Formal Reflection
The goal of my project was to reach out to younger kids and teach them about becoming successful in their transition from high school to college. By being successful in their transition I mean, choosing the right school and being able to graduate debt free. There is so many opportunities out there for students they are just unaware of them. I wanted every kid I interacted with to be able to understand the importance of the SAT's, ACT's, their GPA, FAFSA and choosing their classes. Some colleges have class requirements that the students may not know about and given the prior knowledge a student wont have to be turned down solely because they didn't take the right classes. There is so many scholarship opportunities out there, but most average kids wont know how to access them. Personally, I had no idea about scholarships and I waited way to long to begin applying because the qualifications for submitting an application include things like essays, writing samples, and letters of recommendation students should leave themselves more time so that they can acquire these items and not feel rushed.
At first my idea was based specifically on making sure my little siblings would know what they were doing when they get to this point. However, it doesn't really apply to them at the moment so I had to target an audience that would actually find my research useful. I had no idea how to get this information across to people. I decided a well organized brochure packed with all of the essential information would be perfect. I planned on handing a few out to the younger kids and leaving them with the counselors so they could be given to kids that need them. Mrs. Walker at this point told me that my project wasn't big enough and that I needed to do more. Finally, a whole entire campaign seemed like it would be the best way to get my message across. I planned to have a table handing out information with posters everywhere and stickers, the whole"shebang".
The weaknesses within my project were my lack of planning. I didn't take into account the amount of information that needed to be shared. Every student is different so each student would need information specialized to them. That means compiling a lot of research into one small brochure, almost like attacking people with it all. I also never considered how much the students will actually read and pay attention to the information in front of them. I never thought about how many students need the knowledge but won't care yet because "college is so far away". There has to be something within my project that captures their attention, something that makes them want to succeed enough that they actually take into account all of the information that I am presenting to them.
There was a few big bumps and little bumps along the road of completing this project. The biggest bump I had to face was not narrowing down my topic. I didn't really know what I was doing so when I was trying to do my project I didn't really know what to write and ended up just doing nothing. Along with the struggles of not knowing what to write I work almost 30 hours a week. Working from right after school until 11 and only having 1 to 2 days off a week makes it hard enough to complete all of your school work. On top of that I am held to very high expectations and home and expected to help out as much as I can. I know its not much to ask and it sounds very simple, but when you try to combine going to high school, with working 30 hours a week, and taking care of 2 little babies you run out of time.
If I were to have this project again I would want to pick a topic that i could actually do. However, any project that is going to make a difference would take just as much work if not more than this project, so I guess I now realize its not the amount of work, its the little impact that one person can have on the world. I know movements have to start somewhere but if i am going to make a movement i want it to be something more powerful. A movement about something more meaningful. I'm not really sure what that is and i suppose that is why I didn't already choose it, however, i do know no matter what it is as long as it means enough to me i will fight for it.
At first my idea was based specifically on making sure my little siblings would know what they were doing when they get to this point. However, it doesn't really apply to them at the moment so I had to target an audience that would actually find my research useful. I had no idea how to get this information across to people. I decided a well organized brochure packed with all of the essential information would be perfect. I planned on handing a few out to the younger kids and leaving them with the counselors so they could be given to kids that need them. Mrs. Walker at this point told me that my project wasn't big enough and that I needed to do more. Finally, a whole entire campaign seemed like it would be the best way to get my message across. I planned to have a table handing out information with posters everywhere and stickers, the whole"shebang".
The weaknesses within my project were my lack of planning. I didn't take into account the amount of information that needed to be shared. Every student is different so each student would need information specialized to them. That means compiling a lot of research into one small brochure, almost like attacking people with it all. I also never considered how much the students will actually read and pay attention to the information in front of them. I never thought about how many students need the knowledge but won't care yet because "college is so far away". There has to be something within my project that captures their attention, something that makes them want to succeed enough that they actually take into account all of the information that I am presenting to them.
There was a few big bumps and little bumps along the road of completing this project. The biggest bump I had to face was not narrowing down my topic. I didn't really know what I was doing so when I was trying to do my project I didn't really know what to write and ended up just doing nothing. Along with the struggles of not knowing what to write I work almost 30 hours a week. Working from right after school until 11 and only having 1 to 2 days off a week makes it hard enough to complete all of your school work. On top of that I am held to very high expectations and home and expected to help out as much as I can. I know its not much to ask and it sounds very simple, but when you try to combine going to high school, with working 30 hours a week, and taking care of 2 little babies you run out of time.
If I were to have this project again I would want to pick a topic that i could actually do. However, any project that is going to make a difference would take just as much work if not more than this project, so I guess I now realize its not the amount of work, its the little impact that one person can have on the world. I know movements have to start somewhere but if i am going to make a movement i want it to be something more powerful. A movement about something more meaningful. I'm not really sure what that is and i suppose that is why I didn't already choose it, however, i do know no matter what it is as long as it means enough to me i will fight for it.
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