Hi friends, and welcome back to Natalie Belle Blog! I hope you had an amazing week and are enjoying this spring weather. My intention for this week was to write about my trip to NYC, but that was before I accounted for all the photos I would need to upload, which just wasn’t possible with my schedule today. I promise it’ll come next weekend though! In the meantime, I want to share with you a quick perspective I’ve been learning this week.
On Thursday, I had my final presentation and oral defense for my AP research project. Thankfully, it went well, but that’s not to say I wasn’t nervous. I worked on my script for weeks, let alone my entire research process, which took a year. Although my job is not yet completely done (I still need to turn in my paper this week), I felt a huge sense of relief once it was over. Not only because I feel like I did well, but it took a huge weight off my shoulders for something I had on the backburner of my mind for over a year at this point.
Knowing that, I thought about where I was this time last year. I decided that I wanted to take AP Research, but a 15-minute presentation at the end of it seemed quite daunting, especially when I didn’t even know what I wanted to study. By October, I had a topic narrowed down and was in the early stages of beginning my research, but I didn’t quite know what it would look like or how it would turn out yet. After a few tweaks, I started data collection (my most work-intensive part) and felt how everything was coming together, finally.
I think the reason I chose to celebrate after my presentation was not simply because I was able to stand up and talk for ten minutes, but because of the persistence I had that allowed me to complete each individual milestone to put a project like this together. In fact, I know it was! I’m much more proud of myself for those steps I took toward my goal than the presentation itself.
Needless to say, it’s the journey that counts, not the destination. You may have heard that phrase before, like I have. I’ve always liked it, but it was hard for me to appreciate it until I had a real-life example of how rewarding a process can be.
What’s the journey for you? What process are you choosing to celebrate and prioritize? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear!
❤️,
Natalie B
Natalie Belle Blog 