This year, I’ve found that I am very good at writing. But that is only when I am interested in what I’m writing, have a strong opinion on the topic, and am therefore motivated to write. If I don’t have those 3 things, I am not very good at writing.
For example, in the Change Makers project, I chose to do my video about design elements in rollercoasters, which is certainly something that interests me. However, even after all of the research I did, I didn’t understand or know enough about the topic to form an opinion, and because of that, I really struggled to write my video’s script. I think one way I could’ve gotten a better understanding of Disney’s rollercoasters would’ve been to see the design process, or actually try designing or even building my own (scaled down) rollercoaster to tell a story, although, that may not have been possible with the time constraints of the project.
Another example is my speech for the Definitely not the 51st state project. I really struggled to decide on a topic for my speech. I was initially considering insulin and Medicare, hockey, or Jewish soldiers in WWII, but these topics were too big for me to fit into a 2 minute long speech. Then, I realized I could use my interest in flags, and write about Canada’s flag. That allowed me to use my creativity, and write a speech that I was proud of.
Another thing I think I did well this year was the winter exhibition. Along wth my resume and business card, my display had a lego tensegrity model, and a lego scale with candy and needle tips that I used for my interactive element. I really enjoyed designing and building my station because I was able to combine my interests, skills, and challenges to make a personal and coherent display.
The goals that I set for myself at the start of this year were to work on my time management skills, add creative elements into my work, balance my time, and write down ideas even if they’re not the best. I’ve made progress on implementing creative elements and writing down ideas, but there’s certainly more work to be done for all of them.
This year, I fell behind, and struggled to catch up because I got overwhelmed. Next year, I want to prevent myself from falling behind by creating strategies to procrastinate less, and start working earlier.
Thank you for reading my presentation of learning.