This week in AP Lit. we continued watching everyone's This I Believe videos. I thought each individual person's video was really good because it was their own. The more I thought about the videos the more it kind of bothered me that some people's videos were considered better than others. Each video may not have been personal to the people in the audience, but it was personal for the person who made it. And, from experience, it is not easy to be vulnerable like that. I just think it kind of sucks to be judged, graded, and evaluated based on something that is personal and emotional for you as an individual. I am pretty shy personally when it comes to talking or presenting in front of a class, so it was really difficult for me to come out with my video and be open with my classmates like I was. To be quite honest, I regret it now because I feel like since it wasn't necessarily something the class or anyone wanted to hear about, it was deemed "not as good" or "not good enough". And, people can argue that that is not true I suppose, but it's my opinion and I have valid reasons why I feel this way seeing as I did not receive a grade as good as my classmates which is fine and I was grouped with the "not the best" group of videos. (A group of videos were labeled the best and put out to the public as the better videos out of the videos that were submitted.)
However, I decided that I don't care about how other people view my video. It was hard for me to do, I put a ton of time and energy into it, I followed the rubric and did everything that was required of me and some, and I received compliments and encouragement from people outside of the project. I know what I am capable of and I feel as if my grade or my classmate's opinions on my video don't reflect my project's worth or mine as an individual. Being graded on this project or compared to other "better" projects doesn't really matter to me anymore because I know that there are people out there who are totally unconnected to the project who took the time to find mine on Youtube, watch it, appreciate it, and encourage/compliment/support me. So, I guess what I've learned from this project is that grades don't reflect growth at all and there will always be something that you put a ton of yourself into and it doesn't work out in your favor. You have to value what you do on your own instead of seeking validation from other people because the things that mean a lot to you, don't mean a lot to other people.
After experiencing Career Day this week and the assembly with the speaker, Troy McClain. I realized that I have to be proud of who I am and know that what other people say/think is not what is right. I am who I am and I work hard everyday to accomplish my goals. Sometimes I fall short of what I want to achieve, that's life. And, even worse, sometimes I fall short even when I did what I was supposed to. Most of the time in life we have zero control over what happens. We are judged and evaluated by people who don't know us or have the same ties to things as we do and it is not fair at all. I guess you just have to accept that what you believe as an individual is not what others believe, but you should never change that belief or value simply because your classmates or peers don't feel the same way.
However, I decided that I don't care about how other people view my video. It was hard for me to do, I put a ton of time and energy into it, I followed the rubric and did everything that was required of me and some, and I received compliments and encouragement from people outside of the project. I know what I am capable of and I feel as if my grade or my classmate's opinions on my video don't reflect my project's worth or mine as an individual. Being graded on this project or compared to other "better" projects doesn't really matter to me anymore because I know that there are people out there who are totally unconnected to the project who took the time to find mine on Youtube, watch it, appreciate it, and encourage/compliment/support me. So, I guess what I've learned from this project is that grades don't reflect growth at all and there will always be something that you put a ton of yourself into and it doesn't work out in your favor. You have to value what you do on your own instead of seeking validation from other people because the things that mean a lot to you, don't mean a lot to other people.
After experiencing Career Day this week and the assembly with the speaker, Troy McClain. I realized that I have to be proud of who I am and know that what other people say/think is not what is right. I am who I am and I work hard everyday to accomplish my goals. Sometimes I fall short of what I want to achieve, that's life. And, even worse, sometimes I fall short even when I did what I was supposed to. Most of the time in life we have zero control over what happens. We are judged and evaluated by people who don't know us or have the same ties to things as we do and it is not fair at all. I guess you just have to accept that what you believe as an individual is not what others believe, but you should never change that belief or value simply because your classmates or peers don't feel the same way.