My Essential Question was “What does the future of engineering look like as our environment changes?” with a sub question of “Can I get a better understanding of the design process?”. I answered each part separately, and they led me down the path I wanted, but I think my phasing was off. Or maybe missing a piece, because as much as I wanted concrete results and answers I also wanted it to be more of an exploration of my abilities, and what I need to learn in order to be successful. While we were preparing for senior project, we were also thinking about college and I guess a bit of that “I want to be prepared” sentiment bled through anyways, but I guess I wish I had built that into my questions. But at the same time, these set me up well. Each part was based on something concrete that I could do to achieve a quasi answer, so my expectations were set in a realistic place. For that reason I think I achieve at least some semblance of what I wanted. I gained perspective on something outside myself with research, and learned a bit about myself as a student — where my knowledge stands and how I learn — as well. I got experience in design, and saw the places I needed to work on, and I got a feel for what engineering could turn into. I think for me that was more than enough. Familiarizing myself with things I was completely new to so I would know what to expect is a huge step for me, and gave me a bit of confidence in my abilities as well as some peace of mind for my future. For example I taught myself to solve a circuit. It’s small, I know, but it gave me the sense that if I spent enough time on something eventually something would click. I previously mentioned college, I should have specified that I was thinking about the anxiety surrounding it. The nervousness is still there, but it’s a bit less overpowering now. 

Of course, there were challenges, forcing myself to stay on top of work has never been a strong suit, I’ve always been more of a “do it the night before” kind of person, but I think I did well to mitigate my procrastination tendencies. I came up with strategies that actually really worked to keep me focused. I had a plan and I followed it. Plus, it didn’t hurt that I could work at any hour of the day (I’m more of a night owl so this helped). I did start to run out of steam by the end, but I managed so it’s all good.  I’m not gonna lie, there were no huge moral or philosophical questions that arose from this, but it did end up deepening some confusion about which major I wanna choose in college. I was pretty set on choosing between two specific ones, but as I learned more, there was more I became interested in. I guess that was to be expected. I have about a year to decide, however, so I’m not too pressed for time. I’m glad I had this experience.