So over the past week I have been writing in my journal every night, looking at alternative reflective journal styles. These were quite challenging, especially if my day was quite boring and I had to really rack my brains to decipher something interesting out of it!
Description
I found this quite mundane to do. Stating events that happened without clarity gave no real meaning to my day.
Initial Reflection
I felt at my most comfortable in this task as I can be very reflective and expressive when I get going! I found it extremely therapeutic to grasp what I was feeling and why I was feeling it.
List
I make lists all the time; things I have to do, new make up products or clothes to purchase, but all are insignificant. I downloaded the app 'Listography', and the first thing it asks you is to list 5 things you would like to do in your lifetime. It also asked you to think about what you most appreciate in your life, which I found very positive and uplifting to think about. It made me grateful for the precious things I have in my life and what I take for granted on a day to day basis. It was a real eye opener for me.
Evaluation
This was extremely challenging for me, as I am not used to evaluating my day in such depth. This particular day at work was very quiet and it wasn't easy to look back and try and establish what I discovered and what I had learnt.
Graphs, charts and diagrams
This was a very new concept for me as I couldn't grasp how I could relate my day to pie charts and graphs! I looked into "My life in graphs: a guided journal." I have no idea if I am on the right track but I think my first attempt at a graph clearly states what I am feeling:
I was very over emotional and stressed on this day (as you can see!) from the vast amount of uni work I face before my trip to Barcelona next week, and as a perfectionist I put an awful amount of pressure on myself to complete and meet deadlines. I am dedicating all of my spare time to the BAPP course, and inevitably my freedom and 'fun' in my life is taking a back seat. Nonetheless, I am determined to succeed, and will do whatever it takes!
What if?
I delved into my mind and asked myself, what would I love to happen? Easy. I couldn't stop my hand from writing! It would definitely be to be apart of Matthew Bourne's company. Recurring injuries have stopped me from dancing and auditioning in the past two years, and I miss it so much. I would love more than anything to be apart of this vibrant, versatile and inspiring company. How would I react? It would be pure ecstasy and I can't even put into words how I would feel. Dancers train from a very young age to be at the top of their game and sometimes that isn't enough to secure a job. There is so much talent to compete against and sometimes it is just unobtainable to achieve your dreams.
Another view
This seemed difficult at first, but amusing once I began writing. I imagined I was a daily cup of coffee that I buy before or during my lunch hour at work ( I am obsessed with coffee!). The anticipation before we meet, the moment of joy went we set sights on each other and the relief once I have taken my first sip! It made me realise how dependant I am on coffee and maybe I should cut down a bit!!
In conclusion, I established that looking into alternative reflective journal styles were both challenging and inspiring for me. I discovered that I need to be digging deeper into my reflective journal to really obtain the most out of my day and see evident progression throughout my thought process. The initial reflection style comes most naturally to me, but I want to step out of my comfort zone and concentrate on styles that I find more difficult, like evaluating more in depth and using spider diagrams to express my thoughts and ideas.
Katrina. x
Description
I found this quite mundane to do. Stating events that happened without clarity gave no real meaning to my day.
Initial Reflection
I felt at my most comfortable in this task as I can be very reflective and expressive when I get going! I found it extremely therapeutic to grasp what I was feeling and why I was feeling it.
List
I make lists all the time; things I have to do, new make up products or clothes to purchase, but all are insignificant. I downloaded the app 'Listography', and the first thing it asks you is to list 5 things you would like to do in your lifetime. It also asked you to think about what you most appreciate in your life, which I found very positive and uplifting to think about. It made me grateful for the precious things I have in my life and what I take for granted on a day to day basis. It was a real eye opener for me.
Evaluation
This was extremely challenging for me, as I am not used to evaluating my day in such depth. This particular day at work was very quiet and it wasn't easy to look back and try and establish what I discovered and what I had learnt.
Graphs, charts and diagrams
This was a very new concept for me as I couldn't grasp how I could relate my day to pie charts and graphs! I looked into "My life in graphs: a guided journal." I have no idea if I am on the right track but I think my first attempt at a graph clearly states what I am feeling:
I was very over emotional and stressed on this day (as you can see!) from the vast amount of uni work I face before my trip to Barcelona next week, and as a perfectionist I put an awful amount of pressure on myself to complete and meet deadlines. I am dedicating all of my spare time to the BAPP course, and inevitably my freedom and 'fun' in my life is taking a back seat. Nonetheless, I am determined to succeed, and will do whatever it takes!
What if?
I delved into my mind and asked myself, what would I love to happen? Easy. I couldn't stop my hand from writing! It would definitely be to be apart of Matthew Bourne's company. Recurring injuries have stopped me from dancing and auditioning in the past two years, and I miss it so much. I would love more than anything to be apart of this vibrant, versatile and inspiring company. How would I react? It would be pure ecstasy and I can't even put into words how I would feel. Dancers train from a very young age to be at the top of their game and sometimes that isn't enough to secure a job. There is so much talent to compete against and sometimes it is just unobtainable to achieve your dreams.
Another view
This seemed difficult at first, but amusing once I began writing. I imagined I was a daily cup of coffee that I buy before or during my lunch hour at work ( I am obsessed with coffee!). The anticipation before we meet, the moment of joy went we set sights on each other and the relief once I have taken my first sip! It made me realise how dependant I am on coffee and maybe I should cut down a bit!!
In conclusion, I established that looking into alternative reflective journal styles were both challenging and inspiring for me. I discovered that I need to be digging deeper into my reflective journal to really obtain the most out of my day and see evident progression throughout my thought process. The initial reflection style comes most naturally to me, but I want to step out of my comfort zone and concentrate on styles that I find more difficult, like evaluating more in depth and using spider diagrams to express my thoughts and ideas.
Katrina. x
Katrina - good talking with you today. Your last blog explained the professional diary you used to 'learn' dance steps while working as a dancer - really interesting to compare that to the current journal work - and perhaps the earlier diary you used while studying Ballet. It will be interesting to see how this one develops the 'self'. Yes I agree with you about Schon - I look forward to your blogs about using these learning 'theories but also about how this thinking relates to the active networking you have maintained. Bw
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