Final Reflection:

• • This is a double-length reflection
  • Please see the attached document: Senior Project 2021 Final Critical Reflection Prompts. This reflection is an in-depth look back at the past 6 weeks in particular, but can also address aspects of Senior Project that took place before the experiential portion of your project. Take your time with these prompts, think deeply, write down responses or talk them through with a peer or adult, and try to answer as many of these as possible with detail. These questions are designed to help you reflect on your process and also to move you towards an understanding of what you want to share with your audience on Senior Project Evening. Re-read all your previous documentation posts, including your previous Critical Reflections.
  • Some general helpful prompts may be:
    • How has your essential question changed throughout the 6 weeks?
    • What did you expect to learn and how does that compare to what you did learn?
    • How do you anticipate this experience changing you or affecting you going forward?
    • What do you most want others to know about your SP Experience?

My 2021 senior project was based on my essential question: What can the personal stories of veterans give me that a book/article cannot? And by listening to experiences of war in the eyes of veterans, what commonalities fall within each of their stories?

Although I’ve managed to finish my senior project and am now able to answer my essential question, I was never really told how life-changing my project was going to be for me. I’d been told since the beginning of even idea-generating senior project, to follow instructions. How to complete each step of the process with a certain deadline and do everything I was expected to do in a particular way. The senior project teachers told us that the senior project revolved around this idea of answering this “essential question”. But I’d never even thought for one moment that senior project would be more than this “essential question” of any kind. Trying to answer some essential questions is not anywhere as meaningful as just following the passion that your project means to you. If you allow yourself to work the way you want to work and take these 6 weeks to not only learn more about your interests but also yourself, then you have truly completed senior project.

Of course, I understand that answering an essential question is an important part of the project and can very much be a helpful guide for oneself, I believe a senior project is more about learning about yourself. Learning how you work best, learning how you can be more of an adult, and be able to make a schedule that works for you. And as we move on to college, and choose to study what we one day hope to become, just like this project, it shows you how much more exciting learning can be when you enjoy it to the fullest.

I couldn’t imagine everything I’d actually learn and achieve by the end of these six weeks of the senior project. I know it might sound cheesy or that I am simply saying this because it’s the final reflection, but I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.

I really do not think I was prepared for how I would come out of this project genuinely becoming somewhat of a new person. I feel like I have learned so much about myself that I hadn’t known before. I’ve learned about myself as a learner, and how much I really do value the gift of storytelling and how important building connections really means. I’ve learned how to see life through the eyes of another and how lucky we are to be able to do so.

In my project, I was able to hear experiences of different people of various generations. But within each one of them, I’d noticed this common idea within all they would say, that to to go to war, truly shows you the value of life.

13. What is the one thing you want your audience to learn or understand from your presentation on Senior Project Evening?

If I could have the audience understand one thing from what I’ve learned through this senior project, it would be that every person has a story to tell and the only way to change perspectives is by hearing those stories from the people themselves.

In seeing through the eyes of a storyteller, whether it’s the author of a book, the host of a podcast, but most significantly, the words of a veteran themself, a personal connection of any kind can allow you to feel empathy and therefore see life a new way.

What struck me most that I hadn’t expected is that new perspectives and connection with another doesn’t happen unless you make that decision to reach out to them. And reaching out can allow you to learn such amazing things about a person and will show you how reaching out to someone is such an important step in developing new narratives on any matter.

14. How might you demonstrate your learning?

I have actually decided & begun working on my final project this weekend. I worked out an idea that I am so excited to pursue.

While also including my love of art, I am going to do an art project inspired by my favorite artist Vik Muniz. My art project will be a painting of an American flag on a large canvas that I will cover with a collage of small, ripped-up red magazine pieces, and on each white stripe include quotes directly from the veterans I interviewed. My project is a bit hard to explain through words but if you look at some of Vik Muniz’s work it will give you a good idea of what I am going for.