For Project III, I wanted to focus on a topic that was deeply personal to me and still is. The idea I eventually landed on was the subject of friendship. Growing up, I was a shy and awkward kid, and I really struggled with making friends because of that, so every time I found myself with a real friend in my life, I never took it for granted. Overall, I think my value for friendship came from my experience knowing what life is like without it, and I know that there are so many others who can relate that. I also think that this love of companionship came from learning about it from my childhood favorite animated TV show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I learned how a friendship is formed, based on generosity, honesty, loyalty, kindness and laughter. And I learned how friendship can be a great source of comfort for us when we are at our lowest lows. It can also make our victories and successes that much sweeter when we can celebrate them with those we love. And above all, I discovered how friendship enriches our lives, filling with it laughter and joy, and I hope that, by making this project, I can help you discover this magic too.
English
For my English portion of the project, I decided to make an infographic that explained to young adults and teenagers how to make friends. Through my research, I have realized that that particular demographic struggles a great deal with socialization due to recent events like the rise of blue screens and the Coronavirus pandemic. These events in turn have caused what experts call a "loneliness epidemic." People today struggle with how empty their lives feel due to a lack of companionship and I hoped to solve that problem by teaching others how to make friends. Using my research, I provided reasoning for as to why and how each step would work within the process and why the reader should follow through with my advice. I described how to approach someone, how to spark a conversation, how to maintain that friendship, etc. I also touched a little bit on toxic friendships because I wanted to acknowledge their existence while also providing guidance on how to avoid it without compromising one's need for social connection.
Art
For Art, I decided to create sculptures of a few characters from the My Little Pony TV show. The two characters I decided upon was the protagonist of the show, Twilight Sparkle, and her best friend and assistant, the dragon, Spike. I decided on Twilight, because she is the one who learns about friendship and it is through her eyes that the audience does too. She starts off as a bookish, antisocial pony who is the protege of the Princess Celestia of Equestria, the magical land in which the show takes place in. Princess Celestia decides to send Twilight and Spike to the town of Ponyville, where they meet Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity. Together, they learn from each other and about the value of their friendship as they face off threats and save Equestria numerous times. Initially to make this sculpture, I wanted to make an armature out of wire and cover that with tinfoil and later, clay, but eventually I decided to go just with clay, and paint over it.
I wanted to focus on the idea that friendship was transformative and truly the most wonderful thing about life, as well as necessary for growth and happiness. I think Twilight best demonstrates this. To explain my reasoning, she starts off narrow-minded and unhappy (though she doesn't realize it), but due to the influence of her friends, she becomes more open-minded, jovial and powerful. She becomes so powerful that she becomes a princess herself, saves Equestria many times over, and becomes its eventual ruler, succeeding Celestia. In other words, Twilight is the prime example of how one person's life can be changed for the better due to the friends they have in their lives. People today achieve success, health and longevity because of companionship, and that is exactly what happened to Twilight. I also chose to create Spike because I think Twilight's success was indebted to his work especially out of all her friends. Throughout the show, he has been shown to be Twilight's number one supporter, assistant and friend, and it is also due to her friendship that he grows into his confidence, transforming into the brave, steadfast and self-assured individual that we see him to be in the end. Together, Twilight and Spike both show us how friendship really is nothing short of magic.
And as always, here is my research and sources, both of which have made this project possible.
Thank you for your time and consideration in viewing this project!