This weekend was very challenging and a new experience for me. I had a lot of great times that allowed me to feel a deeper excitement about being a part of this program. For example, when we figured out the starting of our topic and teams it made me very excited because it gave a deeper understanding of what we are doing, and how the rest of this program is going to work. I am working with Jules and Alden, I am super excited because we are all motivated, have similar opinions, but also view experiences in very different ways. Another fun experience this weekend was after dinner on Saturday we were all given time to explore and a few of us went exploring the meadow and rolling down the sloping hills! This gave me the experience to learn more about other people in this program and made me feel like I was making friends in this new environment! Finally, this weekend was really fun and exciting because we were able to get our camera equipment so we can figure out how it works. This is exciting because it makes this experience seem very real. We are getting the opportunity to learn how to use and make something unique from camera equipment our instructors are trusting us with! Not only was this weekend a super fun experience there were also some challenges.

This weekend had many challenges that I had to overcome. For example, this trip was the first time I ever spent a night away from my sister Ella. This was a scary experience because we are twins so, we spend a lot of time together. It was hard to know I would not see my sister that night. Also, my family and I are close so, spending a day alone, away from them was intimidating and scary, because we are so close. Another challenge I faced this weekend was learning to understand other people’s views and being able to ask people questions about their views without offending them or making them feel like their opinions were not valid. Furthermore, I had to think about the point my acquaintance was making, and make it make sense to me, so I could get more out of our conversations. Finally, I had to learn how to thoughtfully clarify my opinions to other people, so we could hear and understand another diverse idea, that could make us understand the topic better. Not only did I go through some challenges this weekend but we figured out our topic.

The topic I am pursuing for this documentary is under the broad section of Climate Change. As of right now, our focused topic is “How does climate change affect winter recreation in Vermont?” I think our group work has been going very well, even though it took a while we were able to find a topic that works really well for all of us, and that we all find interesting! We are focusing on how VT recreation changes due to Climate Change. In our group we had to develop a topic that works best for all of us. We all worked hard to make sure everyone felt comfortable so we could feel free to share our ideas! We are focusing on winter recreation like, skiing (Nordic, and alpine), snowboarding, ice fishing, and pond hockey. We are trying to see patterns that will show how the decline in our world’s environment affects our ability to do things we enjoy. Because recreation is such an important part of Vermont culture we also already have ideas for a variety of people to interview and some entertaining B-roll. We were feeling comfortable in our group and we were able to share our ideas and feel more comfortable with one another! After spending so much time together this weekend I am feeling more comfortable around my group! Not only did my group do a great job working together today, but also we were able to prepare for the next time we meet!

In preparation for the next time we meet as a team, we did a lot of planning. We agreed to meet on Wednesday next week to discuss the research we have already done, but also assign work for the next period of time before we meet one and other. Before Wednesday, we were each assigned a few small research questions to fill out so we can progress with base research. After the base research is done, we will continue into more in depth research on the environmental impact! Furthermore, if it snows within the next month until we meet again, we are going to collect some B-roll so, we have some of our important filler images! This weekend, has given me some extra confidence and excitement for the rest of the year! I am super excited for the rest of this experience.