It’s fair to say that after any experience, the most valuable component comes from reflection. As I begin this course and even came to the possibility of taking it, I felt relatively comfortable due to my experience working in the Office of Admissions. Throughout this course however, I have been challenged in many ways that required uncomfortable growth that I know I can use in the future.
It all started with the website. Now to me I thought this assignment was actually going to be relatively easy and honestly, not require too much extra effort. Big mistake, I’m telling you. I definitely felt challenged in my skill within WordPress, as it seemed more similar to a coding and analyst perspective, versus the creative mindset I so often worked in. It took quite a bit of practice to master those controls – anything from inserting drop down menus and buttons, to underlining just the right thing or getting just the right button connected to the right blog. I did find it getting easier and easier eventually, but the process required me to constantly click around, try new things, and seek experts’ opinions.
Now not all journeys include only difficulty, hardships, and challenges. Some in fact spark a passion that you never knew was there, creating another dedication to the final product. For me, this was blog writing. I have always loved writing in general, especially through my high school and most of my college career. For a chance to write about my personal opinions and in a light hearted tone with a little humor, I was all in from the start. I loved my time I was able to spend writing blogs to those who would (or would not) read content on my website. I believe this was a great simulation to get yourself in the habit of writing for audiences in that way. I found myself also challenged to write in a way that was conversational, but wasn’t necessarily repetitive (especially since I say the same things all the time).
I found an old love through our assignments based in design principles. As you’ve all been able to see, design is what I love! Whether it’s the different colors and objects, use of images, blank space, or repetition through a design, I have loved being able to see these all in a digital sense and how it corresponds together. I am a firm believer that visual communication alone can change the world, especially within the digital age. Graphics and designs used for websites make content like this that much more priceless.
Through this course, if there was one specific thing I was able to gain, it was a medium for my creativity. For many years of my life I had always been deemed ‘creative’, but what do you do with that? As a child, it was things like drawing with markers and maybe painting, but not much more than that. To me, this is the classical medium I’ve always been looking for. Digital content development, writing, publication, and design provides its own set of challenges, two of the most important being time sensitivity and awareness of current trends. It was through the constant growing pains and new experiences of that course that I feel equipped to continue.
Pursuit of Purpose 