What learning/learning topic or learning process did you find yourself using throughout the semester?
In my first semester at Parsons I learned about how much time really effects our daily lives. I was taught Time Management and how to incorporate it into our daily schedules. I found myself constantly going back to that learning process throughout the school year. It’s vital for students, workers, and people who have a lot on their plate to know how to properly manage everything without getting too overwhelmed. In my second semester at Parsons, I was taught about Inquiry. This learning process can completely change how you view everyday tasks and projects. I was taught to question everything. Before having someone teach me this learning process, I didn’t question anything as much as I should have. These were the most influential learning processes I was taught through-out my first year at Parsons.
Where did you use it (in life, in class, in other classes)?
I used Time Management throughout the school year in many different ways. One of the major ways I used it was when scheduling my schoolwork and class schedule with my job. I am a full-time student and I work part time. This can get extremely stressful. You need to be organized, have ambition, and know time management. I had the first two down, but I never really knew or cared about time and time management. Certain tips and tricks I learned about time management really helped in the scheme of work and school. Once I was taught about inquiry and how and why to question everything, I incorporated it into my daily routine. Things that I wouldn’t think twice about before, I started to question. This learning process proved successful. I acquired many new skills just by questioning people and things.
What learning did you make about systems or strategies (in society, in making, in research, etc.) do you want to bring into your future semesters, dig into deeper, or explore with other people?
I learned how much work and process goes into simple everyday things. For example, advertisements. The process of how an ad is designed, what colors, how many words are shown, where it is placed, and how it is placed all effect the success rate of an ad. I never knew how much thought and effort went into a simple advertisement that we see at the train station or on TV. I was extremely intrigued by this as a BBA student because this falls in my category. For future semesters, I’ll be using this tactic to get my point across in a clear simple way.
What is one ah-ha that you had? What did you learn?
One “ah-ha” moment I had during the school year was when I was in my studio class with Patrick Hughes first semester. We had to work in groups for all projects that we did. I had never worked with so many people before. I was having some trouble doing so, so I asked to speak with Patrick privately. He explained that this is the real world, as it may be more comfortable to do things your own way, different people have different ways of doing things and just because there different than what your used to doesn’t mean that there wrong. As simple as this sounds, hearing him say this really resonated with me and helped me work on group projects better.
Select two highlights from your first year. These highlights might consist of major projects or papers. A highlight could also be a productive class debate, a journal entry, a materials experiment, an illuminating course trip, or a new skill. This is a deep look at your work.
One of my highlights from this year was a research paper I wrote for my Seminar Class. It was over 8 pages long and I’ve never written a paper that long before. While it most likely won’t be my best research paper I’ll ever write, it was my first and I’m proud of myself.
To prepare, I first came up with my topic. My teacher’s advice was to pick something that means something to you or interests you. This advice helped a lot, to write such a long paper you need to be interested in your topic. After choosing my topic, I met with a librarian to get advice on how to choose sources and then I created a story board and outline. From there I was able to write my rough draft, and finally my final copy. Next time I need to write a research paper I will follow these guidelines to a T. They made the writing process much easier. I also know next time that while your rough draft will be very similar to your final copy, in reality it won’t be. A lot of adjustments need to be made and its best if you change any little thing that you think needs to be changed. Don’t leave an parts of your paper questionable.
Excerpt from Research Paper:
“While Instagram, a photo sharing app, is used daily by millions worldwide, studies have linked the use of the social media app to depression and low self-esteem in adolescents. It causes low self-esteem and depression because it allows people to create online personas that are often not reflective of real lived experience; and consequentially, an element of comparison by others to these fake lives. When people don’t “measure up” to the experiences of these heavily edited and filtered accounts, they feel inadequate and their self-esteem is therefore lowered. In analyzing personal anecdotes and scientific studies, it is clear that more awareness needs to exist around this issue, and a solution needs to be put in place to avoid further devastating consequences to such a vulnerable age group.”
My second highlight from this year is the first film that I recorded myself and edited myself. It was a short abstract film that had to show a simple, everyday event taking place and we had to edit and create it into something interesting. This assignment was for my Time Class.
To prepare for the film I first had to come up with an idea that was ordinary and make it extraordinary. I decided on recording my grandpa who does absolutely nothing but listen to blues and jazz music and drink wine. After choosing the topic of my film I needed to get movie lights, and a camera. I organized recording dates with my grandfather and from there the film was making progress. I filmed over the course of two afternoons and started out editing the next day. The film was completed within a week. Next time I record a short film like this I know now that the editing and effects process is crucial to whether the film is a hit or miss. I’ll put more effort into the editing process next time.
Clip of Short Film:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12DnznHnMdUQEuQl_NNmULDLFMKlWBV2V/view?usp=sharing
Thinking: Show your thought process. What do these two highlights represent? Why are they important to your learning? What is most successful or interesting about this work?
These two highlights represent the time and energy I put into my first year at Parsons School of Design. I tried a lot of new things my first year here. Everything I learned is essential to my college career regarding my major. I feel that the two highlights show two different mediums of work that I completed completely by myself for the first time. That to me is an accomplishment.
If you could tell future students anything from what you learned during this year, what would it be? (Not just in this class – but overall in life about first year at college.)
If I could tell future students something that I learned my first year in college, at Parsons, I would tell them to accept the negative emotions that come with going to college and specifically, this type of college. There will be days that you feel like you don’t belong, and you want to just quit. Instead of trying to hide how you feel, accept it and see what you can do to turn it around. I felt extremely out of place and uncomfortable my first semester as a more business oriented and student color at Parsons. Instead of hiding how I felt and trying to conform to the crowd, I accepted my feelings and took the courage to see what I could do to change them. I spoke with many of the student counselors at the school and joined clubs. When people tell you to join a club in college, you should. You will find people who have similar interests to you and will make friends quicker and easier. These two aspects changed my experience immensely for the second semester. I enjoyed my second semester much more then my first. I had people around me that I related to and I had a support system.
Write a conclusion that looks toward future interests, questions, and courses. This is where you’re heading.
Next year, I want to learn more about how to market and brand correctly/efficiently and more about entrepreneurship. I love fashion, but I’m more interested in the business side of it. I hope to learn all the ins and outs of how to properly run a successful fashion-based business. In the future, I intend to own a high-end boutique. I won’t be making any of the clothes myself; I will purchase from a buyer. While this is may seem like the easy route, in reality it isn’t. I will need to have the knowledge that a fashion designer has to make sure I am getting quality clothes, along with the knowledge of a business owner, as I have to know what to purchase, when to purchase, and from who. Along with clothes I want to have beauty products on sale at the boutique as well. I intend to create all makeup that I sell at my boutique myself. For this I will need education on how to create and make cosmetology products. FIT has the program Cosmetology and Fragrance Making,which I will be enrolling in. As a makeup lover, learning how to create my own makeup is a dream come true. In the terms of what courses, I will take in the future, all of the ones I will take involve marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, psychology, and business. Parsons has many great marketing and branding courses that go extremely in depth. Next semester I’ll be taking those courses along with my required classes. I’m excited to be heading in the direction of what really interests me.