Final Reflection
In my personal experience, I found that inspiration wasn’t hard for me to find. When thinking about senior thesis and the project as a whole; it’s essential that you first evaluate the purpose of this project. The goal of a senior thesis is to create a project based off of all the skills and knowledge that you acquired throughout the last four years. When you are reflecting on the past four years thus far and reviewing over your portfolio, it’s crucial that you pinpoint the projects that you were most passionate about. For me, I have always loved working with video. I found it very interesting how one can create stories with film. I found that I was skillful when it came to video editing, so I knew exactly what type of project I wanted to create. Once you find the area of IMM that you want to create in, you now have a foundation for your project. Keep in mind that your thesis should be a project that you have never done before. Push your creativity, skill, and ability as far as you possibly can. Make this the most significant thing you have created to date. You don’t want to look back a year from now and think that you could’ve done more or pushed yourself further. Your inspiration will be discovered in your passion, and when you pick something your passionate about then, you’ll have fun throughout this process despite the many ups and downs.
One of the hardest things to do as a creative is to allow other people into your creative process. As creatives, we all have a vision of what we want and how we want it. Now having this type of mindset is ok, but you must be careful that you don’t allow it to handcuff you. Here’s what I mean, when someone is giving you feedback, and you aren’t receptive of it, then you are not allowing your project to grow. When I was creating my interactive film, one thing that I found to be very helpful was allowing other people to screen my film. When your the only person looking at your project or the only person criticizing then you are missing so many details that can be easily overlooked. The reality is, the more you look at your project, the more you become blind to little details and mistakes that may have slipped between the cracks. There will be many different people during the showcase, and I guarantee you that not everyone will look at your project the same as you. People will be looking at your project from different angles and perspectives so it would be wise of you to allow other people to give feedback and criticism on your project to make it well rounded and reach its full potential.
When I reflect on these last eight months, I see how much of a journey that it was. All journeys are full of twists and turns, and sometimes, things unexpected come up. This is what it’s like working on thesis. It is not a sprint, but a journey, and you have to make sure that on that journey, you have the motivation to continue. As I mentioned before I feel that it is vital that you find what you are passionate about and work from there. Please do not get too consumed with what you think potential employers will like or what you think will make your parents the proudest. This is about you, and your thesis project is a reflection on you. If you choose something that you are not passionate about then, you are setting yourself up to get burned out. There were many times where I felt tired and overwhelmed, but not once did I ever feel burned out. The feeling of being burned out is a result of your work outweighing your motivation. Now fortunate enough for you I have found the remedy for burn out. This remedy is passion. Now look at passion this way; passion is like a fire that cannot be extinguished. No matter what winds or elements come against the fire, it cannot be blown out, and it keeps on burning. Your passion is like that fire. Your passion will propel you to stay up those late hours, to think outside the box, to plan out different ideas when you’re not even working on senior thesis. Love what you create, and you’ll fall in love with the process.
While this project is a reflection of you and what you’re passionate about, make sure that the project has the chance to be great. Do not overthink this planning process. Understand what you’re good at and what skills you feel are your best. Something to consider while in this planning process is to sit down with either your advisor or thesis professor and review all of the work you have done for the past four years and allow that trusted advisor to be honest and forthcoming with what they feel are strengths of yours. Many times as students, we underestimate or doubt our abilities, so it’s essential that you allow someone to show you the things that you might not see. If you are skilled and passionate about your project, then the sky is the limit. There is no stopping the possibilities that are at your disposal. You do not want to cheat yourself of this experience. You have the opportunity to create your most significant project to date, and you want to make sure that you give it your maximum effort. As mentioned before, one of the worst feelings that one can have is regret. This is going to be the most significant moment of your collegiate career, and this should be exciting and fulling because at the end of it all you know that you gave it your all. Remember, you are only going to be in college once, and you need to embrace and soak up every last part of it. Make sure you leave TCNJ with no doubts or regrets. I promise you that if you push yourself further then, you think you will be amazed at what you have created!
I know that creatives have a lousy reputation of being procrastinators, but please do not carry on that same mindset for thesis. Now eight months sounds like an eternity, but it flys by faster then you can imagine. I am still in shock that the showcase came and went already. Time management is the one skill that you need to improve on going into this semester. On top of having thesis, most of you probably have about three other classes to worry about for the fall and spring semester. With that being said, you need to plan out your schedules accordingly. It would be foolish to make yourself believe that you can change these bad habits cold turkey. Do not deceive yourself. There are so many different apps available to you that can help keep you accountable. Apps like “Basecamp” and “Trello” can set you up for success and help you stay on top of your task and prioritize on what’s most important. In addition to downloading those apps take advantage of using your calendars, whether that’s your phone calendar or physical calendar. Also, having post-it notes placed throughout your room will be helpful as well. The main idea of all of this is to be proactive in setting time aside of working on your project.
When pushing yourself to grow this project beyond what you can imagine, you have to envision something that you don’t know how to do yet. If you have all the answers on day one, then you might want to reconsider the direction of your project. There are so many resources available to your right at your fingertips. One of the most excellent resources available to us students at TCNJ is Lydia.com. I honestly feel like this is one of the most underappreciated resources that we have. For me, I used Lydia.com as much as I possibly could, and I learned a lot. You can learn from industry professionals and not pay a single dime. In addition to online resources, talking to professionals is invaluable. At TCNJ, we have a large group of professionals that spread throughout many different fields. As a student, you should never feel like an inconvenience, especially at your school. The professors, educators, and staff at TCNJ are here for one reason, and one reason alone, and that reason is you. I firmly believe that if you reach out to any professor on campus whether you had a class with them or not they will be more then happy to meet with you. Also, when you reach out and network with those outside of the campus, and saying that you’re a student makes people more inclined to speak with you and share some industry secrets. Lastly, joining specialty groups on social media can be very helpful too. Online communities can sometimes be the best place to ask questions and share ideas because you’re exposing yourself with a large variety of people with different perspectives, styles, and expertise.
As seniors, you are now entering into a unique and exciting part of your college journey. You are beginning the transition from college student to aspiring professional. One practical step to take right now as you being your last year at TCNJ is to make sure that you have a LinkedIn account and that you take time to make it the best you possibly can. I have gotten many internships and job opportunities from my linked in page. The first thing to do is make sure you are connecting with as many people as possible, but not just random people, but connect with people in your industry and also fellow students and alumni. After connecting, make sure you make your bio clear and concise and that your experiences and skills are relevant to the jobs that you are looking for. Another great tool to have is an online portfolio. Make a website (Wix, Squarespace, etc.) where your projects are being displayed as well as your resume, bio, email, and social media links. This will be a great place to direct potential employers to where all your important information is located. Also, consider having a blog be apart of your website. People love to see your journey and where you’re currently at and projects that you’re working on. Document your thesis project on your site this way; you may get people interested in coming to the showcase. Use everything you’re doing now to set you up nicely for graduation. The best thing you can do now is to gather up all your best work and keep adding to it, so once graduation comes, your portfolio will be well rounded and done in excellence. Your body of work (portfolio) is going to be your vehicle to a smooth transition to post-graduation.
Enjoy every bump and every late night because before you know it, it’ll be over and you want to graduate with no regrets! You got this!
