Reflection

The entirety of the Senior Project has provided me with incredibly valuable resources and abilities which otherwise would have been left unexercised. Starting with the research all the way down to presenting on the last week of school, this project has taught me many things. The research was frankly tedious and quite frustrating. I learned the right words to highlight while searching, I learned how best to organise facts that I had found, and I learned how to group my newly found information so I could turn it into a well formatted, clear and informative paper. Within my research I learned how to interview someone, techniques to get more information and how to relate that information to your research topic. I do not enjoy in-person interviews. They create a quite raw and vulnerable environment which influences my anxiety. Nevertheless these interviews, because they were with people I had common ground with and connections to, were not too nerve wracking and incredibly beneficial to the learning process.

As time progressed, and with it the project workload, having to balance the research paper, the project, and all my other classes became an issue. And because I was more interested in my research and so invested in my project, I prioritised the project material and assignments over most other things. As a result, after I saw my grades start to slip I forced myself to learn how to time manage and make sure that all aspects of my life are getting enough attention. 

The actual experiential project was so much fun, definitely the most enjoyable part. I got to witness children and teenagers learn, improve and enjoy something that I, myself surround myself with. It was incredible seeing how these students of all ages are will to put so much of themselves on the line while performing and push through the nerves and the worries so that they can share their love of music. So many people have been willing to help out with so many different parts of this project and that was tremendous with the ups and downs which this event persevered through. 

As for how this has effected me overall, it has made me more confident in my ability to complete a mammoth of a project such as this. It has taught me how to reach out to the community and proved that delegating is sometimes best for the overall event whether or not it is more stressful. The project and the research emphasised how much performing arts and just arts classes in general mean to people, developing minds and the community as a whole. The project itself reminded me just how important having access to these classes and communities is.