Because I Can #presentation

Hey guys, I apologise for my recent disappearance and silence. Let’s just say that between managing my final school project and my only freelance project right now, there hasn’t been much time or energy left for anything else. But on this nice, fresh (I got my 8 solid hours of sleep) presentation morning, I am happy to share that I am feeling very well prepared for the presentation of my final school project. The last one before I finally “graduate” from the course. Here’s a few snapshots of my presentation slide deck that I have created using Canva.

I did one and the only one rehearsal last night to ensure that my timing is within the time limit. It is a good thing that I was able to run through my slide deck in just under/around 15:00. That leaves me with a comfortable 5 minutes to conduct a live demo.

If for some odd reason I do face technical difficulties during my presentation, I always have something to fall back on with the video recording that I’ve made yesterday. Personally, I do prefer a live demo of the interactive prototype that I have worked on. Think of it as the final finishing touches on my presentation. Hopefully, it would help me to secure that “A” that I really wanted. Perhaps the only “A” I’m ever gonna get out of this entire one year part-time post-dip course.

I’ll be back to share more updates later today.

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Back at Home #stoned 😵

Today officially marks the final day of our part-time post-diploma course in UX Design & Management. As I’m sitting here reflecting on my journey getting here, the only thing I can think of is how grateful I am that I didn’t give up last year when I felt the urge/temptation to leave the course. Since then, things have only gotten tougher, and frankly, I don’t think anybody would blame me if I had decided to leave the course. But I chose not to leave.

Being a Finisher

The one thing that honestly kept me going is this thought about wanting to be a finisher. As someone that also struggles with ADHD, one of my biggest struggles is to stick with long-term commitments. And this one-year course falls squarely within that category. I kept reminding myself along the way that it is much easier for us to start something new, maybe exciting even. But it is sticking with it and finishing it that ultimately tells other who we really are. Not to speak badly behind other people’s back, but today, for the most important school day of the entire course, one of our classmates decided to miss the final project presentation (reasons unknown). I’m not going to sit here and judge because maybe she can’t be there for some genuine reasons. Fact. Because she missed today’s presentation, according to one of our lecturers today, she is most likely to also fail the course and have to come back next year to finish the course again.

Regardless of how others might choose to conduct themselves, I believe that we shouldn’t be distracted by what others might or might not do. Ultimately, at the end of the day, the only person we need to be accountable to is ourselves. We can lie to others, but we can never lie to ourselves. It is why I wanted to stick with it even when things got really tough for a while back there.

HOW We Finish Also Matters.

The other thought that quickly came to my mind is also this. It’s not enough to just finish something that we started. For many people, when we finish something, we’re simply going through the motion. Maybe in the context of a course like mine, there will always be those that are just there to cruise through the course. They are only aiming to “pass” their modules instead of aiming to do their very best.

And I knew that I have a choice. I could choose to simply cruise through like them, or I can decide to make the most of this opportunity and push myself to see just how far I can go. And today, this final project has proven that I definitely have what it takes. I just have to want it badly enough to work harder than my peers.

As I sat down to watch my classmates deliver their presentations, I felt myself smiling on the inside. This quiet smile on the inside isn’t one born of arrogance. Rather, it is a form of quiet confidence and validation because I realized at the end of the day that I was the only one that managed to finish my presentation without rushing through at the end, and I was also the only one that had a smooth live demo of my working prototype. I knew by that fact that I have already exceeded all expectations today. As a part-time student, I have managed to raise the bar on what is possible when compared to the work of all the top past year students. How do I know that? Well, as a practice, before the start of every single assignment and project, our lecturers would often share some of the past year student’s work as a reference point. They would say, “This is what our past top students have done.”

So, it is in that context that I knew that my work for this final project has far exceeded what those past top students have done for the same final project (despite not having a full-on design background).

And so, that is how I want to end this course. I wanted to go out on my terms. I didn’t want to simply “cruise through it”. If I’m going to invest my time and energy into doing something, I want to make sure that I can produce nothing but the best possible result (not to compare with others, but according to my own effort and standards).

Applying the Same Attitude to Everything Else in My Life

So, now that I am finally at the tail end of this journey (yes, we still have a final submission deck to upload by this Sunday night), I am thinking about how I want to continue applying that same attitude to everything else that I do in my life. Everything ranging from taking care of my parents, the house we live in, and to my work as a freelancer. That is my aim. I know it can be done. So I have to live by it. That is the only way I want people to know who I am.