Time to Reflect

I cannot effectively convey how incredibly relieved I am to be done with this entire project!

Before the presentation, I was so nervous. I wasn't sure if I was ready, even though I had been practicing for two weeks and had a really good practice run with Mrs. Haag on Thursday. So I paced around the gym for a nit, got in the zone, stumbled a little, but ultimately made it through my presentation. I think I effectively conveyed the information and kept the audience engaged. I also think I did well giving specific answers to my oral defense questions.

But now the project is over.
What do I do?

I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, but also this was one of the only things that has kept me on a schedule and responsive for deadlines. Also, I think having this project the third trimester has made me work on something school related, and therefore is keeping my skills from completely deteriorating. 

Besides this life reflection (cue existential crisis), I am also amazed at what I accomplished this year. 

I went from... 

I distinctly remember showing up at the beginning and saying "yeah I am thinking something biology or film related." That is literally all I knew. And now I have submitted a huge paper and talked for 15 minutes about a project that I did. 

A few things I really found helpful this year were teacher resources, weekly meetings, and peer editing. My experience with the teachers I worked with was amazing and to be honest, I probably should have used them more. They were extremely willing to help, and got so excited about my project. I think this is one thing to take advantage of with the research process because BASIS teachers (and I think people in general) are passionate about what they do, so if you approach someone with a good attitude and ask for opinions, advice, or even help with a situation, they are generally willing to give some type of feedback if not even more individual time. This was a huge learning point for me, since I generally don't like to approach people. I often fear I am wasting their time, but I needed help, and when I received that feedback it was amazing. 

Weekly meetings with Mrs. Haag kept me on task this year. She was amazing at keeping up with progress and setting goals. I think the personal attention we received was so helpful especially when we have such a long time and nothing else to do, it is easy to push it off. But breaking the project down helped lessen the procrastination and also increase the effort put into each part. 

Peer editing was also extremely helpful. Personally, I love helping people edit. I enjoy reading projects and immersing myself in the thought process of others. On the flip side, it is really helpful to have someone else point those logical gaps and confusing areas, to improve such a big project. 

When looking back on the project I think the most stressful time was the data collection. It felt like this was the most rushed. The literature review was also difficult, but we had such a long time to work on it and break it down. One thing that was also frustrating about the lit review was writing it like three times. If I had to give one piece of advice to a student taking research, it would be to prepare to constantly adjust your project and paper.

Overall, this has been an amazing year in AP Research and I am reluctant to say goodbye. But I know that we are off to do even more amazing things. So here's to the research students of 2017!