SDA #1? The fun's just begun.

It's the start of October and I feel lost already. I'm not lost the way I want to be - in my topic - and instead I find myself floundering in pages of calculus notes and college application fee waivers. The plan, which is finish my college and gap year applications to make way for more SDAs and projects, sounds simple. However, it is more difficult than I first thought. Thus, the varying "grades" in this project's rubric:

At first, I wanted to say I phoned everything in out of frustration. Scheduling with my subjects and helpers for my experiment went awry and I had to throw together what I had last-minute. To me, that felt like failure, but when I look back at the project I created, it has some merit. The goal was to create a story, so I decided to take an unconventional route and create a makeshift "video guide to improvisation" similar to instructional videos someone would watch (begrudgingly) in a workplace environment. I believe it has a beginning, middle, and end, but its connection to the psychology aspect of my project feels lacking. As a starting point, the general facts provided work. I also think I could have done a better job with the hook. Perhaps, if I had allotted myself more time, I could have visually and audibly hammed up the instructional video stereotype and made the video more comedic than educational. I'm indecisive on how well my research would have come across, though. In terms of relatability, nothing is more relatable than improv: it's life. The guidelines of the story are meant to guide readers to look into why improvisation, something they do constantly, is beneficial and should be harnessed. I think that comes across well. The SDA was turned in promptly and I had Ash (the EMC compatriot in the video) and my parents/some graduated friends look at my progress and give it the all-clear.

I plan to get the majority of my frustrations under wraps by the middle of October. My gap year application is the main thing that is causing me such stress, so once I have that under control, I will be ready to take on this topic more in depth. For now, I'll be researching and attempting to journal when possible.

Here's to trying our best.