Journal Reflection Prompt 1
Do you engage in archiving or self-reflective activities? Describe them.
Yes, I do engage in archiving and self-reflecting activities, although I never
labelled these activities until now. Reading about these made me realise we all
do reflect in small ways all the time, be it jotting our thoughts in the note’s app,
taking pictures of moments to remember them, screenshotting messages or
quotes. I now realise that when I was making up my mind about switching from
BCIS to BA, I went back to the pictures clicked of old notes, assignments, the
time me and my friends were in class or the after-class activities we did, etc.
which in a way was archiving.
Sometimes, without thinking about, I also save certain things such as texts which
made me feel good, photo from my first day or capturing a moment which just
seemed beautiful at that time. Looking back at these things makes me
remember the way I felt in those moments. Looking back at these small things
can make me realise something I would really need to feel at a particular
moment.
Why do you think reflection and archiving is important to your learning
right now?
I feel while everything is moving at such a fast pace, it is sometimes important to
slow it down for a moment or two and take time to reflect. It helps me see where
I’m headed in life and what are the next steps I want to take; not just
academically but personally too. It gives me time to reflect on what I am learning
or take some decisions on which we contemplate. Similarly archiving reminds me
how I have changed and grown out of the place I was in a few months back.
How do you see reflection and archiving showing up in your future
career settings?
I think in the future ahead, both reflection and archiving are going to be very
important. Wherever I end up working, in whichever field, reflection would help
me pause and give a thought about how something matters and why, what
impact would it be making. It would help be learn from my experiences and
motivate me to do better. Similarly, archiving goes together with this. I can see
myself keeping a record of my progress and keep looking back at it so that I can
have a look at it and remember where I started and keep gaining motivation to
grow further. Both reflecting and archiving would help in staying grounded and
focused.
There are so many emotions going through me after these two years Memories
created with friends in Fraser Valley India, to travel, attend fests, spend long
evenings of co-curricular activities, donation drives. Sometimes struggling
through group studies but always lifting each other up. Every moment, every
face, every little adventure became a chapter of my story. Meeting new people,
sharing your story with them, helping and mentoring them in some way all
prepared me for possibly the biggest step of my life-moving out of India and
starting off afresh in Canada. Every picture I have saved is more than a memory
because it's a reflection of who I was and of how far I've come.
