So far my senior project has been amazing. I have been able to thrive with so much time on my hand, and without the presence of school, I am way less stressed. Much of the first two weeks of my work was very focused around the Illusion Hills release, which was Monday, April 11. I constantly had work leading up to it, making sure everything was in place as far as the press went, while as I began to get more involved with the group I took on a larger role, which basically means I have more day-to-day responsibilities. All of the work has really paid off, and we have seen enormous support on the release. As of Thursday we received eight articles from blogs and more support in the form of playlisting and social shares, with only more to come. This has not only been a huge success for right now, but also tremendous build up to what is yet to come later this year, and I’m so excited for and proud of the group.
During those weeks, I fell out of touch with my writing compared to what I’m usually used to. While I was still doing as much as normal, my head was constantly in a million different directions. However, since the release, I’ve had a lot less anxiety and really been able to tap back in with what I love – writing. I wrote my first full album review in a long time, something that I just haven’t had the time to do in the last month. I love being able to dive deep into an album and dissect every part of it, and although I don’t always have the time for it, I cherish it when I do. I also attended a couple live concerts and was able to practice a part of my work that I don’t do often, in concert reviews. It’s a whole different form of journalism, yet I feel as though I have a good sense for what it is now.
The biggest discovery I’ve found is everything I’m doing right now is so rewarding. Not only do I love every second of it, but it’s helping so many others achieve their goals through the support I can give them in their careers. None of it ever feels like a hassle, it just feels like I’m doing what I love. That being said, I have been constantly busy, something that I have been able to manage better with each day.
My expectations going forward are different in the fact that I know I will be doing a lot more work overall than I expected. This may not take the form in writing, but my day-to-day life working with Illusion Hills is much greater than I could’ve known. I love what I am doing with them so much and enjoy putting in all the hours because I know it’s going to see them grow so much. I’m looking forward to sharing in the future blog posts more in depth about the support we have seen.