Journal 47 (March 27th)

At work all day came home went straight to bed still feeling really sick.

Journal 46 (March 26th)

So today I'm going to meet the drummer from Blink 182 Travis Barker so I'm really excited and so I didnt get a chance to work on anything I've kind of been slacking lately and I know it again I know its's not a far excuse but I'm really sick still I've gone from Pink Eye to Flu to Bronchitis so I'm simply just sleeping alot and trying to get everything else with school and college done rather than focusing 100 percent on my project.

Journal 45 (March 25th)

Today were off from school so I didn't really get much of my project done i'm supposed to go shadow a student from philadelphia University on the 28th I'm kinda of excited kind of nervous. I have work today so my project isnt my main concern today. I hope to get everything all ready in a powerpoint soon.

Journal 44 (March 24th)

So today we were in class simply discussing our project with all my illnesses I have gotten the illness where you lose your voice. I forget what it’s called but my mom knows what it’s called I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time. I want to be able to run I want to be able to do all sorts of stuff and not be sick! I'm really impressed with a lot of other people's projects they're very charitable. One of the girls is organizing a walk for a charity and another is organizing a charity basketball game. It`s all just really nice.

Journal 43 (March 23rd)

Today in class we watch The Last Lecture DVD. It was such a sad video the fact he was so happy and his wife was so sad I mean he's dying he's leaving his family his job his dreams Its been so sad reading the book but his view on everything life is amazing I'm truly in shock and inspired with how amazing he is and how driven he is. And the head fake at the end where he was like this is for my kids AH it gets to me everytime! And His wife with the birthday cake that was so nice. The video was so sweet!

Journal 42 (March 22th)

So we were able to sign out early today so that was a great thing I been working on questions trying to focus on my different projects for everything. Johnson said that were going to the state wide TSA convention soon so that will be very interesting we'll be able to see all the different projects for architect maybe i'll meet someone who I could possiblily interview there who knows I hoping that I'll interview at least someone. I'm suppossed to do a bridge structure contest so that should be cool.

Journal 41 (March 21th)

Stayed home from school on alot of medication for this stupid infection :( I'm so mad that I have it and I think I have a cold too this is so not my week

Journal 40 (March 20th)

I'm so mad right now I have pink eye! My friend had it and I was the only who one was like ahh get away I don't want it than bam I'm the one who gets it really? Like for really I'm going to try to avoid the computer as much as possible because quite frankly it hurts too much.

Journal 39 (March 19th)

I was out with my mom all day haven't really talked to her much lately for some reason so it was nice to just spend time with her running around and doing stuff. I haven't really been home much so yeah probably not going to get my emails out today :/

Journal 38 (March 18th)

So today is a SIGN OUT DAY! heck yeah I'm excited. Mr Johnson isn't though that's kind of a downer he's nice I enjoy seeing him. I want to go to New York during this project to see this really cool building I've always wanted to see

http://www.nyc-architecture.com/CHE/CHE027F.jpg

It looks like that it's really famous but the name I'm completely blanking on right now.
But today I think I'll do my final touches to my email contact list and hopefully be able to send some of them out on Saturday or Sunday. Yay! for being productive.

Journal 37 (March 17th)

So I talked to my dad about everything that has been going on with NJIT and it helped my dad always make me feel more reassured. He told me that we would deal with it and its not a big deal. Maybe I'm just making a mountain out of a mole hill tehehe I feel so old using phrases like that. My friend and I have been all talking about how this is the time that everything is starting to get real were all getting older and growing up crazy I know.
In WISE class today we spent the day talking about the Last Lecture. We were comparing and discussing some of the things he does in the book to our real life. My favorite conversation was about how he used his cancer to get out of a speeding ticket and it worked I would feel so bad doing that I would explain it to the cop or maybe just cry probably cry.
I think this weekend I'm going to send out a couple emails I feel like its going to take years for a response.
 I'm going to send out as many as I can.
I just sent chelsea (my sister) a text message about a possible "lead" she has this friend in college who has a mom who owes all these firms in New York and London and all over they do Architecture AND interior design :O CRAZY AMAZING RIGHT?!?

Journal 36 (March 16th)

So I decided I'm going to NJIT for Architecture. I'm very excited about it. In my learning about dorming and different things I was able to find out that

In some colleges the have special dorming floors for architecture majors

They require you to have special computers with all these different types of programs that you have to put on once you get there  http://design.njit.edu/docs/requirements-recommendations.pdf

There is also and image studio across campus from my most likely dorm which is were I have to keep my special bought two-thousand dollar computer. Yes you can hear the anger in my voice just reading this I mean who does that? Aren't they supposed to provide me with a computer. I can't believe it  AND I can't even keep it in my room what is that?? Ah it makes me so mad hopefully my parents will pay for  that but this definitely wasn't something I wanted to add to my list of purchases.

