Weekly Blog

Week of 2/26-3/01 Updates

This week i was able to finalize what designs i wanted to use. initially, i planned on creating dolls, but decided animals would provide some nicer variety. i found a package deal for five safari animal designs, and jumped on that. so far, the patterns have been nice, and while it occupies a lot of my time now, i find crocheting to still be a nice break from my usual school routine. i still have nerves surrounding deadlines, and it feels crazy that we are reaching a midpoint very soon. my process for this was based on the "eat the frog" kind of idea i have followed throughout school, which basically boils down to get the hardest stuff done first and save the easiest for last. for that reason, while i feel a little stressed, i know logically that the weeks will only get easier. i have recently finished the lion, and have almost completed the giraffe and zebra - i only need to sew the pieces together. over the weekend i will finish those and work on the elephant. i might skip the zebra, but we'll see where we are when we get there.

So far, this week has taught me to just to persevere. crocheting can get boring if you do it for hours and hours every day, but you just need to find ways around it, and that is what i have been doing. that is probably my biggest takeaway from this week. in terms of the research i have done, i think it finally clicked just how important socialization is to happiness. i think i might join a few new clubs in the coming weeks to see what effects that could have on my mood.

Next week, my goal is to be done with the safari animals and move on to the next category of works, which are the bookmarks. i might also make more animals later if i find i am moving quicker than i thought i would, as the bookmarks are significantly easier to make. i also want to carve out time in the day to work on my essay, as i have been a little neglectful of that. my biggest struggle this week has been finding time to do anything other than constant crocheting, but that will be so much better next week.

I think this week's high for me was finishing my lion. i was able to get it done in one day and it was a relief to see myself making some progress. my low for this week was the "losing streak" i seemed to have on thursday, where nothing seemed to be going right for me. i also didn't have much time to crochet that day, which set my progress back a little.

Next week, i am going to try to finish all the bookmarks i want to create. i also intend to finish the second section of my essay, revolving around gift-giving and why it can improve your happiness. lastly, i want to start to look at habits i could start forming to be more successful so i have a couple weeks to test them out.

Working on my senior project this week, i learned how to create five more animal designs, and how to decrease my stitches without leaving any traces. i also understand now that one of the biggest keys to boosting your mood is to interact with others and form more meaningful connections, which, to be fair, does seem pretty obvious. lastly, i was able to start implementing more of a solid routine into my daily life, which has greatly improved my sleep schedule, making me feel better, and also helping me stay more focused on the project.

Other Updates

This week, crocheting took up a lot of my time both inside and outside the classroom. it was nice to find little breaks where i was able to, and i will definitely enjoy the weekend to the fullest extent. sometimes, people would visit from other classrooms, and that is where we have to introduce lauryn. she would often come into class to show her friends the progress she was making on her own project, and one time she tried to pretend to be me texting people. i was worried no one would believe me if i didn't get any evidence, but luckily i was able to capture a photo of the incident.

I was also spending a lot of time outside in my backyard, especially during the later hours. one day i noticed that the full moon was happening that night, and went outside to see it, where i got the privilege of taking a beautiful picture of the monthly occurrence. fun fact for anyone reading this, i can tell you exactly how many stars we have in our solar system, no rounding or guessing necessary. you might think i'm crazy, but i have actually counted out all the stars here. the total comes out to a whopping 1, being the sun. try counting all the stars in our solar system out for yourself one day, because i bet you can do it too!