Culminating Blog Reflection

Culminating Blog Reflection

          Throughout the project, I had used critical thinking as a tool to be able to work professionally and proficiently. I used all the information I know and applied it in the most effective way possible to the project that me and my mentor had worked on, which happened to be a website. I practiced the basics of the softwares that we had to use such as Adobe Photoshop, and Dreamweaver even before we started the project. Eventhough my mentor was my sister's acquaintance, I thought that it would be hard for me to set meeting and appointments with him since he's a family guy. But no, he was actually pretty cool, which allowed me to communicate easily with him. I was pretty comfortable with my mentor. In fact, whenever I got questions to ask him regarding what and how to use something, he would always be there and exchanging ideas with me. During the project, I would give the first thoughts and he would add ideas or, if my idea was bad, change it, then ask my opinion about it. I thought that it was nice to work on something hands-on. Unlike the other things that we do in school, working with a mentor is such a wonderful experience because you get to express yourself. I was able to use my creativity most of the time if not always as we decorated and designed the website that we worked on. It was really a good feeling seeing how your own work looks like and how beautiful it is for something that was done by an amateur. 

          I have learned a lot of things personally, socially, and intellectually throughout the whole process of the Capstone Project. I'd say that I have become more confident with myself  and with my abilities. At first, I was actually not paying attention and giving interest to the project. But then, as I started doing it and surprisingly enjoying it, I realized that it's the real deal. It made me love the job that I want to do in the future even more. I saw how much effort my mentor puts on the project and it made me feel embarassed because I wasn't being so cooperative. He opened my eyes that in the real world, you can't procrastinate. I've learned how to be more responsible with the tasks that are given to me. Not only as I work by myself, but also with a team or a partner. He told me that in the industry that I'm going to go into most of the time I would be working with someone if not a team. He taught me that in order for a team to be productive, we all have to talk and throw ideas, we have to socialize and give our thoughts and opinions about things. I remember how my mentor would tell me "It's not just about the doing, it's also about the talking". It was a good experience because it molded me to become more mature and I learned how to take others' comments and opinions in a good way that I could benefit from it. I've learned that getting upset would only make frustrations worse. I've improved my ability to make judgements on any negative and positive circumstances that I might encounter everyday and use it to develop my skills as I enter the working world. All in all, I'm now more ready to challenge myself to go out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to go beyond my capabilities.

          In everything, it's almost impossible to not encounter any problem. As I was doing the Capstone Project, I had encountered a lot of trials and difficulties, which, as I said in the previous paragraph, I was able to take positively. One of the biggest problem that I experienced was my self procrastinating and being so lazy. It really taught me a lot of things. Eventhough I was procrastinating, believe it or not, I was also worried about it because I knew that it might cause my mentor losing interest in helping me out. I had to think deeply and ask my self questions on how I'm going to fulfill and reach my dreams if I can't even do this project. That really poked me and push me to start meeting with my mentor. Although at some point I still procrastinated, yet I was able to at least lessen that habit. Another problem was my transportation to meet my mentor. It was not that hard to resolve it but it held our schedules back. We could've gotten the project done if this did not become an issue. Anyways, what I did was I would ask my mom when she's free to drive me to my mentor's house. There are also times when my mentor would pick me up and drive me back home. As an amateur, I also struggled using all the softwares that we had to use to make the website. I didn't have any background to it except the study I did before actually starting on the project. It helped me a lot but some of the tools that the softwares have to offer were pretty complicated to use. Frustrations were everywhere everytime I encounter something that I can't resolve. At first, I was shy to ask. But as what my mentor had told me, "it's also about the talking". I always hated asking too many questions then I realized that if I wouldn't, who would? I'll say that those problems that a trainee might encounter are just like military bootcamp obstacles that they would have to go through in order to develop their skills and become the general they want to be.