For this English Term Project, I participated in my group’s brainstorming session while trying to come up with the initial theme for our project. Besides that, I made sure to attend all the group discussions we had between classes on campus because I think that it is better to be able to discuss plans and ideas in person rather than through text messages. I have also been helping with the proof-reading and editing of articles we chose to put on our website, checking through spelling, grammar and making sure a wide range of vocabulary is utilized. Lastly, I provided my opinions and suggestions on the best ways certain ideas should be expressed and worded.

            When it comes to projects, there will always be challenges to face. Challenges are even more prevalent in group projects such as this English Term project. One of the challenges we ran into quite early on and continued to deal with throughout the process of completing this project were arguments because of our conflicting opinions during group discussions and making final decisions seemed impossible. This was bound to happen, especially when you have assertive group members. I see this as a good personality trait to have since it allowed them to express themselves and provide their point of view. Besides that, it was very difficult to plan for group discussions during the weekends because there are six of us in this group and most of us had other plans on weekends and some of us live quite a distance away, making travelling to meetups very time consuming. Finally, being the only female in the group of people whom I had only recently met made me feel very out of place. Me being shy and introverted did not help my case either.

            These challenges were not going to stop my group from successfully completing our project. Regarding the problem where we could not settle arguments and make final decisions, we solved this problem by working together to list out and consider the pros and cons of suggested courses of action. Everyone was given a chance to speak their mind and justify why they think we should pick their preferred idea. From this, we would settle the problem with a vote and compromise a bit to reach an agreement among our group members. Besides that, since having group discussions on weekends became very inconvenient for us, we decided to have group discussions on campus between and after our day of classes since our class schedules match up. Lastly, over the course of these past few months, hanging out and working together with my group members really strengthened the bond between us and brought us closer together as friends. I no longer felt out of place because I warmed up to how friendly and welcoming my friends are. All I needed was time.

            I really enjoyed this project. It opened my eyes to how important teamwork and synergy is when doing a group project. I got to know my friends better and it was interesting to hear their opinions on what ‘living your life to the fullest’ means to them. I couldn’t go to the Ipoh trip Benjamin, Zhao Feng, Aakash and Izac went on but looking at the pictures they took and hearing about how much fun they had really made me happy.

            Three Taylor’s Graduate Capabilities (TGC) that I have acquired through this project are Lifelong Learning, Thinking and Problem Solving Skills, and Communication Skills. Through the research we did on the various ways people have interpreted ‘Living Life to the Fullest’ and research on the topics relating to the articles we chose to put on our website, I gained a lot of useful knowledge which I will be applying to my everyday life. Besides that, I acquired Thinking and Problem Solving Skills. When it came to disagreements and other challenges we faced, I always had to stop and think ways of ways to solve problems to ensure our project progressed smoothly. Finally, through the many group discussions we had, I managed to acquire better Communication Skills while dealing with disputes and by learning how to express my thoughts better. I learned the importance of respecting ones opinions.