Journal 35 (March 15th)

So today was a sign out day man I really love being able to leave before everyone else its awesome. I like the fact that I get to take my truck and go to were I need to go. I'm going to be honest I went home with the intention of doing research on my project yet when I got there my mom was home and she made me clean my room so I spent the entire night cleaning my room and wasn't able to get anything. It was very frustrating I been loving the weather lately its so nice maybe I'll try to figure out something to do that involves me going outside.

Journal 34 (March 14th)

WISE class was relaxed today. I haven't talked to this boy or this girl before in great lengths and I actually had some interesting conversations with them. It was cool to discuss our views and opinions on the book 'The Last Lecture' and also to discuss our projects. The girl was a lot nicer than I expected I heard she wasn't very pleasant.  Claire was also in my group she is like one of my close friends in school. So I know a lot about what’s going on with her project already.
We have to read two more sections for next Thursday so I think that’s what I'm going to do tom when I sign out maybe if its a nice day I'll drive to the Burlington Bristol Bridge and read there. That’s one of my favorite places in the world.
I was reading my Roger Williams packet and they talked about a lot of Architecture Firms they are involved with for after college internships and job opportunities and I think I'm going to go on a bunch of different websites and see who I can contact there about getting some of my question answered.

Journal 33 (March 13th)

So  today was a very relaxing yet productive day I went to work from 10-4 thats was fine no problem than I walked on the treadmill and high lighted for about an hour. After that I went upstairs to go read up and do more research on my project. I found alot I think I'm going to start putting everything I find and do and complete into a HUGE powerpoint I think that that will help me alot in my final project. I think thats a plan :)
We have reading due tom. so I'm probably going to get as much of that done for tom. as I can.

Journal 32 (March 12th)

Going to be honest didn't get much work done on my blog. I was running around hanging out with a bunch of different people. I went to a park which was cool and mall movies all different people. So I didn't have a lot time to deal with my project and my research. But I think tom when I walk on the treadmill I'll continue to do my researching on licensing and accreditation.

Journal 31 (March 11th)

Sign out day! Wahooo
I met with Johnson I came up with a lot of different interview questions I showed him. He gave me a lot help with how to re-word and improve upon my question and things I should say to elaborate on specific topics.
I go into Roger Williams University for Architecture so that packet I was reading had alot of helpful information. Oh and my mom got me all these cool folders to keep my research in which is awesome.

Journal 30 (March 10th)

So another day in the classroom. We were had 2 options of what we could do...

1) we were allowed to share are journals and struggles going on in our project to each other

2) we were allowed to read our Last Lecture book which we recieved yesterday

I started reading the Last Lecture its really good so far very optimistic

Journal 29 (March 9th)

So we were in the classroom today were going to learn about this book called the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It’s a book were the man finds out his need to deliver his literarily last lecture because he has cancer. His wife and people argue against him to focus on family but he wanted to give this lecture. He was a Carnegie Mellon professor of Computer Sciences. He looked at death with a positive way and wrote the book to influence his children and show them what he would have wanted to teach them within the next couple years but was never able to. The book is about wisdom and the journey he took throughout life that’s why it’s related to out W.I.S.E. program. The book looks to be very inspiring and interesting.

Journal 28 (March 8th)

Today I went to the computer lab and was looking at different things about our topic I found this extremely awesome interesting site. The Real Estalker it's all about celebrity homes and celebrities who are selling their homes. It has pictures and all sorts of prices and facts which range from all over. It’s so cool to look at and Tom Brady has this massive house being built and it’s huge and it’s only in the construction stages but its massive 6 car garages and such. They’re at several airily shots and its crazy.
So thats what I was looking at today. Prices per house all the factors involved location, square feet, and more
Its was a very interestings day

Journal 27 (March 7th)

So today were just doing more research. Johnson emailed that Architecture teacher at shawnee becase he wanted to make sure it would be okay with her if I emailed her so hopefully she'll respound soon. I'm going to spend today working on questions I want to ask both the Counciling department at Colleges and what I want to ask this Architecture teacher.

Journal 26 (March 6th)

Another day researching on the treadmill but today during the day I did go to Philly with my sister. We visited Temple's new Architecture constuction grounds. Apparently they are getting a whole new building and a whole new program within the next two years.
Did you know that you have to be licensed by each individual states to practice there. Seriously I really don't like that I want to move and live in like 3 different states.

