Even though I hadn't written many reflective journal entries in the second year up to this point, I do feel that my journal entries during January 2014 were very well written. Also, because these entries are fairly recent, there may not be much I would change in terms of the style of what was recorded in the journal. I feel I managed to record all the relevant information from lectures in my journal, and reflected on what I have learned from the information and how it made me feel. I also compared my life at college at this point compared to one year ago from then, when things weren't going as well.
Despite me not writing much about the previous term, I wrote a recap of events from that term, the best I could from what I could remember. I feel I managed to write about all the important things about college and the Foundation Degree of the previous term, such as the modules, my dragon/kart projects, being in a class with the photography students and how I felt the whole experience was going, and I think it was going very well. Definitely the best start to any year I have been at college, without getting too upset or stressed.
I also wrote about my work placement, which has been a very important part of my life as it has started me on a potential new career path in Art Therapy and helping others. This placement has gone really well, and perhaps because I was doing something positive that wasn't to do with college, I felt much happier and relaxed at college on my Foundation Degree.
I mentioned that, with the projects, there was "a lot more creative freedom" this year compared to last year, which I am really grateful for, and I feel I enjoy the more creative projects more because to me they feel more "personal." It was also good that I could choose what I did for my final project, and I do feel I came up with some really good ideas, such as the plane animation flying over Rome and Paris, monster designs from my art therapy sessions, and the video tutorials I eventually decided to work on. However, I do feel I would have been happy with working with any of these, as all the projects seemed fun and fulfilling as projects, where I wouldn't have had too much or too little to do at any one time if I planned my work efficiently. Also, it made me realise that it is good to have a number of options for projects that will be equally as enjoyable to work on, so you're not stuck with working on a project you're not happy with working on. I do feel, however, that the work and entries from January were more about the planning of my project, which is still a very important aspect of any project, so you know it is possible to achieve the best results.
I also remember being rather confused about the Professional and Contextual Studies module, especially about writing a grant for money from the Arts Council, and I certainly reflected on this in my journal. I also remember this module was very confusing last year. However, because I have a good working relationship with the lecturers, Lynda and the students, we were all able to figure this out together. Also, writing about some aspects of this module I learned about, such as PESTEL and SWOT, really helped me to remember what was discussed in the lectures. I have learned that it is super useful in the future to record anything new you have learned in the journal.
I also attended several careers advice meetings, both at college and at the Staffordshire County Council. I feel that since the start of my work placement, I have been considering what I would like to do after college a lot more, which I feel has really benefited me well as it will give me some clearer goals for the future. Although I always found these careers advice meetings helpful and informative, my feelings and hopes for my options have changed very often since then. When I saw the careers advisor at college, who told me I needed to pay for an apprenticeship if that's what I wanted, and also that to become an art therapist I would need to attend postgraduate courses, the options seemed quite limited at that point, but when I went to speak to the County Council I was feeling much more optimistic about my options. Currently I am rather unsure of what the future holds, but am remaining calm as I have lots of options and people helping me to achieve my goals. I have felt very grateful for all the people that are helping me to develop my future career, as I am aware that not everybody has as much support as I do, for many different reasons, and without the support of these people, I don't think I would be as prepared and as optimistic about the future as I am right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment