Whats the Story is a way to make a difference in the world by doing your part.  It is really satisfying when you come up with a topic you feel needs attention and work hard to create a film that people will see and acknowledge.  At first, its a little overwhelming and you’re thinking that this is not something you can accomplish by the end of the year, but at the end its a great feeling when you publish your work.  It was a struggle to make time for this class, especially because it was not taking part in my school building.  It took a little while to remember but as we kept working on this I got more invested and worked on my video and part of the project a lot.  However, I did manage to not keep my mentor in the loop of my progress as much as originally thought.  If I had to leave a retreat early or was not able to make one for a certain reason, I always made up the work I had missed and kept working on my project.  This was a really interesting topic for me and one that I wanted to learn more about while I worked.  Through my own and my team members interviews I got many different perspectives on this topic.  I really think that this was an amazing opportunity and I would like to do more classes/projects like this in the future.  Since I will be more aware of the requirements and time management, I think I will do great and really enjoy the work I am doing.  This course has taught me a lot about responsibility and taking action, I think that this is one of the best attributes someone can have and it shows a lot about their character.  After Whats the Story is finished, I plan on really using this skill to take initiative and do what I want with my education.  Giving feedback is also a useful skill that I learned a lot about in my time here at Whats the Story.  I realized that there are certain ways that you might want to approach giving constructive criticism and it really helps when you are receiving good feedback.  I will use this skill for the rest of my life to not only try and help others, but to give myself the same process of feedback to try and upgrade my work.  Personally, I think the film my group has put together will really help people understand that mental health is a common thing and that it shouldn’t make a difference in the way we view people.  In the future, I want to keep this in mind and really use the skills I have picked up here, in the real world.  I am the kind of person who you can talk to and not be worried about our different views on a certain topic.  I will listen with an open mind and really consider all perspectives.  I think that everyone should use this everywhere they go because everyone thinks differently but in reality we are all the same.  I am really good at communicating with others when I feel there is a problem or I don’t understand something.  Throughout this course I have talked to to my partners about my struggles, key points and highlights that I had during my work time.  Since Ben was not a part of these social media chats, he got less knowledge of my achievements and hard times.  This course has really helped me to figure out how I learn best and how to keep communicating with the people in my community.  I can read or listen to something and really get the clear message that I am supposed to be hearing, I really think about the topic and am usually willing to learn more about it.  Becoming an active listener is not just something that most people have an easy time doing.  This course really made you touch up your listening skills by watching other groups presentations and getting/giving feedback.  Now it is easier to pick up on the way people are trying to communicate and get a better understanding of what they are trying to tell you.  I have not been in much contact with my group mentor but have quite frequently talked to the other group members about the project, our progress and what we can do to better it via social media and email.

I have learned way more than expected in this course.  I came here not really knowing what I might be doing or anything about it to be exact.  I was under the impression that it was a class just like any other in another setting.  Wrong.  This is one of those classes that you actually learn about a topic the you want to and get the opportunity to teach others about what you are passionate about by showing them something you have worked hard on throughout the year.  I think that one of the things that I came here not expecting was the amount of time you need to work alone.  In most of the classes I take at school there is minimal homework and not a lot of time management required.  Here, you get together once a month and catch up with your group members and their work for a day or two, but then go back home and have to keep this class in the front of you brain, which is hard to do.  I think that my group did a really good job of getting their part of the project done and ready for the next time we met.  We never once came to a retreat or day session without being prepared and ready to work.  I can’t speak for everyone else, but I know that there were times when I had put this off and focus on something that seemed a little closer to the date, but I eventually got around to working on this and always came with something more than the last time.  This course has taught me how to manage my time effectively.  There was one time where I knew I had to keep working on this project and get some interviews done, but I was very busy with other schoolwork and life got in the way.  I hadn’t really done much that month to keep up with Whats the Story and felt really bad and guilty about this.  I had talked to my group members and told them my situation, they fully understood and were willing to help.  This made me feel a lot better, but it also pushed me to do my part and help out my friends. I went to the next retreat with more done than the last time and really worked hard the next month to catch up. Whats the Story was a very very helpful and eye opening course that I would strongly recommend to anyone who is interested in technology, helping others to really see and know about a certain topic, or even if you have trouble with your timing, this course will help.  I am truly thankful for the people who ran this program and pushed me to become a part of it.