Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Y.U Yang. Date: 2.22

Teacher: Mrs.Flink Block: A

The Capstone strand I have chosen is service oriented.

Proposed title for my Project Proposal: (write the proposed title for your Capstone Project in one
clear sentence): The effects of music on adolescents with depression.

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that
connects with a purpose, passion or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that
you cannot just google an answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:

How could music help teens with depression?

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are
choosing to investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect
to your passion(s), purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

I am focusing on mental health issues among teenagers because I have experienced dark
emotions myself. I experienced four years of school bullying both mentally and physically
since the fourth grade. At that time, my family situation was complicated, so I had no one to
talk to. I have tried to communicate with the teachers, but their ignorance even exacerbates
the bully's behavior. Therefore I stop trying or looking for help because I know the more I fight,
the more I will get hurt. Being dominated by negative emotions all the time caused me to
suffer from severe depression. Music was the only thing that kept me going during my most
difficult times. I feel the power and courage that music can bring to people. It makes me
realize that I am not alone. Many people in the world are going through their own difficulties.
Music connects us and makes us feel different emotions in the same song, we feel emotions
that are unique to each of us. I am passionate about music because I want to tell kids like me
that they are not alone and it is okay to cry and rest. If no one can understand you, at least
you have my song to walk you through that experience. As I began to interview more and
more adolescents with mental illnesses, I began to notice a common thread among them; they
were all more or less unaccepted by their families. The problem is particularly acute in China,
where parents mostly believe that children are expressing their pain just to get attention or to
avoid school, and their lack of understanding and blame often makes the children suffer even
more. Through this project, I hope to let those children know that even though people around
them cannot understand them now, infinite love is always surrounded them and they just do
not realize it yet. Until they can feel love again, my music can accompany them and bring
them even a little comfort.

0
Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this
area of inquiry?

•Ten years of singing experience

•Three years experience in music platform personal account management
•Seven years of experience with depression

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What
connections does this inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

The psychology of human behavior is the field in which I intend to pursue a career so that I
can gain a deeper understanding of the mental processes that lead to every decision and
action people take. My inquiry question connects to my life because I want to use my
experience to help more kids who are struggling with depression. It also connects to my
intended career area because by studying the influence of music on people's emotions, I can
create more targeted songs that can help others, and also have a deeper understanding of
psychology in the process of research.

Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core
competencies will be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

Personal Awareness Responsibility and communication will be connected to my project. It

connects to Self-Determination because, during my psychotherapy for depression, my doctor
spent a lot of time trying to get me to release my stress and seek outside help. Through this
project, I can apply what I have learned in the treatment process to express my emotions
through music and tell my audience that it is ok to feel sad and they can actively seek help
from others. It also connects to Well-Being because the theme of my songs is to find yourself
in pain and eventually learn to love yourself. I also want to educate my audience about the
power of words. Words can help others, but they can also be used as weapons, so it's
important to think carefully before saying anything. This project is also connected with
Connect and engaging with others. By interviewing others, I can show and improve my ability
to communicate with different people.

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to
present your project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once
completed. You may use a combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o imovie presentation
o YouTube channel

PPT&Music

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what
will you research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced

1
at the end of this project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your
proposal.

* Research about the Adolescent depression

* Interviewing a friend of mine who has suffered from mental illness
* Write a song about the experience of depression and how to love oneself
* Go to the studio to record
* Presentation with a PowerPoint that gathered all the information
First, I would search the CDC government's website for definitions and symptoms of teenage
depression. Then I would search on the psychiatry website for the causes of depression in
teens to better understand why more and more teens are starting to suffer from psychological
problems. I will research from the Help Guide Organization's website what people can do for
teenagers who suffer from depression once I gain a deeper understanding of depression and
its causes. Finally, I'll search the medical news today website for how music therapy works
and how it can help people with mental illness. After gathering all the information I need, I will
interview my friend who has suffered from depression about her symptoms and what she does
to fight against negative feelings. I will record the whole interview process and make a short
PowerPoint containing my capstone’s main idea and interview video. After this, I will write a
song about my journey of fighting depression and what I want my audience to understand.
After writing this song I will go to the studio and record the full version. Finally, I will include my
song in the PowerPoint and prepare for the final presentation.

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and

skills you will need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to
access/learn all of the resources necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail
your plans.

* A computer
* Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (Research on this site)
* AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION (Research on this site)
* PowerPoint making skills
* Communication skills (interviews)
* Purchase a beat
* Book a studio for records (music)
* Problems solving skills (Coping with emergencies）
* Presentation skills

Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will

you need to help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you?
What is your plan to access the mentorship/community connections necessary for this
project?

I will choose a friend who has experienced and understood depression as my mentor. I will be
recording an interview via video link where I ask questions about their struggles and what they
do about them. It is necessary because the truth can be told by interviewing people with real

2
 experiences of depression. The real story is always more powerful. It could also lead to
greater awareness of the illness. In China(my hometown), despite improvements in recent
years, depression is still seen by most middle-aged and elderly people as an excuse for their
children to avoid school. I think this project is a good opportunity for me to eliminate people's
prejudice against depression through songwriting and interviews.

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee
that might affect progress with your Capstone Project?

One factor that may affect my project is time management. I want to choose a medical
university student from China who was my roommate when I was hospitalized for depression
as my interviewee. She is very busy with her studies and has her job. Besides, she is now in
China, and there is a 13-hour time difference between us. She has agreed to be my
interviewee, but we have not settled on a specific date yet. Booking a studio at least a week in
advance is necessary for song production. Even though the studio is still open, I am worried
that the impact of the pandemic will cause the studio to close again.

Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about
your project that you feel should be included in your project proposal.

To make sure the interview goes as planned, I need to find a location with a good Internet
connection. I will lose internet access when my roommate uses his computer to play video
games. At the same time, I want to ensure that the surrounding environment during the
interview is quiet. After I set a time to record the song, I needed to make sure I got to the
studio in time. The studio is near downtown Vancouver, so I need to leave at least an hour
early. As I was completing my assignments, I had great challenges with time management.
Although I tried my best to organize my time properly, unexpected situations of interviewees
and producers made it difficult to finish many things on time. I was able to improve my
problem solving skills in the process, and luckily I had some time before due day to
reschedule and complete the assignment!

References: Provide a literature review of 5-10 PEER REVIEWED ACADEMIC references:

research, videos, etc. that offer some preliminary research you have done for your project
that shows you are able to access the key information that you will need to be able to
complete this project/work. Your list should be written using correct APA formatting.

https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/teen-depression

3
4