Journal 25 (March 5th)

So today I was on the treadmill high-lighting again today. I learned that is New York you need 5 things to be a licensed Architect.

be of good moral character
be at least 21 years of age;
meet education requirements;
meet experience requirements; and
meet examination requirements.

This was a very helpful website as well.
http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/arch/archlic.htm

Journal 24 (March 4th)

So I had my mentor meeting with Mr Johnson today. It went really well I showed him all the progress I was making with figuring out what I need and what to do. I'm so happy and excited with everything. I been high-lighting different ways to get licensed in NY NJ and Califorinia and comparing them. I been on Wiki and so many national sites its amazing what I'm learning. We got to sign out today. I went home and went on the treadmill and high-lighted. It's a fanastic system. High-lighting and walking its really fun.

Journal 23 (March 3rd)

So I've figured out where I would like to begin my entire process I'm going to begin with the High School preparatory stage. I want to get a complete to do list for high school incoming freshman sophomore junior and seniors to do if they wish to pursue Architecture as a career. The must dues if you will. A stage I have completed. I want to try to interview or ask some questions to a college counselor who over look architecture majors. I think that would be cool. I have a contact at Philadelphia University so that will be helpful I feel. I want to comprise a list of questions which I can ask her about different things that she looks for in the acceptance of Architecture majors. I'm also considering emailing the National Architecture Accreditation Board and asking them some questions. I think getting a response from them would be amazing.
Oh and by the way I got into NJIT for an Architecture Degree so that is hopefully another resource I can use.

Journal 22 (March 2nd)

Yesterday in class we were talking about interviewing and the interviewing process in my class today. I'm pretty commortable with interviewing people alot of my project is interviewing people so I'm not too concerned about that. I already talked to an Temple University Freshman Architecture major. She was a friend of my sister. I had a web chat interview with her. That was back in first semester through so I would like to talk to her again soon and get a better interview with her. I should really start interview and emailing people about getting interviewed.
I want to talk to...
The Temple University Freshman
Mr Johnson Architecture Teacher Friend
An old Northern Graduate who is probably a third year Architecture major
and I would also like to get in touch with multiple local Architecture firms
I would also like to try to email the new Capital Health Hospital Architect who I met on the T.S.A. trip

Journal 21 (March 1st)

We were working on getting all caught up today with different paper work that we need for our school legal kinds of stuff saying like we're allowed to leave and our parents know what the program is. I needed to get several papers in so that’s what I was doing for my project today. Nothing too interesting. But in my Western Civilizations class were learning about Egypt and my professor is allow us to pick our topic of study and my thesis is "What materials, interior comforts, and architecture techniques did the Egyptians use? Which ones do we still use today?" So that will be pretty cool I'm excited to begin looking into research about that. It should be very interesting. Who knows I might be able to use some research I find for this project.

Journal 20 (Feb 28th)

Recently I've been dealing with the process of applying to colleges and getting in and different paths I can take to my ultimate goal of becoming an LICENSED architect. So I was accepted into Philadephlia University for a major of Architectural Studies which is a 4 year degree but I'm not sure that I can use that degree to be elagable for taking the licensing test. I recently printed out twenty to twenty-five pages on different routes and the actual group that administers the test to see what my options are

Temple wait listed me and wants me to go in as Undecised and transfer into the program. NJIT pretty much just waitlisted me and I haven't heard from Roger Williams University yet.
Right now my options for getting a degree is...
Philadelphia University Architectural Studies (But I'm not sure I can take the test with that degree)
Mercer Community College and Transfer to Temple, Philadelphia University, or NJIT
and who know whats going to happen with Roger Williams

Journal 19 (Feb 27th)

I been looking into Licensing online today to see what my options are for college. I found this really helpful website I wish I had know about when I was a freshman.
http://www.ncarb.org/
This is the website for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). They are the ones who admitister all the tests which people require for being an architect. "It's a nonprofit corporation comprising the legally constituted architectural registration boards of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands as its members." - according to Wiki
So i been looking alot at that website

Journal 18 (Feb 26th)

So today is saturday yay saturday! I haven't really had a chance to work on my project lately because I'm really stressed with talking to my parents about college and trying to figure that all out. I need to begin my list and such about what I want to do next.

