Interviews
Weekly Report 11/21 to 12/04 It has been roughly two weeks since my last weekly report, yet it barely feels like a week; thanksgiving and my birthday passed by in an instant.. However, that is not what my report will be about. This past week managed to be one of the most active weeks in my ISM experience. In a span of three days I had three interviews that have greatly influenced the way I think about my subject. I do not know if it is because I have gained more experience in interviewing or if it is because of the people I interviewed; either way the last three interviews have definitely been the best ones I have had this year. It began with Norm Cox, a sort of graphic designer and painter, who explained the difficulties of success in art and the best way to achieve success. However, I feel as his advice could fit into any career. His advice focused on the benefits of writing and communication. By communicating effectively one is able to get his ideas across and gain more respect of those listening. I found this quite encouraging. A large part of the course is exactly that, learning to better write and communicate in a professional setting. Seeing as I have been working on bettering those skills I feel more confident on my choices regarding this class. This confidence did not last long, however; my next interview challenged me more than ever before. I want to clarify, every single person I have interviewed this year has been incredibly welcoming. Most of my interviewees have encouraged me to truly seek my passion, yet this last one did something different. Mary Vernon, a fine arts professor at SMU, instead of encouraging me to pursue my passions, challenged me. Rather than encourage me to pursue knowledge of a future career, Mrs. Vernon told me to first find myself. She, as most do, told me of the endless difficulties of being a painter, and even told me to pursue something else. I found this not degrading or discouraging, it only intrigued me as to know why. I sort of reflected on her words and came to a conclusion. Mrs. Vernon was not telling me to give up art, on the contrary she was encouraging me to find a true passion in art. By challenging me she is encouraging me to look deep into my passion and understand what I am truly meant to do. That is something I want to explore in my ISM career as it fits into a large theme of my experience in the course, finding myself. The third interview was somewhat more “normal.” (Though I would not call any of my interviews normal, this was the closest to it.) I interviewed Barbara Mason, an incredibly talented and renowned painter. It was great to interview her, Mrs. Mason shared as much information as she could and shed light into the world of art. She explained her journey and passions, and I found it incredibly inspiring. However I also found something else. Mrs. Mason was part of the medical field before she became an artist, it supplied her with enough money to dive into art without worrying too much about finances. This was sort of discouraging because it led me to think of the extreme challenges of art. Despite this I still look forward to learning more. As I have said before, I want to follow my passion, no matter the cost. So I will continue to use this course as a way to create a plan in which I can safely follow my passion.
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Invitation
Weekly Report 12/5 to 12/11 This past week was a sort of buffer week for the next week. As winter break closes in all my classes ease towards their resective tests. For that reason, my focus on ISM has wanned slightly. I recognize that is not ideal, so I will use this week to regain my focus. However, I did create my invitation for the Research Showcase and finalize my analysis for my Research Speech. My research speech analysis had been completed for a week now, but I saved it so I could watch the video with “new eyes.” I rewatched the video and found I still have much more to improve in my speech, so I will try to practice my speech once a week from now on. I was not as fluid as I hoped and my insecurities could be clearly seen in the video. By practicing more often I hope to gain confidence and composure in my future speeches. I thoroughly enjoyed working on my invitation for the Research Showcase. I found that not using a template helped me make something more original and personal. I worked with a drawing I made this year and tried reflecting its contrast. I believe it worked well to make the invitation pop. I am excited for the research showcase not just because it will be a way to share my ISM journey, but also because I will invite my family and friends. I am inviting a large group from my church and hope to share my experience with them. When it comes to my family, they are not really sure what I have done this year, so I hope to use the showcase as a way to share exactly what I have been doing for all these months. My focus, for the showcase, will be on completing my board. |