Strive For Progress, Not Perfection...

Monday, December 7th, 2020 - Sunday, December 13th, 2020

Going into every speech I have ever done, I have always been very nervous and just wanted to get the speech over with. However, the Research Reflections speech felt very different. I was confident when I got up to give my presentation, sharing my screen to display my beautiful presentation. I spoke with energy and confidence, getting right into my introduction and including hand gestures that would keep the audience engaged. It almost felt like a concert, as my brain was the conductor and my mouth and hands were the instruments. I knew that the work I put in would pay off and by the end of my presentation, I felt satisfied with what I had done. It is great to see the progress that I have already made this year in presenting, as I have made strides that I really did not think I would have been able to make without ISM. Furthermore, it was amazing to see all the hard work that I had put into that presentation paying off in a solid speech that was able to show my progress as a student this year and also inform my classmates.

Looking past my progress as a student, I am very excited for the rest of the year in ISM, with my original work idea starting to take shape. I have a mentor meeting with Dr. Zia Uddin on Wednesday, December 14th where I will discuss my ideas with him. His background as an Indian-American fits perfectly into my original work proposal, which is centered around mental health in India and implementing a system that could effectively reduce the suicide and depression rate in the country. I know that I will have my work cut out for me on this project, but it takes me back to a quote that I try to live by-” You overestimate how much you can do in a month and underestimate how much you can do in a year”. By starting early and establishing different deadlines and dates, I will be able to approach this project in pieces and not all at once, ensuring that I will not be under lots of stress and can have adequate time to produce a satisfactory result.