May 8, 2011*

As I prepare for my final presentation this week and write my concluding journal entry, a whirlwind of emotions take hold of me. I had a fabulous project and experienced more than I could have ever dreamed of, but there is also much I still feel there is to learn.

I want to begin this final entry by letting you, my reader, know exactly what has happened with my project since Danielle’s departure. I contacted the interior designer Danielle suggested but it turned out she moved far away several months ago. The woman did however give me a couple names I could contact, but I found that with only 2 more weeks of my project yet, attempting a whole new internship wasn’t practical. Although Danielle offered to give me remote assignments, I chose to explore my project on my own (i.e. the vintage fashion faire and AAU fashion show). For my job applications I asked if she would be my reference and she agreed, but since then I have not spoke with her. After my presentation, I would like to send Danielle an email (or even call) to fully thank her for all her help with my project. I also don’t see why, when she returns from New York, I couldn’t work with her again if she needs the help so I will ask her if she would like to continue working with me through the summer. As far as my summer job search goes, I have yet to hear back from anyone but have continued to collect applications from wherever possible. Regarding my class at the Academy of Art, I still keep in close touch with my friends from that class and we plan to go shopping together in a few weekends.

As I look over my original goals, I realize I am certainly proud of some of the things I have achieved throughout this journey, but also find there are other things I wish I had done or achieved. My first goal was to stay on schedule. Regarding my journal, I think I did a great job of keeping on track despite my initial worry. At times I was overwhelmed, but when it came to my journal deadline, I always completed what was expected to be finished. Regarding punctuality however, I ready do believe I failed. I was never early to anything I did relating to WISE and I feel this is something about myself I need to change ASAP. I did, however, learn a lot about what it takes to be on time and feel there are no excuses anymore for arriving late to anything. My next goal was to become more confident in my styling choices, but I am a bit torn on how to respond to this. I now believe that confidence in my choices is not something I can learn, but something that will take many years to develop. Originally I believed that confidence could almost be taught, but I now see that only through maturity will I gain self confidence. My third goal was to simply learn as much as I could about styling and fashion in general. I far surpassed my original expectation about this goal. Not only do I feel like I learned enough to send me confidently into my future, but I find a whole new love has grown for fashion through my greater understanding of its history. My experience with Danielle gave me great insight of the real life of a professional in the fashion industry while Clarissa (my AAU teacher) helped me understand why the industry acts as it does. My fourth goal, learning how to conduct myself in front of professionals, has also taken me to new heights. I realize now that this goal was more relating to a fear of talking with adults without a parent or friend to support me. After several experiences on my own, however, this fear has almost completely been vanquished. I feel my opinions can be expressed on my own without the support of someone else which aids my confidence when talking with professionals. Finally, there is no way I or anyone else can deny that my last goal was fully achieved. Through all the ups and downs I sit here now and can only smile. This experience is something I never expected but something I would absolutely never have wanted to happen any other way. Yes, I will always wonder what I could have done if I had continued with Danielle, but this type of spontaneity occurs all the time in life and is something I need to know how to not only get through but grow and make something good out of. All-in-all this project lent itself to great growth inside of me and I am thankful for every moment of it.