Journal 17 (Feb 25th)

I was in L.I.F.E. all day so I wasn't in class. L.I.F.E. is Lifetime Information For Everyone and it’s a program you get selected for in my school and in the state of New Jersey it is referred to as TEEN PEP.
Here is a link to what the program is
http://www.state.nj.us/health/aids/teenpep.shtml
It is a statewide sexual health promotion and peer education initiative that enables high school students to make healthy decisions.
So I was in there all day because generally I would only be there for the first half of the day but people who had my teaching sections were absent so I was in the gym all day. there was a whole in the ceiling. It was raining. NO FUN

Journal 16 (Feb 24th)

Today I'm feeling very blah my mentor isn't here today so I had to help the sub teach his class. My mentor is Mr. Johnson. He is the AutoCAD teacher at my school and two periods before my WISE English class, I SILC which is a student teaching program at my school for his class. They're all little freshman guys so it’s kind of hard to teach them but they're good kids. I want to create a blog post one day that is simply a drawing I've done on AutoCAD. So maybe one day during WISE I can come to AutoCAD and make a drawing.

Journal 15 (Feb 23rd)

Were in the computer lab again I've been printing out different papers just doing some print out research. I think I would like to see if they have any books in the library. Maybe I'll sign out one day and check out some books at the Burlington County Library. I think I'm planning on doing that on March 8th. I like Architecture books but I only have one my sister bought me from the MOMA in New York

Journal 14 (Feb 22nd)

We were in the computer lab recently looking at links with different things which will help us along with our projects and some that I found were...

Architecture Media
http://www.architectmagazine.com/
http://www.architecturaldigest.com/
http://www.worldarchitecture.org/main/

Educational Architecture Sites
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1744053059
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1744053059
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1744053059
http://www.collegeboard.com/


Architecture Career Aids
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1744053056
http://architecture.about.com/cs/careers/a/bearchitect.htm

Journal 13 (Feb 21st)

So today was a pretty normal day nothing too interesting happened with my project. In WISE class we didn't do much because we were listening to Sardo (Our teacher of the course) she has been teaching us different things like how to interact with the people who were going to be speaking with and dealing with. I know it's extremely important to be polite and thankful because they don’t need to be helping me because that's what they are doing taking time out of their day to help me.

Journal 12 (Feb 20th)

So today is Sunday I worked all day I work at Hallmark so there isn't much I can do with architecture but that’s okay. I was thinking about something one of the girls said about her major at the Philadelphia University. While she was fashion design major what she said made a lot of sense. One of the parents asked “What do you find different about yourself since you started studying at Philadelphia University?” She resounded with "It's like learning to read. Once you learn to read and you look at a word you can't help it you read it there isn't anything else you can do. That's what I do now I looks at pieces of clothes and analyze them. I can't help its but I see what goes into them and the different styles."
I want to be able to view a building or home or a store and think ‘Oh this is that and the other thing is that’. I want to be able to analyze all the different aspects that go into it and how different the pieces are just unconsciously and without meaning to. I want to be so in-depth in what I know that my mindset is it.
Another thing I remembered about my visit was how they are sending out portfolios to company's now in mass quantities. Students are putting all the different things they've done on a post card with their information on it and sending it out like a post card résumé. I think that is brilliant.

Journal 11 (Feb 19th)

I went to visit Philadelphia University about a major in Architectural Studies. The campus was beautiful. We had a 5th year Architecture major as our tour guide she was very nice. She showed us the studio Philadelphia University has 2 studios one for upperclassmen and another for underclassmen. The studios were very cool. There was a lot of desks apparently we would spend the first 2 years of that major just focusing on hand drawings and working with making models. Philadelphia University's program works on trying to incorporate different majors all together to perform jobs. Like the interior design majors would helps design architecture majors’ different things and the construction management major help with the architecture majors and all different ways of adding everything together to have final projects. They said that they trying to simulate a work environment.
I have been teaching AutoCAD dealing for the past year and have taken the class for 3 years. They guide told us though that we really don't deal with AutoCAD until out 3rd and 4th year which kind of is a disappointment because I have so much skill with the program and I'm afraid to use it. Another thing our guide said was key was being friends with upperclassmen they apparently leave you materials when they are done, could give you books and programs and all sorts of different materials.

Journal 10 (Feb 18th)

Okay so we were in the computer lab today to research different things on our focus projects. I didn't do much because my chest was hurting badly. Than I got a nose bleed and had to leave the class. I don't know what was wrong with me but I just couldn't focus or do anything. I went home and laid down so I just didn't have a very productive day sadly.

Journal 9 (Feb 17th)

Julie and Julia ended today too. That was a cute movie she cooked her way through the book even though Julia Child didn’t like her, her inspiration totally blew her off and told her that she thought it was stupid. I don't understand how someone who seems so nice in the movie could tell someone that they don't like them and they are a joke. Julia Child said that she didn't like Julie Powell and that her blog was a "stunt". I would be honored if someone developed a year of their life to do something I did. Just shows how much the movies change things.
Hopeful soon we'll be able to work on our actual projects rather than just I don't know doing different activities.

