My Final Thoughts

My journey with GL has definitely not been an easy one, as I faced problems here and there along the way, but I'd say for the most part it has been quite fulfilling. It's been very eye-opening not just to the topic I learnt about, but with my character as well, so here are the 3 biggest takeaways for me:

Help is not a bad thing

I think when I entered GL, I had this presumption that it was a fully independent module, and whilst independence might be tapped on at times, there is a difference between that and self-direction. I realised that being self-directed isn't so focused on the fact you're doing things by yourself, but more so that you are able to use what's around you to your advantage and steer yourself in the right direction and make progress. I realise early on when I got sick that it was going to be quite impossible to learn all that I could by reading the books I had initially borrowed and doing plans on my own, and that truly the best thing sometimes to do is ask for help. I seeked the help of the internet to teach me the topics in Marketing and stuff as quick as possible, and I seeked the help of the MV Committee to assess my ideas and plans. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to make as far progress I had, and still manage to have some time to focus on school and experimenting with things. Taking the initiative to start things was good, but leaning into support was what pushed my ideas and plans further.

Less of me, more of you

I think a big problem I have with a lot of the things I do in life is that I tend to get quite attached. In which I mean often times, even with the most simple of tasks you can find me trying to figure out a way to do it in the "best" way. And I do agree sometimes, in fact most times it's quite important to strive for excellence, but when doing something "perfectly", so much so that it covers your eyes from seeing the products flaws it hinders how much I could improve and progress. That is one thing I realised as I worked in this module. I planned everything out, and had big ideas for everything but in the midst of it I failed to realise the problems that could arise from certain things, how much things would cost - if people would actually support or fund our items. I forgot that what I was working on was not just my GL Project, but my CCA's Music Project as well. I forgot that this was as meaningful a project to many others as it was to me and that their concerns were just as valid as my ideas were. But once I saw that, though it was a bit difficult, I realise that there were ways in which my ideas and their solutions to problems could work together and because of that my new ideas were better than before. I learnt that working together was a really integral part of the planning process, and not to underestimate the power of open-mindedness can give birth to.

Patience is key

With all that is said, I think the biggest one was the importance of patience. There were a lot of times in this module where I felt frustrated and almost defeated because things weren't going exactly the way I planned it. I had planned to read my informative books over the school break, but then I got sick and had to spend that time catching up on school work instead. I didn't plan for the album naming process to take so long, but it did and I had to think of something else so that I could progress with my GL even though the album didn't necessarily have an identity yet. These were just some of the moments that made it difficult for me to keep calm and work because I was already quite disorganised person in general (not that I was messy, but more so just things were not set in place) and to see more disorganisation added to it was hard to figure out where to begin. Overtime, I learnt to breath and take things one step at a time, and when problems arised, I would try again and again. To give up wasn't a nice idea to me so I used the perseverance to push me forward each time I felt like the air was holding me back, and eventually I figured out a way to minimise my workload and work with it smartly by prioritising certain items.

Conclusion

Overall, as I mentioned somewhere here before in this portfolio, GL was a journey. It was so free-range that in that freedom the lack of restriction felt restricting because I set out to do everything and anything. In the end, I learnt that sometimes its okay to not accomplish everything you initially set out on doing, but what was more important was that I came out the module realising more about myself as a person and my goals for my future. Through this I realised that though the music industry was very captivating, it wasn't easy. I learnt about my somewhat toxic traits and I worked on them. Like a seedling in the midst of a dense forest, maybe I hadn't been able to reach the sun's light directly yet underneath all the big trees. But I was growing, and the opportunity to do that, would always be there someday. I'll just have to continue trying.