This semester really has been a roller coaster!  The areas that I’ve struggled most in, which are quite shocking given my aversion to technology (everything I own breaks!  I literally broke a pair of headphones I was given 5 minutes earlier!  They just snapped in half!  I should not be allowed technology!), are my working/learning methods and my practice.  My skills with technology have continued to grow and my conceptual skills, though doubted at some stages, are probably my strongest.
My learning and working methods have struggled because of my poor time management skills and discipline.  I pretty much stopped doing homework in year 5, and only started getting into the habit of regularly doing work outside of mandated hours AND completing it on time last year, so I can see why I’ve been struggling with this section.  However, I have been completing my workload pretty much on time through the semester, even if I have been leaving it until the very last minute.
My practice has been struggling for quite a few reasons.  One of the main ones is my passion for media has been wavering through the semester.  My whole life, I have been passionate about live theatre and performance, and have been planning everything around that.  My course last year became a mixture of both live theatre and media studies.  I decided then that it was probably worth exploring media, as I really enjoyed the process of film making, and the course was definitely more focused on the live theatre aspect.  However, as can be seen in my graph, there was a period where I was considering (and I still am considering, in all honesty), dropping out to pursue live theatre and performance again.
This may be due to the other reason that my practice has been suffering: my performance standards.  Despite rarely doing the required work, I’ve always been ‘good’ at schooling.  (I’m not sure if we lose marks for swearing in the blogs?  I’ve used the worst swear in a blog but it was referring to someone’s stage name so I don’t think it counted?  Anyway..)  I’ve essentially mastered the art of ‘bullshitting’ my way through things.  I managed to comfortably pass year 10 maths despite not showing up to the final exam or more than half the classes.  I once got 1 out of 4 available points on an essay portion of a history exam for writing the words “In 1901”.  That was the entire essay.  Because of this ability, I set ridiculously high standards for myself.  I am extremely uncomfortable receiving anything less than 80%, and less than 90% is a disappointing grade.  During the semester, when I was unable to understand a concept instantly, or struggled with finding my rhythm in certain tasks, I felt as though I was unable to continue the course for fear of failure.  This is something I have been working on, but it has definitely made me engage less with my practice.
(I’ve also felt like the marking on my work has been too nice in some areas.  That doesn’t mean that you should be harsher in marking this task, in fact the kinder the better, but it still feels like the marking has been too easy on my work.  I know I can do far better than what I’ve been submitting.  But don’t take this into consideration when marking project brief 4.  We can all just pretend like it’s the best work ever submitted.  100% to The McLovins.)

I’m very happy with how my technical skills have developed over the semester.  I will probably never let go of my reckless editing style (I always know kind of where I’m cutting), but I’ve learned so much about both editing and filming/recording that I can take into the future.  My blogs/reflections have also gotten better throughout the semester.
I have become more secure in my conceptual skills.  Researching and coming up with ideas have always been my strongest assets, but I was able to refine my research/referencing techniques and discover more about how I come up with ideas, and what role I am best suited for in group work.