Dear Mr. Igoe,
I chose to do my senior english project on yoga because I have known a lot of people who practice yoga. Before attending Lawrence Academy yoga was not in any way a part of my life but after coming to LA my mom started practicing, I took a few classes at my local gym and I even did yoga as my sport sophomore year. I knew about yoga as an exercise in general but I become curious with the roots of yoga and the benefits while I was taking classes. So although yoga was not the first idea to pop into my mind when brainstorming topics, as soon as I landed upon it, my curiosity was sparked. I was also curious about yoga because as of late, it has become a big part of society with more and more people realizing miraculous facts about it so part of me also wanted to see why people were suddenly so fascinated with it.
This project resonates with me because I am not a very good athlete and that's always been a little discouraging for me but I really like that I have found an activity where you are getting exercise that I have enjoyed so much and I've not been terrible at it. I think it also resonates with me because sports for students will end at some point but I can continue with yoga throughout my whole life and I find that fascinating. I've seen people still practice yoga when they're in their 70s and they seem as healthy as can be so part of me hopes that will be me in the far future. Lastly, my mom is really into dieting and exercise and even though I don't practice yoga often, I feel like when I do yoga, my mom can be happy with the exercise choices I make.
I had a lot of success in getting people to participate in my project which falls into the organization, speaking and listening skills. When I asked people to perform for my video, most of the time they wanted to without hesitations. I also had success with directions being followed for my videos. My speaking must have been clear because most times they could follow directions and get the task done the first time. I also listened well to what the people thought they could and could not do as far as yoga stretches. The video overall was a large success of mine. I fell short when it came to writing. I thought my book would make up for my lack of writing and I was even excited to do so but the size of my book was so small that I really could not fit much writing in. I needed to make room for the demonstrations and the reviews in my book so the writing came second and it did not turn out as well as it could have. Looking back, I really wish I had more time to write either poems or short stories because I really could have had a lot of fun with that because that is something I love to do! I improved under the skill of thinking because in the beginning of this project I had one set task in mind and I thought I knew all the steps I needed to take in order to get there but as one can tell from looking at my calendar, a lot has been different. I have had to problem solve for things that didn't work and reschedule plans that fell through. My end piece is not at all what I originally planned for it to be but it shows that my thinking skill has developed because I have worked through the hard parts.
I don't think there's anything more to really continue with as far as this project goes. I would like to be able to convince people to try yoga and tell them why it would be good for them in general and there is always a reason it would be good for anyone. If I have more questions about yoga and the benefits and about the 'whys' then I will continue with small doses of research but as far as solid plans, I want to take a yoga class once a week at college just because I know now what it can do for me and all the special advantages people can have from doing it. So I plan on continuing with practicing yoga for hopefully a long time.
My favorite part of this terms work was definitely making the videos. As I said earlier, it turned out to be a very enjoyable and easy experience. People took directions easily and I could give them easily. I also liked using my creative mind to put the video together and explore all different aspects of iMovie. I had fun with it and I think it turned out nice. I can't wait to share it at capstone night. I've always had an interest in creating video and putting it together so I am very happy I chose to incorporate a video part into this project.
My least favorite part of this term was the reading. I am sad to say that I did not finish all of the book but I tried so hard. It's not that the book wasn't interesting, because it certainly was but for some reason I always felt like reading was last on my list and I could never get around to doing it, which stressed me out immensely. I might read the book in the future when I have enough time simply because I am curious about what it has to say. It says it is the first unbiased book on yoga so even that just captures my attention.
What I would tell students for next year is to have fun with the project and don't feel like they need to do a paper or things they don't like to do because it will not be fun for them. I would tell them to be lenient with their schedule because most likely it will change and a big freak out regarding change of plans is not necessary. I also would tell them to set appropriate goals for themselves, not goals that they think their teacher or other students would want them to set because if they can not complete the goals, it is not in their control.
The most important truth I've learned about my working process is I work much better if I have an idea or an outline of what I'm doing rather then a 'whatever comes to my mind' approach. I tend to approach goals in the wrong manner and it stresses me out to the point where sometimes I can't accomplish them. So I've learned that to set goals, I need to focus on what I am capable of rather than what I think the teacher wants from me. I've learned that going astray from my schedule can sometimes work best for me because that way I don't have to be tied down to one idea that I may not actually want to do.
The most important truth I've learned about myself is that even if I have doubts about my ideas, I can always come thru and end up enjoying the topic if I let myself. I can pick things within the topic that speak to me and interest me. At first I didn't know what I could do as far as yoga went but I knew I wanted to do it and I finally let myself think of ways in which I can get benefits from the project. I need to accept my gut and go with what I have!
Sincerely, Hannah Cunningham
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