The course was confusing at times, the names of assigned tasks being a letter and a number made it hard for me to keep track of which thing is which. However, my seatmate Kevin has been really helpful. Not only that but he always inspired me to do more than just enough, he always did things perfectly and as early as possible. This kind of self-discipline is one of a kind and makes me want to become a better student and person just like he is.
Another person who inspired me to do better is Vania. We never got to talk a lot, and we only bonded over the similarities in culture after creating and presenting a slideshow together. She told me that she is not fluent in English and often struggles to explain things that she's capable of explaining, but cannot find the English words for. This is inspiring to me because despite living in the United States without her family and not being fluent in a foreign language, she still persevered and gets things done very early, and does her best to make everything perfectly smooth. Being the first to do her presentation, telling me about memorizing her scripts weeks prior to the day of presenting, and wanting to collaborate with someone with no hesitation. I think it makes her brave and I really admire her for it.
Lastly, I of course admire Professor Wu for being the most present and helpful professor I have ever gotten. He would adjust to the students' needs and take time out of his own day to help students when he could just use it to finally get some rest. He never made me or I presume anybody feel small for making mistakes. He always supported and rooted for me, and even the most pessimistic students. He wants everyone to do well not only in his class, but outside in the real world.
What I've gained from this class and its people is inspiration, motivation, and a lot of new set of skills (like Excel) that I can apply for my day to day life, for the times I'd feel like there is no hope for me and I'm bound to fail. I would honestly probably think of Kevin & Vania's bravery in trying to do things despite facing struggles.
I chose 6.4.3 - Slide Design Facts as it helped me save time by being short but still really informative. Designing is a very important part of PowerPoint since it is mostly about creativity. Sure, you want to relay information to the listeners in the best and most efficient way. But one of the best methods is to have creative and eye-catching slides. This was the perfect chapter to help you achieve that.
Below is an image I took from mine and Vania's A8 Improved Slideshow Presentation. I know a lot of people didn't like the idea of pairing up with someone to do something, neither did I honestly. But I don't regret it, in fact it's quite the opposite. I really enjoyed everything that came with choosing to step out of my comfort zone. I learned more about Vania and her culture, it was very fun taking an 'imaginary trip' to her home country just by listening to her stories. I also want to dedicate this part of the blog for her. She had everything down to her script prepared, yet she still decided to help me conquer my fear of trying to present as a duo. It completely (in a way) put her back to square one. She had to review the changes I made to her slides, she had to scratch her entire plans and script, she had to make time for me for around a week consistently just to practice with me. 30 mins to an hour consistently everyday, she showed up to our google meets practice on time. For all of these reasons, I commend her and I'm grateful to meet such an amazing classmate! I enjoyed presenting because of her, things became a little less scary.
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Another little side story of what the title means.
Imago is the final and fully developed form of an insect (a butterfly!)
In this stage, it is typically already winged. It has grown from its chrysalis stage to something that can fly, be free, and be capable to do things on its own.
