I needed a Gantt Chart 2 months ago — Skill Summary
500 words once a week is harder than I thought.
So far for these weekly pieces I’ve been focusing on writing vignettes about my topic. I think I’ve final nailed down a headliner for what my project is about, however now the actual work begins. Since I’ve kind of been on this journey to solidify to myself and others what the focus of my capstone is, I have let the observation and interviews go by the wayside. And let’s be completely honest, I’m nervous to tackle such a big project. It’s my senior year and this capstone project will be the last impression that I leave on the Media and Communication Studies department. No pressure.
We’re friends here, right? So can I be completely honest? I am not good at organizing myself. I take on too many responsibilities in my professional and personal life. The problem with that is that, unfortunately, I don’t always take into account or think about how I will be able to execute all of my tasks on time while balancing my other commitments. Some would say that I am not futuristic enough. I just like to say I live in the moment. (But let’s be real, we all know who’s right when it comes to that statement. Hint: it’s not me.) Plus like any normal human, procrastination is a thing that exists and I partake in from time to time. Sometimes, you just need to take your one free Saturday of the semester and just sleep, you know? So, in comes the Gantt chart. The thing that will hopefully be the savior of my sleep schedule.
Setting up interviews has been an unexpected hurdle for me. It’s just a scary thing, even though I’ve had quite a bit of practice with it. I did not expect to be intimidated by it as I have done countless projects requiring interviews within the Media and Communication Studies and American Studies departments. But, I will also say that it’s been almost a year and a half since I’ve had to do that, which by the way is just another added bonus to my apprehension. In addition, most of my previous interviews were done with strangers or acquaintances. You would think that interviewing a stranger would be less nerve-racking. Not for me. When in an environment with someone that I do not know, I feel I can be concentrated and professional. If I know the person well, it makes me nervous thinking that they will judge what I’m doing or asking.
Finally, I’ve found myself struggling for inspiration when going to write my weekly pieces. This struggle likely comes from a combination of everything I have written about already, but it’s one I need to overcome sooner rather than later. So, I asked for help. I took the step to go to office hours and admit that I’m struggling at times, because it’s true. Now that I’ve done so and gotten some inspiration and guidance, I feel so much more confident moving into the deeper elements of my project. I really hope to dig into my topic and find the strongest parts of the story I am looking to tell based on my research.