Journal 8 (Feb 16th)

More Julie & Julia it’s cute I like the movie a lot. I think it’s going to really like inspire me to do more blogging for this class and for other more personal blogging I mean it’s always good to have references to your past who knows. We haven't done anything relating to our own projects since were watching the movie but I've been thinking a lot about different things I want to do...
I'm going to visit a college of Architecture next Saturday so that will be a good experience  :)

Journal 7 (Feb 15th)

So we've started watching a movie called Julie and Julia it’s about a girls one year journey cooking through the famous chef Julia Child's Book Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The movie is based on a book that was written. The movie stars  Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. The two live in different time periods and you watch them both progress and move along through out there journeys. Its cute I like this movie alot its really cool.

Oh and Ms Welckers class joined us so thats cool more people my best friend Steph is in that class so she is in my class now :)

Journal 6 (Feb 14th)

Ugh. It's V-day: P whatever though. So again we spent WISE class today talking about blogs and different ways of which to get out our Journals and such Tumblr was an opinion but you can't get on that during school hours, writing down was an opinion but I feel I loose interest just writing it down. So in my WesternCiv class we use this program so I figured that I would use it for this class as well.

There wasn’t much else in class today so Happy Valentines everyone.

Journal 5 (Feb. 13th)

Again another busy day at work didnt think much about the project. I plan to Visit a College soo So that should be cool I'm going to Visit it with a major of Architecture.

Journal 4 (Feb. 12th)

So today honestly I'm not focusing on my wise project too much. I had work from 11-7 because I work at a card store and it's two days before Valentines and well yeah you can image how that is. I'm not sure how even approach this project I've never done anything so crazy and extensive in my life. Everyone else seems to be pretty well thought together and I'm just floating I need to come up with a well written and thought out plan. And I'm not sure how these mentor meeting things are going to work so well see what happens with that.

Journal 3 (Feb 11th)

Johnson and I met up today. Johnson is my teacher mentor. He is a really nice AutoCAD teacher at my school. AutoCAD is the program architects use on a day to day basis for regular designing. I'm all Johnson's SILC (SILC is a student teaching program at my school) I've taken AutoCAD my entire high school experience and graduated from AutoCAD I, II, & III so being that were wasn’t an AutoCAD four in my school because no one had ever gone through all three as an underclassmen my only opinion to continue the program was to SILC for Johnson. I help student teach his AutoCAD I class.
Johnson and I met and today and it was a great visit he gave me so many possible ideas about different things I could do with my project. People to visit, Places to go, and all different things. Johnson has two awesome contacts which he has an Architecture teacher at Lenape school and a Architect friend in Pittsburgh he says I can talk to so I'm pretty excited and I all have two people who I’d like to interview. This guy who is studying Architecture for a couple years now who graduated from northern 2 years ago and a girl my sister knows from college.

I'm extremely excited after my meeting with Johnson to go on and continue this project.

Journal 2 (Feb 10th)

Okay so today is day two of my journal Cory and I went to the English main office (which is like down the hall from my class) to do our "interview". Cory is doing his project designing the set for the musical this year. He said he had done the set design before. He said he is hesitant to work with Pinto who is his teacher mentor. Pinto does it every year and Cory says he thinks he won’t allow Cory to do anything. The set has to be changeable for all the different scenes. Cory asked me questions about my Architecture project as well. They made me realize I'm totally clueless where to go from here.
The questions were normal but it made me think about where I need to develop all my different things. When Cory and I got back to the classroom was all go into a circle (the whole class) and went over different people's projects.
The interview process was fine but probably because Cory is my friend. I think if I’m prepared for the different questions and people before I go into it I'll be fine in an interview setting

Journal 1 (Feb 9th)

So yesterday my WISE class started journaling so here goes hello my name is Erica Johnson I'm a high school senior and this blog is dedicated me and journey through an in-depth look into what it’s like to become an architect. I've always wanted to design buildings and structures so I thought for my WISE project why not go more in-depth and further my interest. My school offers a course call Senior Research Seminar where I pretty much pick a topic anything I want and study it for the rest of my senior year and then compose a PowerPoint on it.

So now you know what I'm doing this is my first journal explaining my journey... today since Cory (a friend in my class) were both absent yesterday were assigned as partners to interview one another but I had to go on and take several yearbook photos so we didn’t get much done. When I returned from my pictures well class was pretty much over. Cory and I will probably continue tom.