Mid-Year Senior Reflection

1. I have completed all my Walkabout assignments so far. This includes the Walkabout Proposal, the research paper, and the presentation.

2. NA

3. The aspect I am most excited about regarding Walkabout is the chance to experience life without school surroundings. I feel that Walkabout is like a preview of the responisbility and maturity we will have once we embark on our life paths, whether it be after high school or college. This is an opportunity to step away from the inside of a classroom and experience new and different things. I will have to take account for my own actions without a guiding hand to walk me through the undiscovered. That is both an exciting and slightly scary idea.

4. Though I am not venturing into another country as some of my classmates, the vintage store I will be interning at is still quite new territory. Adapting to a new place and learning its routines always involves risks. Some more risks I can think of right off the top of my head are that I have never dealt in retail before, and I have never had to learn the merchandise of a store. My friendliness and cooperation are at all times needed, and also the fact that both the store owners and the customers will be depending on me for assistance and reliability. That, too, is something new that I will have to adjust to- learning to yield to other's needs.

5. I would like the continuing support of my friends and family, of course. I don't doubt that there will be days that I am so bone tired I just want to give up, and this is when I will need them the most. My mother nagging at me to post a blog every once in a while would be a great help in my more ADD moments. Also, I will definitely need the assistance and support from my employers. I will expect them to answer questions patiently, explain things to me if I don't immeditately understand, teach me new things and allow me to expand my knowledge through the different experiences I hope they will provide for me.

6. I think that I have done pretty well in senior seminar this year. I tried my best to listen and understand what my teacher/mentor was trying to teach me every Tuesday. I really think that I was succesful in participating and following directions, for although I am shy I knew that it depended on my grade to occasionally speak up about things. I was on task, and I wasn't late with anything- if I didn't have a printed copy I had an email already sent to Amy. I required no extra time for the proposal or research paper, and I followed the directions as closely as possible. Therefore, it is my opinion that I deserve an Exceeding Expectations in the English aspect of senior seminar.

7. My 1st semester experiential site work wasn't all that I thought it would be, and though it got very hard to cope with much of the time, I still went and did the duties that were assigned to me. Eventually I got into a routine, and gained the trust of my mentors at Flavors of India. Though there were certain demands given to me that I found ridiculous and left me extremelt tired at the end of the day, I worked through it and made no complaints. I know that sometimes life is hard, and you can't just quit when it starts to become that way; that is the reason I stayed for so long, when others remarked over the work given me and the fact that I could switch. It wasn't an altogether horrible experience, although one of the owners talked down to me a lot and didn't acknowledge my growth and knowledge of the store and the way it was handled. I learned the routine of opening, the menu, the cash register, how to make ginger lemonades and how to answer any questions a customer might have. The other workers and one of the owners were very nice and always offered food and rest when I looked tired. I attended senior seminar most every time and was always on task, always ready with questions if I had them, and assignements if they had been assigned. Therefore, I believe that I deserve an EE for both the seminar and the site aspect.

First Post

I am a senior at the graham school and I am ready to begin. Only 15 days away, and my birthday's the same day! On February 6 I will go to Mad4Mod, at 12 or later, as we've already discussed the plans [Jason, the owner, and I]. It is on High Street, in between Como and Longview, and just two blocks from my house. Mad4Mod opens at 12 and closes at 5, and I will be going every Wednesday through Sunday, maybe even staying later and locking up, cleaning the store, etc.

Jason and Lara will teach me how to sell, mend clothing, and I will be arranging furniture, store displays, and clothing on the racks. I will learn how to guide customers and sell quickly and efficiently. I will learn the store inside and out and be able to distinguish different eras of clothing pieces and how to tell whether a piece is authentic or not. I will still continue modeling the clothes on Sundays for Ebay, and if i'm lucky i'll get store credit. I really look forward to Walkabout!