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The tricky thing about progress is that for many people it may not be linear.

Any of us can think of someone we know who is incredibly talented, the scienti st, the
musician, the athlete. And someti mes we probably wish we had been born with some
type of gift , right?

But I keep in my mind that even if I don’t have the talent, it doesn’t mean that I can’t get
bett er at something. I make sure that the lack of talent isn’t my excuse for not getti ng
bett er at something or acquiring a completely new skillset.

Self-assessment is a valuable learning tool because through this, we can identi fy our own
skill gaps, where our knowledge is weak, and track our own progress. As media writers,
there are qualiti es we need to have, qualiti es that we need to work on. Aft er learning the
ten qualiti es that a media writer should possess, I rate myself as follows:

(1 being the highest/excellent and 5 being the least)

1. Curious or inquisiti ve 1
2. Intelligent 2
3. Industrious 3
4. Resourceful 1
5. Persevering 1
6. Imaginati ve 1
7. Puts a premium on accuracy and truth 2
8. Loves to read 2
9. Interested in and loves people 2
10. Service-oriented 1
Among the qualiti es listed, being industrious is the quality that I need to work on the
most. Now that I'm in college, I knew how important it is to choose my spare ti me
acti viti es in a manner that enhances my brain functi on, instead of reducing it. In a
generati on where entertainment means playing on our phones or browsing on Facebook,
it's really a challenge to have and maintain this quality all the ti me. Almost everything is
given to us, almost everything is provided. That's a good thing but the best thing I can do
is to use this as a reason and inspirati on to manage my acti viti es wisely and to allot my
ti me in producti ve acti viti es and hobbies.

Given my rati ngs, are you wondering what keeps me from getti ng that 1.00 self-rati ng?
There are two challenges or obstacles that keeps me from developing these qualiti es. One
is the infl ux of entertainment like Netf lix, Hulu, HBO Go, applicati ons that made
entertainment easily accessible that I don’t need to leave my dorm room to fi nd
enjoyment and allot hundreds of hours to watch diff erent genres of movies. Second is
the social media, texti ng and chatti ng, or social media lurking have become the most
common types of communicati on for my generati on and it's really a challenge to stop
scrolling your newsfeed or story because it never ends.

Aside from qualiti es, as media writers, there are also skills needed.

There are fi ve skills a Media Writer should possess. And I rate myself as follows:

1. Gathering data 2
2. Validati ng and clarifying informati on 3
3. Organizing informati on 1
4. Writi ng clearly and eff ecti vely 2
5. Profi ciency in the operati on of communicati on tools/devices 2

Among the skills listed, the organizati on of informati on is the skill which I developed the
highest competency. I come from an organized family, so I was raised to be an organized
person as well. I keep my desk clean, our house is neat, and I keep track of what I need to
accomplish and when. This involves ranking the tasks and acti viti es in terms of
importance and I’m doing this to avoid experiencing the frustrati on associated with not
being able to locate a specifi c thing. Every day, I organize informati on. Overti me, this
quality became natural for me. And I think it is great because it’s important to know the
place and locati on of informati on when it is needed to in order to provide a smooth
transiti on.

And the skill I need to work on the most to develop is validati ng and clarifying
informati on. It's very easy nowadays to share informati on on social media platf orms like
Twitt er and Facebook, almost anyone can publish their thoughts and share their stories to
the world. Most of the people don't check the source of the material that they view
online before they share it, which can lead to fake news spreading quickly. It becomes
harder for me to identi fy the source of news stories, parti cularly on the internet because
of the growing number of people who spread fake news and alternati ve facts.

Self-assessment is the capacity to examine ourselves, to see how much progress we have
made. Aft er doing this I realize that the aim of self-assessment is to assist the person
to understand the extent of his or her skills and enhance them without the need for a
perfect one.

I always keep in my mind that if it’s knowledge, it can be acquired.  If it’s a skill, it can be
learned or improved. Even if I don’t have the talent or IQ of a genius, I can get really
bett er at almost anything I want in life. It might take a lot of willpower, persistence and
deliberate practi ce, but I can do it. There’s nothing that can stop me, if I am determined
enough.

Someti mes life forces us into a situati on where we must acquire new skills. When it
happens, let’s accept that, don’t resist, and improve ourselves.

Let’s keep a journal if we can. It’s great to be able to go back and see how we’ve
progressed over the years.