2012 proved to be an eventful year for me with respect to my personal growth, projects, and networks. At the end of each year, I like to look back at key points in my life, reflecting on what I did, what I can do differently, and what I want to do in the next year. Doing this gives me direction and helps me understand where I am in life and how I want to get to where I want to be.
Below is a list of a few things I am very proud of as well as a few things that went wrong with this year.
What went right.
* My friend Kendrick and I founded Panoply–our first business–a fashion consultant business geared toward helping college students upgrade their wardrobe for a more professional/mature lifestyle with the restriction of a college budget. Although our clientele has not grown tremendously, the clients we’ve worked with were amazing and gave us great reviews. It has been difficult maintaining the side business with college life and my other responsibilities, but slow progress is better than nothing. We’re still working on some business model developments and marketing strategies.
* I taught a bboy workshop with over 50 attendants (thanks to Alpha Phi Omega of UCI for having me). This opportunity gave me the chance to learn crowd control skills, public speaking without an amplifier, and how to cater to a variety of people with different methods of learning. I also taught a weekly bboy class of about 10 people and received many good reviews from my students. I recently began teaching private lessons to a high school student. As a teacher, I’ve learned new teaching strategies in an attempt to improve the students’ ability to improvise and created lesson plans to ensure the students obtain a well-rounded education of bboying techniques and history.
* I became vice president of BBoys Anonymous and have been able to give back to the club and incorporate more aspects of spreading the knowledge of hip hop. I have gained much experience in learning to lead and adjusting certain aspects of my personality in order to be able to work well with others.
*My trip to Norcal with my friend, Justin, provided me with new insights of an entirely different region of California. The trip tested our ability to improvise (because we were too lazy to create an itinerary), and I prefer to think that the trip as a success.
* Choir became a large part of my college experience. I performed in 4 different choir performances and have learned to dissect music and listen to it with the ear of both a dancer and a singer. I am still working on sight-reading and read in general, but I’ll give myself one thing: I’ve made a lot of progress in my singing.
* I have strengthened many bonds with those I call closest to me. Some relationships have fallen apart, but the ones that remain have become stronger. These people have gotten me through trying times when it came to balancing my projects and managing my stress.
What went wrong.
There came a time when I began taking on too many projects with the belief that I was “perfectly capable of putting my 100% into everything.” I didn’t. Even a to-do list didn’t help me. I became overwhelmed with everything I was trying to do–everything that I had put on myself. I am not very proud of all my work in that time. Regardless of that, I got through everything just fine, and I’ve learned my lesson: when you think you’re about to bite off more than you can chew, trust your gut–don’t do it. I’ll have to make some more sacrifices in the future and prioritize what is most important.
I did not dance as much as I would have liked to. As mentioned earlier, I took on more than my sanity could handle. This is definitely something that will require constant attention in the next year.
I have not yet decided what exactly I want to do after I graduate. I believe this is a result of spreading myself over so broad a range of specialties that I cannot pick which aspect of my life to specialize in because everything interests me so much.
Looking toward the future.
* I will be teaching the weekly bboy class again. It’s always an pleasure working with new students and watching them progress.
* Kendrick and I will be working closely with Seelio, a website that allows students to create an online portfolio of works and projects they have accomplished throughout college. We believe this type of portfolio will help students showcase their work better than a black and white resumé and can help students obtain a job.
* A group of friends and I are working to bring a Before I Die wall to UCI. Details coming soon.
* I will be blogging more often to document my projects and my own personal development.
* Fashion is becoming a large part of my life. I’ve learned to add variety to my own wardrobe while maintaining my personal style. I have also been taking part in a few fashion projects and learning more about the industry.
Would you like to share your highlights of 2012? Leave a comment below!
Happy new year to each of you!
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