The literature review assignment during Thanksgiving week was a challenge for me.
I went into it thinking I was prepared. I made a plan beforehand. I read the intros and conclusions from each source, took notes, and made sure all other work was completed so I would be able to focus and finish the paper on time. I prepared for my time to be limited to work on it with the holiday, and out-of-town travel, planned the same week it was due. I felt ready to climb that hill. Little did I know that when I got to the top of that hill a mountain would stand waiting for me on the way to the finish line.
Before our drive out of town, I printed pages from each source. During the trip, I read, highlighted, wrote pages of notes, and ended up feeling as though I had a good plan of attack. I was ready to enjoy the holiday and not worry about the paper until the weekend.
We cooked and spent the day with family on Thanksgiving day. It was a wonderful day. That night, I decided to get a little work done. I took out my computer and started the reference list. It was taking much longer than I had planned. Eek! During the tedious task of putting the list together, I started to think about how it had been years since I had created any type of reference page or wrote anything formal. I also had no clue how to write a literature review, much less how to cite everything in the paper in the latest APA style. I was feeling pressured and completely overwhelmed realizing I had significantly underestimated the time I would need. We left for home a day earlier than planned so I could focus on the assignment.
Once home, I got to work. I spent the next day working but feeling like I was running in circles. I had many moments where I had to take a break. My back was hurting, my brain was foggy, I was completely overwhelmed. It was not coming together the way that I wanted it to.
I decided to stop and take a look at everything in front of me and figure out the best way to break it down. I broke the work into pieces and started to get them done one by one. I reached out to my group members, Karin and Stephen, for encouragement and advice. They were so supportive. I let go of some of the things I wanted but did not need to add. I was learning how to adjust. In the past, I would have wanted to give up.
The next two days I chugged along little by little...I think I can...I think I can....until it was done. I had made it up the mountain!
What I observed by the end is that my mindset is slowly changing as I'm working through the ADL program. I am learning how to be a learner. I'm learning that it's ok not to be perfect. It's ok to adjust and work with what you have and sometimes the product turns out even better than you anticipated because you went places that you never expected to go. I'm am learning to be comfortable being uncomfortable because that is where we find growth.
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