Danielle Greenstein

Project
Proposal
Topic:
For my two years scholar’s capstone project, I intend to create and develop a magazine
that reaches women from a different perspective. This project will be an independent project
but with my cohort’s incite. I hope for my magazine to reach teenagers across the country and
change the way they see pop-culture.

My Intent:
I picked this project because as a teenager I witness all my friends and girls my age,
including myself, so focused on being “perfect”. Magazines and Influencers portray this
“perfect” lifestyle and the “perfect” way to look. Many girls see these people and start to
question why they don’t look like that, and why they don’t have that much money. It is very
detrimental to teenagers to feel like they are worthless because they are not what the models
look like. Throughout my high school years, I have focused so much on looking a certain way
and I have recently reflected on why I personally want to change the way I look. There are so
many people telling you that you have to look a certain way that you start to question if their
right or not. It was hard for me personally with my accident, sophomore year, to see all these
models and feel like I will never be “normal” or look like them. This has been one of my biggest
challenges throughout my whole recovery process. I’ve been so focused on what other people
think of me and if they see my arm, that now I cover it up every time I go out. I wish It could be
different but being “different” isn’t as accepted as much in this society. Not only mine but many
teenager’s self-esteem plummet, and many girls believe they have to go on diets so they can
look like these models. In this magazine I want to lift women up, I plan to show clothes that are
less expensive, focus on the important pop-culture, have the news that is happening around
the world, and have interviews with influencers around the country to inspire these teenagers. I
am not going to be focused on having the prettiest models but rather the most inspiring women
in this day in age.

6 Elements:
Some of the challenges in my project will include finding people who want to make a
change as well in the industry and are tired of the societal standards. Another challenge with
my project will be developing the magazine and figuring out the layout and design. I hope to
develop an E-magazine so girls around the country and in my community can look at it with a
click of a button. I want my project to be as authentic and real as possible that can really relate
to teens in this century. I don’t want my magazine to make girls self-conscious about
themselves, I want them to read it and feel good. I will also like to collaborate with people who
have participated in magazines such as models, and also talk to people outside of the magazine
industry that have opinions on it.

My Challenges:
Some of the challenges at this point in my Journey is coming up with the ideas for the
magazine and what to include. Another challenge is finding people who want to make a change
as well and who I can interview and incorporate into my magazine. A final practical challenge is
the production of the magazine including the layout and format. These are only some of the
challenges I have to overcome right now but down the road there will be a lot more.

My Impact:
I hope to make an impact mainly in my community and hopefully it will show teenagers
that not everything is about looks. I want to make a change in the society’s standards and show
how magazine industries are making women feel. My main goal is to make an impact in the
community even if it is little, I still hope to show girls what does and doesn’t matter.

Important Questions:
1. What are society’s standards for women and how does it affect them? What about
the magazine industry makes them feel self-conscious and question the way they look?
2. How can I change the way the community views the society and the role of women in
it, and what approaches will I take in getting my point across and my magazine out there? How
are women viewed in media and marketing and how can I change that?
3. What is my end goal in this all, what am I Trying to say to the magazine industry, what
do I think is wrong with it?

What’s Next?
Some of my possible internship interests include going down to New York to the
Buzzfeed headquarters and learning about the industry in person. I think stepping inside the
environment where all these magazines are made will give me a better insight into the process.
I want to interview a few people that I think are important to my project. Some of those people
including Cameron Russel, Allen, a representative at Buzzfeed, and some of the girls in my
community., I think the combination of all these people will help me get a different perspective
and make my magazine more authentic. Over the summer I hope to do a class or follow
someone around at a Baltimore magazine company in the community so I can get to know
about a startup magazine business that’s local. At SPSG there are many mentors that would be
good for my project, but I think the 3 that would contribute the most to my project would be
Mrs. Price, Mrs. Felderstein, and Mrs. Balisalisa. I hope I can visit other magazine industries
beside Buzzfeed and a local one, as my project progresses, I hope I will gain more contacts that
will help me reach my goals.