Driving Question: How do I craft the story of my learning?
At first, I found this project harder than I expected. The goal was to create a personal podcast about a meaningful experience—something that challenged me or shaped me in some way. But to be honest, I don’t have many “bad” or dramatic experiences. I live in North Vancouver, and I’m lucky to live a pretty comfortable life. So I struggled to come up with a topic that felt big enough or emotional enough to be worth sharing.
After thinking about it for a while, I ended up switching ideas. I chose to tell the story of how I got into rowing, and how I went from being a total beginner in grade 8 to making noticeable progress and focusing on improving myself. The focus for me wasn’t the external recognition or awards—it was about how I shifted my mindset to improve day by day, even when the results weren’t immediate. I realized that progress is often gradual, and the important thing is to keep pushing yourself forward, even if it’s just a little each day. Over time, I started realizing that rowing was less about competing with others and more about competing with myself. The biggest reward wasn’t winning—it was seeing myself improve, week by week.
That said, this wasn’t my best project. I turned in my script late, which meant I couldn’t get feedback on it. Then, during the week we were supposed to record, I got sick and had to delay everything even more. I ended up recording over spring break, and by that point, I felt behind and rushed. I struggled with GarageBand, had little time to edit, and didn’t revise as much as I normally would. I could’ve avoided some of these problems if I had planned my time better and stayed on top of things from the start.
Even though the final product didn’t turn out the way I wanted, I still learned something important. I was reminded how crucial time management is, especially when things don’t go as planned. I also realized that sometimes the journey—of slowly improving yourself and learning from setbacks—is just as valuable, if not more so, than the end result. This project didn’t meet my expectations, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t learn from it. I learned about managing deadlines, how setbacks are inevitable but not permanent, and how growth is a continuous process. I didn’t hit my own expectations for this project, but the experience taught me about handling delays, pushing through frustration, and focusing on the long-term picture of self-improvement.
Next time, I’d give myself more room to revise, set better timelines, and ask for help sooner when things start to slip. While I’m not proud of how this project turned out, I know I’ve gained some valuable insights that I can apply to future projects.