitely an important skill that will help me for school and for adulting life ahead.
5. Immersing myself into the design process/world this semester has taught me that education doesn't have to be textbooks, essays, and tests but that you can actually learn so much more from being immersed in a different type of learning. Yes, math, English, science, and history are important to know, but NuVu has given me more valuable lessons that'll help me in the future. I see myself as a more confident person in my ideas and self in general. I have also learned to put myself out there, to make more friends, to be open to learning new, scary, and sometimes intimidating skills. It has changed my approach to how I see tasks.
6. I would tell this 9th grader that this NuVu experience is a once in a lifetime thing full of self-discovery, valuable life lessons, fun times, new friendships, and designing skills. Once you learn about the design processes, you can embed this knowledge and these experiences into your life- even life outside of school. 
   1. At first, I felt like I couldn't do anything that was assigned, and I felt like I didn't belong. I was a fish out of water. But once I stopped holding a wall between my ideas and other people's judgment, I learned to collaborate with others, build off of other's ideas, accept failure and bumps in the process. You will prototype, test, and fail, but in the end, you will always succeed when you have the determination. You may think that you aren't creative enough (I still think that sometimes), but you just need to let down some walls you're holding up. The creativity is always in you, you just have to find the spark.

Lastly, I want to give a huge thank you to this NuVuX group and to our amazing coaches and guest coaches. Shaunta, I learned so many valuable life lessons and wisdom from you. Thank you for sharing and exposing us to the design world. You opened up more doors for me and it was so cool to see the potential of where my design life can go. When we were at school, thank you for staying after to help me cut my Frisco in a Box. I love how passionate you are about what you do and teaching us everything. I really hope I'll be able to visit and maybe come in and help out in the studio during my frees. 

Willy Wonka ~ I loved all the colors! And how everything was exaggerated in size. I also like how the candy was used to create trees, flowers, etc. I also liked the playfulness of this Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory world. This space immerses the viewer into this world. Seeing/being in this world captures your eyes, and the only thoughts swimming through your head are all the possibilities. This environment evokes excitement and curiosity, not only for the children but for the adults. They feel as if they can let out their inner child in this experience. This experience illustrates Wonka's Factory world. Bringing all the candies to life-size. From Willy Wonka's factory, I am inspired to use more colors and to continue playing around with size and dimensions.  

Amos Rex Museum ~ I am drawn to how they combine the old and the new. And how this museum wants you to experience these exhibitions with all of your senses. I also liked how sound is a very important component of this exhibition. These spaces immerse the visitor by challenging them to use all of their senses. Generally, you only use your eyes in a museum, but in this one, you use all five senses. This museum evokes curiosity, awe, and imagination. This experience is very technical. It's a much more vibrant, alive, audible museum. This allows the visitor to experience a museum not like any other. I am inspired to use sounds for my own experience.

1. Three words that would describe my world would be: Nature, Exaggerated, Home
2. The mid review went well. When putting the slides together and when presenting, it gave a lot of emphasis on aspects that need improvement. I got really great feedback that I'll definitely consider/use. I think I'm in a fine place, it's just my Unity that needs the most attention.
3. Adjusting my views into the 3D world. I need to play around with the layers in my world and how I can connect and merge the surfing/Mavericks world to the Farm and Pumpkin patch worlds.
   1. To think about the entire story experience, and how the scale happens.
   2.  To dive deeper into the current mechanics of this world. 
   3. Color shifts
4. My next steps are to write down the adventure, just to lay it out. And then I will try and play around with Unity. I would like the most help with Unity. Creating colorful paths, importing 3D waves, and pumpkins. Having a cart move on a track shaped like a pumpkin. 
5. Pumpkins, surfing waves/Ocean, berry patch, barns.
6. By next Tuesday, I hope to have my Unity looking somewhat how I've imagined my world to look like.