Season Finale

As weeks turn into days as we count down to winter break and the end of the first semester, I’ve been reflecting quite a bit on the work I’ve done so far - and I’ve been setting goals for what I can do next semester.

Part of this reflection process was prompted by a research, reflection, and growth presentation last week. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to remember what I do every week for each of these blogs, so truthfully, this presentation was a little difficult for me to put together. I wasn’t sure how to begin either. I had no idea how to grab my audience’s attention and have a unique introduction. Until, while looking through old photos for a different purpose, I found the perfect material for my introduction: a video of 8-year-old me explaining how I would edit two clips together to make the footage my brother and I were planning on shooting look “cool.” As it turns out, I’ve wanted to be a filmmaker from the age of 8, and I somehow managed to forget my once-promising dreams.

After finding my introduction, the rest of the presentation fell into place quite naturally. This ease was surprising, seeing as my previous two presentations were a bit of a struggle to come up with content-wise. When presentation day came around last Wednesday, we presented in small breakout rooms on Zoom with about 6 or 7 people in each room. The lack of eyes watching me took off a lot of pressure. I’m a generally quiet student, but I noticed that I have Zoom anxiety and hate to speak up in front of an entire class. Thus, these smaller groups helped me calm my nerves and deliver my presentation quite well. There were a few times where I slipped up, and I began speaking faster towards the end of my speech in fear I would run out of time. Luckily, I quickly recovered from my mishaps, and my timing fell perfectly in the designated time range. This presentation may be the best one I have ever given in the entirety of my schooling career. It’s a little crazy to think I opened it with low quality, 480p video with insane amounts of color distortion and noise (that were still there even after I tried to fix it in Premiere Pro) that was essentially 8-year-old me in pajamas saying, “And then what you can do is...you upload it onto the computer and you combine them together. Then you can see the front and back view.” This video proved very effective as an attention-getter, though. My peers certainly seemed to enjoy it!

My reflection didn’t stop after I completed this presentation, however. As I play around with Adobe software, creating personal projects with greater ease and efficiency than ever before, it struck me that I’ve grown and learned so much over the past semester without me realizing it. I’ve grown more accustomed to the DaVinci Resolve software, but I’ve also explored and am currently learning how to use Adobe apps like Lightroom and Premiere Pro. Interviews, presentations, phone calls, and emails aren’t as scary to think about or do anymore. I’ve done about 7 interviews so far, and almost every one of them has resulted in new knowledge that I’ve taken to heart. Towards the beginning of this semester in ISM, I mentioned that one of my biggest goals is constant improvement and growth. I am joyous to say that, in about 18 weeks, I can confidently say I fulfilled this goal. I have grown so much, professionally and personally, and my vision for the future has found clarity. As much as I don’t like to linger in the past too often, it sometimes feels good to look back and feel the satisfaction of your growth over time.

My most recent edit using Adobe Lightroom.

In the “season finale” of my first semester, the finale of 2020, I look back with satisfaction and fulfillment but set my eyes forth to 2021 with a new determination and even more ambitions for growth and improvement than ever before. The stakes are higher, but I have no doubt I will rise to the occasion and surprise myself with growth as I have this past semester.