After my initial research, I was completely stumped trying to translate my research into a tangible project I could reasonably work on considering our schedule at Chinquapin. I remember the task following me home: I’d spend so much time sitting quietly, thinking of ideas and shooting them down at the same rate I had just brainstormed them.
“I’ll graph litter piles at Mason Park and propose a rearrangement of the park’s trash bins to the parks and recreation department of the city.”
“No, that can’t work, you know you won’t commit to that, don’t even know if that park has a litter problem.”
“Well, I could—Nope. You barely have enough free time before sundown as it is with your job.”
“Well, you could quit. I mean, they did cut your pay and hours, this would be a great excuse.”
Back and forth I deliberated with myself, and I couldn’t think of something I would enjoy doing or had the schedule to actually do. A friend once described her thought process as not having the voice in your head that cynically questions your decisions; she described herself as having no filter, and not in the bad way, yet, she couldn’t describe which “way” she had it. Sometimes I wish I was like that. I tend to seriously overthink things, and that sometimes hurts me and sometimes helps me. I tend to remember the times when it hurts me more.
I remained completely undecided with no clear direction in my project until one day in Junior seminar, when I asked Sebastian Alba what he was thinking of doing. He was thinking of building a concession stand out by the shed; his research project was on construction. Somewhere in our conversation he mentioned wanting to do something with concrete and It made me think of how my creativity week group this year had considered working with concrete as well. In fact, a lot of things we wanted to do had to be cut because of our limited time. I had never considered a partnership, but it made so much sense in that moment. I pitched the idea of being partners to Alba and he agreed.
I had never considered a partnership, but it made so much sense in that moment
Having a partner in this endeavor has been great. We held each other accountable for due dates and made sure the other had what needed to succeed. When one of us had a schedule conflict (and this happened many times), the other was always understanding and willing to take on work on their own for a while. Alba and I both have a desire to get things done and out of the way but also know when we can afford to take things easy. Looking back on our project now, in spite of all the setbacks we encountered towards the end of the year, I’m proud of the work we got done as partners and the effort we put into our senior project.
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