Project 1 Reflection: Growth

[Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona. Taken by Paul R. Kucher]

In my project 1 process I thought I analyzed the meaning behind Wells Fargo and the signs external and internal fairly well. Spending an hour looking at the building didn't feel like an hour at all just because the size of the building is so big, each section I observed felt as if it were its own place. So that made it easy to analyze the different parts of the building: outside, concourse, arena (actually gym), and to think about the function and purpose each place serves to the people who use it. Also because the concept of a performance arena already lies with two concrete perspectives, athletes and spectators, the lenses were pretty easy to come up with and explain how each side sees what they see.
I struggled with the organization of the essay, I guess I always have, even though the topics I came up with were pretty straight forward, for some reason I couldn't organize my thoughts nicely in the essay. I also struggled with looking through the lens of Mark Twain. I found myself just relating my observations to his without really looking at them as if Twain was. Throughout the project I learned how to looks through another lens that isn't my own. Through reading other peoples observations they posted on their blogs, it was neat to see the amount of things that go on daily if you just take an hour of your time to observe. I learned that through analyzing places there is much more that goes on beneath the surface, like what people do in a period of time, or how they react to things and why they act the way they do. Another thing I learned while writing the essay: first and final draft, is that when the teacher gives you three weeks to complete a project use your time wisely. Typically I would leave the final draft until the night before it's due but this time, with the like two weeks I had to review and edit my rough draft I didn't leave it for the last second. During this time I had, I learned that doing a little but everyday isn't just good for time management but it also adds more information to the paper. Everyday I had new thoughts to add to my essay and it was refreshing to think differently about something I usually just have the same thoughts about. So I guess, through this learning process I found a way to alter my usual essay writing process. I will spend a little time on future essays everyday and complete a rough draft and maybe take it to the writing center for someone to edit and help me then I will be able to write a final copy error free!
Specifically to the project, I feel that I did not quite reach the depth of analysis I could have, probably because I feel like there can always be more analysis, comparison and contrast. And also because my focus was more on the different perspectives that Wells Fargo could be looked at from. Instead of having multiple perspectives, I will focus on one or two that I can deeply analyze through the lenses of an author and myself. I am not sure how I will apply my work to the world outside of ASU. Perhaps I will look at other things differently, and try to see things and situations through other peoples eyes and in that way broaden my perspective of how I think and look at new or old things.