Project Process
Learning Stretch
Initiating this project, I knew it was going to be difficult for me. After all, I love music and I've made it before but I have never done anything like this before in my life, I've never engineered a song to have a specific purpose. This kind of music has limits, it has a rules and regulations in order to achieve the desired result, everything has to be strategic and thought out instead of just creating on a whim. This was the biggest learning stretch for me in this project, because I have had to adjust myself to fit within these confines. It is still creativity, but it is a different kind, and I'm learning how to handle it with each step in the process.
Personal Growth
As a person, this project has helped me clarify what it is I'm passionate about within music. As much as I love what I'm doing with this project, I have to say now that I have experienced it and been able to compare it with what I usually make, creating this type of planned out strategic music is not what I am most interested in or what I favor the most. Doing this project has allowed me to grow and learn more about myself by narrowing down my interest into my passion.
Connections
My capstone project process is so similar and yet so entirely different from all the past expo projects I have worked on. It's still the same steps we used before, but its like I've modified them so much to fit my own project they become entirely different. The skills I learned from my past projects including how to form a plan and a prototype, design and carry out an experiment and make all the necessary write-ups, social media and marketing skills, and even social skills and confidence that I gained are coming in handy now. Everything I learned from the past is now coming together in the present and hopefully the future to help me do this project successfully.
Community Outreach
In order to share my project with the community, I have created an official Spotify page, and spread the word to all my friends and family, who are also spreading it around. This official page will allow my songs to be available freely not just in my community, but everywhere for anyone who wishes to use it for their own anxious dogs. I have also reached out to my mentor and local veterinarian Dr. Ira Stone of Stone Veterinary Hospital who agreed that they would love to play PupTunes in their own waiting and checkup rooms to keep the dogs calm while they do their jobs and make sure our furry friends are happy and healthy! As further community outreach, this offer will be made known to all other local veterinarians as well for them to decide if they would like to do the same.
Professionalism
Throughout this entire process, I have experienced a large learning curve about myself and my level of professionalism. I have grown a lot as a result and even though I know I still have a long way to go in my life, I feel I have become a more competent person. First, I had to learn what it meant to manage myself and my time, to outline a plan accordingly and set realistic goals that could be achieved within the set time limits. I even had to learn the difference between realistic and impracticable. It took some time and some trial and error, evident in my time management plan, but I do believe I have improved significantly in this area. Another thing I had to learn was the difference between regular communication and professional communication. When I was searching for a mentor and even when I found one and had to continuously interact with them it had to be formal, no casual terms or slang of any kind, always very polite and well mannered and all within the range of the job. Through practice and following examples set by my mentor and Mrs. Pelletier, I have also improved in this field as well. Overall, my level of professionalism has evolved drastically throughout this time, and I am proud of myself for the way I have handled this project.