#MondayMix

This week’s #MondayMix is retrospective.

Have you ever reached a milestone on a project - the moment where you can finally 'see the finishing line'? It’s accompanied by a feeling of knowing the cumulative research, logistics, learning, and at times, extra doses of grit and #growthmindset, have come together and the finishing line is within reach.

The weekend was one of those moments. On the final push to complete my dissertation, en route to an MA in Digital Media, Culture and Education, I was working on the last section of my research analysis.

There have been many hurdles on the MA journey. From combining work & study with SLT leadership, school developments and in particular, this year when my attention was drawn away from it, to urgent, life-defining priorities: to nurse my father who was terminally ill and to support my family in what came next.

When I submit my dissertation on 'Knowledge Acquisition in Film-Making Processes' it’ll represent those challenges, and moreover, having overcome them, and occasional exhaustion, to strive towards achieving something important to me.

It’ll stand for three & a half years of keeping going, believing it will happen, however far away the goal seemed at times! I do feel it'll be worth the personal investment. There have been lots of wonderful aspects to engaging in the in-depth conceptual thinking that accompanies academic reflection on both theory and practice. Furthermore, the experience has created valued people connections; friendships and professional links that continue to grow and inspire me.

On Saturday, a word count check ushered good reason for doing a little dance around the house when it confirmed being #almostthere! Since then, I’ve done some further editing and had positive feedback from my tutor at the British Film Institute. Currently drafting Chapter 5, the Conclusion, It’s exciting to know that the final PDF will be speeding off to the London printer in the coming weeks.

As the work week began, I was reflecting on how, in a similar way to completing an MA, delivery of professional projects/events are rarely a one-stop-process. They often involve.. continue reading