Weekly Reflection

I started off the week second guessing why I was doing a capstone paper in the first place. It felt like a daunting process, one that I had to muster the motivation to finish. However, I knew I was running towards the finish line. I was so close! I buckled down in the library and set up the work I knew I had to get done for the week. My paper was in a good place, but the organization was scattered. I met with my mentor, John Bouton who helped me make an outline for the organization of my paper. After this I was able to reorganize the information in a more comprehensive way. I also added titles to the paper to make it flow better for readers. After that was done it was time for me to write my conclusion. I struggled with this step because I knew I had to synthesize all the information I had discussed in my paper. I worked with the writing lab and Kristen Nesbitt and finally finished my conclusion and the rough draft to my paper. I also worked with my dad who gave me some really constructive writing feedback.

It was really helpful to work alongside Emily, Olivia, and Kingsley who are also doing concentrations. It felt good to be surrounded by peers who were going through the same process and we could give each other advice. We spent most of our time in the library, but when it was nice out (and not too buggy) we worked outside together on Sally porch. It was also really helpful to work with Heidi Thoma in the library who was always available to give us feedback. 

I am really proud of the work I got done this week. I think I managed my time well so I wasn’t too overwhelmed at the last minute. I knew how to chunk out my time into more manageable pieces… When I finally finished my rough draft and sent it into the committee I felt relieved but also really proud of myself. This paper is an accumulation of work I have been doing for almost a year and it feels so good to see it all come together. Next week I look forward to my public demo and exit interview.