Sammi To 1/10/22

Final Reflection
1. In completing your capstone project, what did you learn about your subject? Your skillset?
Yourself?

In completing my capstone, I learned the importance of keeping a healthy lifestyle and what that looks
like along with the benefits. My subject was how yoga improves sleep patterns. I learned that you do not
need to do long hours of it every day, it is more about the time of day you do it. For instance, doing yoga
in the morning will encourage you to feel more energized throughout the day as it gets your blood
moving. This made me see a new perspective on exercising as I thought it was boring or I did not feel
motivated to do so. I always knew I had time to do exercise and I would not be struggling with yoga.
While writing my final product I realized how much I already know about this topic before all the
research. The research helped me clarify the scientific side of it, but I already knew most of the other
effects and benefits. I never realized that I was that interested in this topic before. I also realized that if I
am passionate about something I can write 12 pages on it. At first, drafting a 12-page research paper
seemed scary and frustrating, but it was not that bad. I can make things more dramatic in my head.

2. How is your project relevant to you, the school or the community-at-large?

I initially chose this topic because I wanted to help my sister. She had trouble sleeping and would wake
up 6-8 times a night. It took a toll on her mentally and physically. I hoped that learning more about this
subject and asking her to be my test subject would help improve her quality of sleep and life. This was
supposed to improve her sleep patterns and hopefully reduce the number of awake occurrences
throughout the night. Even if her attitude or mood affects me negatively when she does not sleep it is
not all about benefiting me. I was trying to help her when she could not find a solution.

3. How did you demonstrate the six core competencies throughout the project?

I demonstrated personal awareness and responsibility by being responsible, self-motivated, and

advocating for myself. I kept track of all my hours throughout this project and always got my stuff done
on time. I asked for help when I needed it and even when I was not in class, I went on the website to see
what I missed. For social responsibility, I demonstrated how I can solve problems peacefully and calmly. I
faced many challenges during this project, and I was able to ask for help or figure it out on my own
without causing more frustration for myself. For example, I was having trouble figuring out what I
wanted to write to fill up the 12 pages and I was running out of time. I was starting to get nervous and
anxious that I would not finish it in time. I eventually figured out more resources that I could pull
information from and asked my mentor. If I had gotten flustered, I would not have been able to make
any rational or calm decisions. For critical thinking, I showed that I can ask questions, gather
information, and develop a conclusion. For instance, when I asked my mentor a bunch of questions
about my topic so I could add it to my paper I asked incredibly detailed questions and had to choose
what details to include. I used most of the information she gave me to back up the information I already
had, which gives my opinions another level of depth. For creative thinking, I incorporated their ideas as
well as my own when generating current ideas. For example, I realized that most of what I had written
done I already knew about before and when I need help generating current ideas, I use others and the
environment around me by having conversations or trying to do some yoga to help me see a unique
perspective. For communication, I can work with others to plan, carry out, and review the product. I
asked people for help and communicated to them when I needed to. For instance, I needed to tell the
subject to continuously fill out their data table, which can get frustrating, but they are part of the
project, so I needed to be understanding. For personal and cultural identity, I showed that I know what
is important to me and I will prioritize things accordingly. I know what I need to get done to be
successful in this course and completing my capstone to the best of my abilities is what I need to do to
make sure I have tried my best in this class.

4. What impact did your Capstone project have?

I know that my sister did benefit from this project, but this project is relative to the person and will not
work for everyone. It is one of the easiest ways to improve your lifestyle, but it may not always work. My
sister has shown that the number of awake occurrences that she experiences have decreased by almost
half the amount as it was before. For the other subject, she did not see the same results as she did not
benefit, nor did she lose anything from this experiment. This proves that it all depends on the person
and how their body adapts. I hope that when people see how this works scientifically that it encourages
them to try to improve their daily life and health in whatever way they choose.

5. What are you most proud of?

I am proud of myself and finishing this project. I was convinced halfway through that I was not going to
finish. I even changed my topic at the beginning, but I needed to do something that I did not know that
much about. When I finished the project, I knew that I could complete anything that I wanted to, but I
also realized how much I needed to manage my time. I did spread out the work as much as I could, but I
still ended up rushing at the end. I learned a valuable skill that I can use later in life, and I am thankful
that I could learn it because I would not be able to function later without knowing my priorities and
keeping everything organized.

6. What was a difficulty you encountered and how did you solve it?

A difficulty that I encountered was finding a mentor. I waited a while before I found a mentor mainly
because I did not know anyone in that field. I had wanted someone who did yoga on a daily basis or had
a few years of experience. My mentor now has done yoga for 8 years and is a yoga instructor. I met her
through another friend and I would have left more time for myself next time. I did not really solve this
one on my own, I had to ask for help, which is hard for me to do, I did stay calm throughout the process.
I am glad that I asked for help because if I hadn’t I would not be able to finish this project.

7. What is one thing about your finished project that you wish you could change? Why?

I wish that my presentation of my final product was less boring. I chose this strand because it is
something I already understood, but the presentation of it is boring. I did not know another to
accurately show my understanding on the topic. The easiest way for me to get my point across is
through writing or speaking. I might be more motivated to do this project if I knew the outcome would
be something that was amazing and eye catching, but it would not truly reflect my work and research.

8. What advice would you give to students next year about this project?
I would tell them not to procrastinate when planning and to keep track of your timeline. I did not keep
track of my timeline, which is probably why I lost track of time and had to cram everything in during the
last few weeks. This course does not require you to do homework. We are given enough time to finish
all our work in class. However capstone does require us to take initiative outside of school. They should
be prepared to do at 15 hours of capstone work outside of school.
9. What source from your research helped you the most? Why?

I think some articles and my mentor helped me the most. The articles helped me gain a deeper
understanding for this topic in terms of science and my mentor helped confirm my opinions on this
topic. For instance, I said that I many think yoga is a waste of time and it doesn’t help you that much, but
as someone who does yoga almost everyday for a long period of time she helped back up my claims and
add another level of sincerity to my opinion. My articles helped me understand all the hormones
released and the health benefits gained. Throughout my research paper I refer to the one article that
helped me understand the difference between teen brains and adult brains. It gave my essay more
concrete evidence that this works.

10. What is one thing about your approach to your project that you wish you could change? Why?

I approached this project with the idea that it would get it done and be done with it. I wish I took it
seriously back then because it would save me a lot of time in terms of time management and anxiety. I
was very stressed towards the end of it and it was because I had a fixed mindset about how it was going
to happen. By having a fixed mindset I did not allow any flexibility throughout this project, which just
made things difficult for myself. I should have had an open mindset and taken it one step at a time
rather than rushing until the end. I made that decision too early and I barely had time to complete this
project. I wish I made things easier for myself with such a simple change in perspective.